Smart Business & Career Tips

Solving the Mystery of Letting Go

Sometimes the greatest truths are laid right before our eyes, in the simplest of things, and yet we just can't see them. Take for instance our own hands: what a miracle they are. If we consider for even a moment all they are capable of doing, it's evident that a great wisdom sits hidden behind their incomparable design. But, with this thought in mind, permit me to add one other to help us see another part of their special purpose that lies "hidden" in plain sight.

What good would our hands be to us or, for that matter, to the world they are made to help shape, if all they could do was close down around something and cling to it? How stale and old everything would soon be for us if the act of "holding on" to things were all our hands had the power to do? Just imagine what life would be like if we were unable to touch anything new.

To be able to touch and appreciate what is new, our hands are also created to open up -- and, as needed -- to let go of whatever is in them that is no longer useful.

This same basic truth applies, even more so, when it comes to our need to release those old feelings and worn out thoughts that first clog up, and then compromise our heart and mind. These tiresome states of ourselves have become "stuck" within us because we haven't learned how to release them.

Once we understand that letting go is the missing half of the whole happiness our heart longs for -- that it is a necessary and full partner in the power to discover and complete our True Self -- everything about our life grows easier. Old regrets dry up and blow away. We awaken to a quiet kind of faith that fears nothing. New possibilities for us appear almost moment to moment because we've hung an "open for business" sign on the door of our life. And, as our contentment grows with who we are -- within ourselves -- we stop compromising ourselves in order to win the approval of the world around us.

And best of all, as a result of our growing discoveries about the secret of letting go, we find ourselves on the threshold of solving the greatest mystery on earth: who are we? Why are we here? And what is our true role in this world? For as we start to see reality -- as it is -- in its timeless expression of creating life, perfecting it, and then letting it go, only to start all over again, we realize that we ourselves are an integral part of this Great Endless Story. And if the whole of Life is being made new in each and every moment -- and we ourselves are a part of its never-ending process of perfection -- then letting go isn't some distant and difficult faculty to be acquired. To the contrary: letting go is an effortless state of our own consciousness; it is a natural power of ours needing only to be actualized in order for us to realize the freedom that it alone can grant.

- Guy Finley

How to Develop a Multimillionaire Mindset

A man observes evergreens growing along the roadside and thinks that they look pretty, covered with snow. Another man sees the same trees and thinks, "These trees would look good in people's living rooms at Christmas. I wonder what they would pay for them?"

The first man has an ordinary mind. The second, the mind of a natural-born moneymaker.

In The Prime Movers, Edwin A. Locke provides some interesting insights into the way moneymakers think:

He argues that an active, inquisitive mind is a hallmark of the successful entrepreneur. The most successful entrepreneurs in history, he says, had this sort of mind.

• Thomas Edison: He was a "virtual thinking machine. Almost until the day he died, his mind poured forth a torrent of ideas, and he might track as many as 60 experiments at a time in his laboratory."

• Steve Jobs: He bombarded people with his ideas - his investors, his board of directors, his customers, his subordinates, and his CEO.

• Henry Ford: "He threw himself into every detail, insisting on getting small things abso­lutely right.... But he never lost sight of the ultimate, overall objection. He had a vision of what his new car (the Model T) should look like. From all the improvisation, hard thought, and hard work came a machine that was at once the simplest and the most sophisticated automobile built to date anywhere in the world."

Take my friend Bernard...

I have a friend, an émigré from Manchester England, who has this kind of moneymaking mind. I have known him for more than twenty years. During that time he has started at least a dozen successful companies. Every company he forms, it seems, becomes successful very quickly. He has become a wealthy man and enjoys a wealthy man's lifestyle, but his interest in making money has never waned.

In that respect he is very different from me. I became wealthy by making plans and working my ass off. And once I made more than I needed I stopped paying attention to it.

He made his money effortlessly. Or so it always seemed. And he continues to make money because he really enjoys the process.
He makes money not just by starting successful businesses and investing in real estate (my primary vehicles) but by buying and selling exotic cars, boats, antiques and expensive watches. Every time I see him he is driving a new car. One month it's a Bentley. The next month it's a Ferrari. He buys slightly used cars and enjoys them and then turns them over for a profit. He has become an expert in barter and countertrade. He never pays full price for anything. He knows how to get the best price for everything. And he loves the game.

Bernard may not have my net worth, but he's got more than enough for the rest of his life and he seems to enjoy making money much more than I do.

I admire that about him. I like talking to him about all his recent deals. His excitement gets me excited. It also embarrasses me when I discover that he pays a fraction of what I pay for just about everything.

What if you don't have the Mind?

I have another friend, Jeff, who used to be my partner. He was making $400,000 a year when he suddenly sold his business and retired. Today he makes a living teaching Tai Chi. His income is modest, but he lives in a beautiful house, belongs to a private yacht club and takes vacations every two months.

Like Bernard, Jeff enjoys his life. He works when he wants to, rests when he wants to and enjoys the best that life has to offer.

Jeff's secret is that he knows how to buy the best of everything for pennies on the dollar. I am always amazed at how he and his wife can meet us in Chicago, Nicaragua or China, stay at fine hotels and do everything we do but on a budget.

I'm convinced that Jeff and Bernard both have very special brains minds. Like Edison, Jobs and Ford, they think differently than I do.

Raw intelligence is not the issue. These guys are smart but don't think they are any smarter than I am. And anyway, if it were a matter of intelligence, Einstein and a slew of other geniuses would have been wealthy men.

I call what Bernard and Jeff have the multimillionaire's mindset. I've also called it the Rich Mind.

This is the first of several essays I'll be writing on this point: how to think like a multimillionaire.

And here's the goal: to discover exactly how they do what they do by figuring out how they think. If you study this and subsequent essays seriously - and implement the suggestions I'll be making - you may be able to "upgrade" your brain to one that will allow you to have the kind of life they enjoy.

I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for myself. I've mastered one part of the equation: making money through entrepreneurship. But the other part - enjoying a multimillionaire's lifestyle on a limited budget - has so far eluded me.

Some Preliminary Observations

To get started, here are some observations I've made from studying my two friends and from reading about great wealth builders like Jobs and Edison and Ford.

1. A "normal" person is concerned with protecting his ego. When dealing with a problem he doesn't really understand, he pretends he understands the contributing factors and doesn't try to find out what anyone else thinks. A person with a multimillionaire mind asks questions inces­santly. He has no ego when it comes to learning. He knows that knowledge is power.

2. A "normal" person has a consumer mentality. He looks at a hot new product and thinks about how he would like to own one. A person with a multimillionaire mind has an entrepreneurial men­tality. He looks at it and thinks, "How can I produce this or something similar in my own industry?"

3. A "normal" person is wish-focused. He daydreams about making gobs of money. A person with a multimillionaire mind is reality-based. He is always analyzing his own success and the suc­cess of others and wondering how he could learn from it.

4. A "normal" person, when confronted with a challenging idea, thinks of all the reasons why it might not work. A person with a multimillionaire mind sees the potential in it and disregards the problems until he has a clear vision of how it might succeed.

5. A "normal" person resists change. A person with a multimillionaire mind embraces it.

6. A "normal" person accepts the status quo. A person with a multimillionaire mind is always looking to make things - even good things - better.

7. A "normal" person reacts. A person with a multimillionaire mind is proactive.

8. A "normal" person looks at a successful business owner and thinks, "That guy's lucky." Or "That guy's a shyster." A person with a multimillionaire mind thinks, "What's his secret?" And, "How can I do that?"

Most importantly, a person with a multimillionaire's mind likes living like a multimillionaire. He doesn't shortchange himself when it comes to comfort and luxury. Rather than believing always that pain leads to gain, he thinks, "If I'm smart I can have my cake and eat it too.

Adapted from article in Early to Rise

Wealth and Wealthy People

by Michael Masterson

There is no shortage of billionaires today. In 1985, there were fewer than 20 of them. Today, there are more than one thousand.

Wealth is gradually moving away from the United States. In 2003, eight Americans made the top 10 in Forbes’ annual list of billionaires. This year, only two (Warren Buffett and Bill Gates) made the list. And less than half of the entire list is made up of Americans.

Still, 443 American billionaires is nothing to sneeze at. Nor is their collective net worth of around $1.6 trillion. At least for the moment, the U.S. still has the world’s largest and most profitable economy. But India and China are catching up. Their economies are growing fast. And they are not wasting trillions of dollars on foreign wars.

With the dollar falling and our economy on the brink of a depression, it’s highly likely that Americans will continue to get poorer in the next few years. It’s also quite possible that the U.S. will be passed by China or India and become a second-tier economy. Even if that doesn’t happen, Americans will have to take quick and drastic action to protect themselves and preserve the wealth they have.

One of the best ways you can create and maintain wealth is by following the lead of people who’ve already done it.

About 33 percent of the very rich got their money through inheritance. The Waltons, for instance. The rest - two out of three - created their wealth through business. About half of those mega-entrepreneurs started with family money, and the other half started from scratch. These are the people - like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page - who earned the wealth they have. These are the people I’d listen to if I wanted advice on how to succeed today.

I don’t know any of these billionaire entrepreneurs (BEs) personally, but I’ve done a lot of reading about them. I figured you might want to know what makes them tick and how they got where they are. Here is what I’ve discovered:

• Formal education matters - but not always.

  The great majority of BEs - about 90 percent - have a college degree. But it’s not necessary for success. Among the world’s super-rich today, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Fred DeLuca, David Geffen, and Andrei Melnichenko didn’t graduate from college. And David Murdock (Dole Foods), S. Truett Cathy (Chick-fil-A), and Richard Desmond (British publishing magnate) never finished high school.

• BEs work harder and longer than the people who work for them.

  Most say they work 50 to 55 hours a week. Some, like centibillionaire Canadian communication mogul Ted Rogers, work 12 hours a day. And some, like Bill Gates (when he worked at Microsoft) and eBay founder Jeff Skoll, took no vacations for years while their businesses were growing.

• BEs are constantly looking for profit opportunities.

  When they hear about an economic or business development, they think, "How could I profit from that?"

• BEs don’t dwell on mistakes.

  They view problems as learning opportunities. "I don’t remember any mistakes," the late pharmaceutical billionaire James Sorenson told Forbes, "only the opportunity to overcome problems."

• BEs think neither completely positively or negatively, but strategically.

  Instead of thinking, "That’s impossible" or "I can do anything," they think, "Is that possible?" and "If it is, how could I do it?"

• BEs don’t believe in luck.

  In a recent Forbes poll of the 400 richest people in the world, none said they had become wealthy entirely by luck. Some said they considered luck to be a minor factor. Most, like Oprah Winfrey, consider luck an outsider’s way of describing someone who works hard and seizes opportunity. "Luck," Winfrey says, "is preparation meeting a moment of opportunity."

• BEs are not driven primarily by money.

  "Studies show that the desire for financial success is no stronger among entrepreneurs than among those not starting a company," says entrepreneur expert Kelly Shaver. Wharton School management professor Raphael Amit agrees: "No one is saying they don’t like their wealth; but what matters more is the innovation, the intense commitment they have to an idea and the difference it can make. Money is a byproduct."

If you want to survive and prosper in the first decade of 21st century, emulate the habits of the world’s richest people. Educate yourself about money. Make conservative investments. And seize opportunities to start and/or invest in entrepreneurial businesses.

[Ed. Note: Michael Masterson has said it before: One of the very best ways to get wealthy is to start your own business. At ETR’s upcoming 5 Days in July Internet Business Building Conference, you’ll learn how to build your own Internet business from the ground up. Check out the details here.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

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Setting Priorities

Setting Priorities by Brian Tracy (05/8/2008)
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

In 1970, sociologist Dr. Edward Banfield of Harvard University wrote a book entitled The Unheavenly City. He described one of the most profound studies on success and priority-setting ever conducted.

Banfield’s goal was to find out how and why some people become financially independent during the course of their working lifetimes. He started off convinced that the answer to this question would be found in such things as family background, education, intelligence, influential contacts, or some other concrete factor. What he finally discovered was that the major reason for success in life is a particular attitude of mind.

Banfield called this attitude "long time perspective." He said that people who were the most successful in life and the most likely to move up economically were those who took the future into consideration with every decision they made in the present. He found that the longer the period of time a person took into consideration, the more likely it was that he would achieve greatly during his career.

Doctors, for example, invest many years of hard work and study to finally earn the right to practice medicine. After university courses, internship, residency, and practical training, they may be more than 30 years old before they are capable of earning a good living. But from that point onward, they are among the most respected and most successful professionals in the United States. They had long time perspectives.

If you take additional courses in the evening to upgrade your skills and make yourself more valuable to your employer, you’re acting with a long time perspective. Because it can have a long-term effect on your career and your life.

The key to setting priorities is to have a long time perspective - and that usually requires sacrificing present enjoyment for future enjoyment. It requires giving up a short-term pleasure in the present in order to enjoy a far greater and more substantial pleasure in the future. And it begins with deciding what you want most in life and then organizing your time and activities so you can achieve those objectives.

With your larger, long-term priorities in order, you can much more easily decide upon your short-term priorities. Setting short-term priorities begins with a pad of paper and a pen.

Sit down, take a deep breath, and list all the tasks you need to accomplish. Although there is never enough time to do everything, there is always enough time to do the most important things.

Once you have listed your tasks, ask yourself this question: "If I were to be called out of town for a month and I could finish only one thing on this list, which one thing would it be?" Think it through, and circle that one item. Then ask yourself: "If I could do only one more thing before I was called out of town for a month, what would it be?" This is the second thing you circle.

Continue with this exercise until you have sorted out the highest priorities on your list. Then number each according to its importance. You are now ready to begin working effectively toward the achievement of your major goals.

Another good way to set priorities once you have determined your major objectives is with the A-B-C-D-E method. You place one of those letters in the margin before each of the tasks on your list.

"A" stands for "very important; must do; severe negative consequences if not completed."

"B" stands for "important; should do; but not as important as my ‘A’ tasks, and only minor negative consequences if not completed."

"C" stands for "nice to do; but not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ and no negative consequences for not completing."

"D" stands for "delegate or assign to someone else who can do the task in my place."

"E" stands for "eliminate if possible."

When you use the A-B-C-D-E method, you can easily sort out what is important and unimportant. This will focus your time and attention on those tasks that are most essential.

Once you can clearly see the one or two things that you should be doing above all others, just say no to diversions and distractions and focus single-mindedly on those priorities.

Much of the stress that people experience comes from working on low-priority tasks. The amazing thing is that as soon as you start working on your highest-value activity, your stress disappears. You begin to feel a continuous stream of energy and enthusiasm. As you work toward the completion of something that is really important, you feel an increased sense of personal value and inner satisfaction. You experience a sensation of self-mastery and self-control. You feel calm, confident, and capable.

Here are six ideas that you can use to set priorities and keep yourself working at your best:    

1. Take the time to be clear about your goals and objectives so that the priorities you set are moving you in the direction of something that is of value to you. Remember that many people scramble frantically to climb the ladder of success, only to find that it is leaning against the wrong building.    

2. Develop a long time perspective and work on those things in the present that can have the greatest positive impact on your future. Maintain your balance in life by setting priorities in the areas of your health, your personal relationships, and your financial goals.    

3. Make the commitment to improve those aspects of your life that are most important to you. If you’re in sales, learn how to be an excellent salesperson. If you’re a parent, learn how to be an outstanding mother or father. The power is always on the side of the person with the best practical knowledge.    

4. Take the time to do your work right the first time. The fewer mistakes you make, the less time you will waste doing it over.

5. Remember that what counts is not the overall amount of time you put in. Rather, it’s the amount of time you spend working on high-priority tasks. You will always be paid for the results you obtain, not merely the hours you spend on the job.    

6. Understand that the most important factor in setting priorities is your ability to make wise choices. You are always free to choose to engage in one activity or another. You may choose a higher-value activity or a lower-value activity, but once you have chosen, you must accept the consequences of your choice.

Resolve, today, to set clear priorities in every area of your life, and always choose the activities that will assure you the greatest health, happiness, and prosperity in the long term. The long term comes soon enough, and every sacrifice that you make today will be rewarded with compound interest in the great future that lies ahead for you.

[Ed. Note: Brian Tracy is one of America ’s leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. With Brian’s Ultimate Goal Achieving Package, you can discover a simple and easy-to-learn way to get everything you want out of life.

How to Ace Your Next Job Interview

"Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent."

            

- Dalai Lama             

How to Ace Your Next Job Interview

 

By MaryEllen Tribby             

During the course of my business career, I have interviewed literally hundreds of candidates for various positions. Some people make the cut. But more often, I wind up saying,"Thanks, but no thanks."

 

I can think of dozens of reasons I might pass on a particular candidate. Maybe she's rude during the interview. Maybe he shows up in jeans and a T-shirt to meet with me. Or maybe she just doesn't have that"it" factor I'm looking for.          

But many who seem to have the whole package still get passed over when they're looking for a job. Because of that sad fact of life, young people often ask me for advice about how to ace the interview process. In fact, I got one such e-mail just the other day. Evan from Seattle wrote:

      

"Thanks so much for continually providing outstanding content and practical advice. Reading ETR is one of the first things I try to do once I get in the office. Thank you for pushing all of your readers, and especially me, to achieve more.             

"I am 25 years old and graduated from college in English Literature, just over a year ago. While going to school, I worked for one of the major retail chains, which allowed me to pay for my own schooling. Straight out of college, I landed an internship with a promising but small start-up company. After my internship, the company hired me on full-time in marketing, where I have since been working. Though the company continues to grow, I often feel bored, a bit underutilized, and unchallenged. I have spoken with our CEO and other coworkers to see if there are more responsibilities I can take on, but to no avail.

         

"I am considering changing companies, and am looking into pursuing an opportunity in a more established Fortune 500 type firm. Being an English major (as opposed to having a specialized Business degree) gives me a certain degree of insecurity when applying and interviewing for jobs. Do you have any rock-solid advice on the job interview process? I know a few of the basics - like remaining calm and collected while selling my best qualities and showing how I will help improve the company. What else might you recommend?"           

Here's my response to Evan. (And if you are in a similar situation,  pay close attention.)

      

First of all, Evan, before you jump ship, examine what is going on in your current position. You say you obtained an internship straight out of college - and after the internship, you were hired on full-time in the company's marketing department. You also said that you have been out of college a little over a year. So you only have a year's worth of marketing experience.          

If you came to me as a job candidate and you told me all that... along with the fact that your employer's company continues to grow (during a time where the majority of start-ups are failing)... and mentioned that you have asked others in your company (including your CEO) for more responsibility to no avail, I would wonder the following:

•           Are you doing your  current job to the fullest?             

•    

  That means doing the tasks you don't like to do... and the tasks you may not think are important but are still a part of your job.              

  Just yesterday, an ETR team member told me that he did not think he was moving up fast enough. During our discussion, I named three very specific responsibilities of his job that he has yet to do on a regular basis or has not done at all. I explained that until an employee does his or her current job to the fullest - and does so with pride and enthusiasm - I will not move them up or assign additional responsibilities. I did, however, make sure he knew why those tasks are important and how, by doing them, he would help our company's bottom line.

         

  Do you have a good  attitude?         

•    

  I have written about this before in ETR.               

  Do you come in and complain about being bored and underutilized? Remember, not only does everyone dislike a complainer... they avoid complainers like the plague.

     

  Are you a team  player?          

•        

  If you have completed your tasks for the day and you see someone struggling to get work done, do you offer to give them a hand... regardless of how large or small their task may be?             

            

Can you honestly answer yes to all the above questions, Evan? If not, you may want to take another look at how you've been approaching your current job. But if you can, then it is time to start looking.             

And here's some advice for your job hunt that will help you  impress any prospective boss.

                      

1. Don't be intimated  because you were an English Literature major and not a Business major.

       

I majored in Theater Arts in college, and that has worked to my advantage throughout my career. My theater background taught me how to look at situations, procedures, and challenges and make them my own. It taught me that things don't have to be done the same old way. More important, being a theater major taught me how to think clearly and concisely. And that offering an idea that may not be useable at that particular time was better than offering no idea at all. The things I learned as a result of my major have helped me make a conscious decision to surround myself with people and companies that encourage and promote good ideas.              

A business degree can certainly be helpful, but it is not necessary. The ability to think on your own and come up with good ideas should be more important than any degree in the eyes of a potential employer.

    

2. Do your homework.              

I am always taken aback when a job candidate shows up for the interview without first having checked out ETR's website. If they don't do the basic footwork up front, my feeling is they would not go the extra mile if they got the job.

      

So before you interview for any position, go to the company's website. Use the information on the site to get a good understanding of their business. Look at their product line. Study their marketing. If they have an e-newsletter, subscribe to it. If they have a blog, read it.              

But that's not all the homework you should do. You should also go to the company's competitors' websites to develop a broader understanding of their industry. In the Internet Age, there is simply no excuse for not knowing this stuff - the stuff that will make you shine during the interview.

       

3. Be prepared to  discuss how you keep up with new marketing strategies.              

I love job candidates who read. People who read books on marketing, read newsletters on marketing, and attend marketing conferences and events are clearly interested in the field. Plus, their love of learning shows me they won't be happy with the status quo.

       

4. Listen.              

I can't stress this enough. Yes, you may be anxious to answer the interviewer's questions. But don't interrupt. You want to show that you respect your colleagues and supervisors.

      

In fact, interrupting can be a deal breaker for me. I don't care how smart someone is. If they don't respect the company and the people who work there, I don't want them in my organization.             

   

So, Evan, I hope this helps. Please let us know how your job  search goes. And remember... I am always looking for smart, enthusiastic marketing  people.             

[Ed. Note: MaryEllen Tribby  is CEO and Publisher of Early to Rise. Learn more about how new grads - or anyone starting out - can get a job or move up the ranks in their existing job in Michael Masterson's best-selling book, Automatic Wealth for Grads.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Expensive specs made me see an opportunity

This is an inspiring article from The Sunday Times by Rachel Bridge How I Made It: James Murray Wells, Founder of Glasses Direct

:BECOMING a young entrepreneur was not something James Murray Wells planned. Born and brought up in Gloucestershire and sent to boarding school at the age of nine, he dreamt of getting a job in the theatre as a director or manager. But while at university studying English he decided he ought to pursue a less risky profession such as law. The problem was that, deep down, he knew it was not what he really wanted. “I was racking my brains for a business idea or an opportunity that would save me from law school,” said Murray Wells. And then the answer came to him when he had to buy a new pair of glasses. “They were £150 and I thought it was way too much. What the hell was I paying for? They were just a bit of plastic and a bit of glass,” he said. “It didn’t make sense.” He started researching the market while he was supposed to be revising for his finals, looking up market reports in the university library and trying to track down manufacturers through the internet. He eventually found a lab in Lancashire that agreed to make a pair of glasses from the prescription Murray Wells sent in. One week later they arrived — with a bill for £5. “That was the wholesale cost. It just shocked me because I had paid £150 for the same thing,” he said. So Murray Wells borrowed £1,000 on his student loan and, working from the front room of his parents’ house, hired a student web developer at £6 an hour to help him design a website where customers could enter their prescriptions and order spectacles. The website went live in July 2004 with all prescription glasses priced at £15. Murray Wells started publicising his service by handing out flyers in the street. He said: “I used to jump on trains at Bristol Temple Meads and put flyers on the tables and get off the train before it went. So people had two hours to sit there and read about Glasses Direct.” Within days Murray Wells was receiving so many calls he had to get friends to answer the phone. “At one point I had eight friends working from my home and my mum was the staff canteen in the kitchen,” he said. “We were laying cables into my parents’ spare bedroom.” Read Full Article Here

Act To Create It

by Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach

The thing that most separates winners from losers in life, is that winners take action. If you want to live your dreams, not only must you decide what you want, turn your dream into measurable goals, break those goals down into specific action steps, and visualize and affirm your desired outcomes — you must start taking action.

I recommend making the commitment to do something every day in at least three different areas of your life that moves you in the direction of your dreams. If one of your goals is physical fitness, make a commitment to do some sort of exercise — aerobics, weight training, stretching — four to five times a week for a minimum of twenty minutes. I read recently that if you simply go for a 30 minute walk four times a week, that would put you in the top 1% of those people getting physical exercise! If your goal is financial independence, start saving and investing a portion of your income every month with no exceptions. If your goal is to write a book, write for a minimum of one hour every day.

Don’t Let FEAR Stop You
Most people never get what they want because they let their fears stop them. They are afraid of making a mistake, looking foolish, getting ripped off, being rejected, being hurt, wasting their time, and feeling uncomfortable.

Fear is self-created by imagining catastrophic consequences that have yet to happen. It is all in your mind. In fact, you can actually scare yourself by imagining negative and harmful images. But simply stop the catastrophic thoughts and images, and the fear goes away.

Rejection Is a Myth
One of the biggest fears that stops people from asking for support, guidance, advice, money, a date, a job, the sale, or anything else is the fear of rejection. In fact, it’s been known to literally paralyze people. They become tongue-tied and refuse to reach for the phone or get up and walk across the room. They break out in a sweat at the mere thought of asking for what they want.

I have come to realize that the whole concept of rejection is false — that rejection doesn’t really exist. Think about it for a moment. If you asked someone to join you for dinner, and they said no, you could tell yourself that you had been rejected. But think about it. Did you have anyone to eat dinner with before you asked them? No! Did you have anyone to eat dinner with after you asked them? No! Did your life really get worse? No. It stayed the same!

Act As If
One of the secrets of success is to start acting like a success before you are one. Act as if. If you had already achieved your dream, what kinds of clothes would you be wearing? How would you act? How would you treat others? Would you tithe a portion of your income to your church or favorite charities? Would you have more self-confidence? Would you take more time to spend with your loved ones?

I suggest that you begin to do those things now. When I decided that I wanted to be an “international” consultant, I immediately went and applied for a passport, bought an international clock that told me what time it was anywhere in the world, printed business cards with the words “International Self-Esteem and Peak Performance Consultant,” and decided I would like to first go to Australia. I bought a poster of the Sidney Opera House and placed it on my refrigerator. Within one month, I received an invitation to speak in Sidney and Brisbane. Since then, I have spoken and conducted trainings in over 20 countries and continue to expand my business around the globe.

Start acting as if you already have everything you want. Most people think that if they have a lot of money, they could do the things they want to do, and they would be much happier. In fact, the reverse is true. If you start by creating a state of happiness and abundance, then do the things you are inspired to do from that state of being, you will end up having all the things you ultimately desire.

You may not be able to fill your closets with expensive Italian suits and designer clothing, but why not invest in one or two really great outfits, so that when you do need them, they are there. When you dress like you have already made it, you will look the part, and successful people will naturally be attracted to you and invite you to participate with them.

The Law of Attraction states that you will attract to you those things that match your state of being. If you focus on having gratitude for what you do have, you will feel rich, and you will attract more abundance into your life. If you focus on what youdon’t have, you will send out a message of lack and you will attract more lack into your life.

For more on The Law of Attraction, I highly recommend watching The Secret, a ground-breaking, feature-length movie presentation. The Secret reveals how to apply this powerful knowledge to your life in every area from health to wealth, to success and relationships.

Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at www.JackCanfield.com

7 Steps To Reaching Your Goals

Here's an interesting article on reaching your goals.

by Lisa Xing, TheSoko.com

Getting what you want, whether it's in your career, family, or another aspect of your life, is based on your attitude and how you handle yourself in different situations. You have to be willing to either compromise or risk it. While there is no recipe for success, there are a few skill habits that are essential to getting you there.

Goals

First and foremost, you have to set goals for yourself. Don't generalize and tell yourself you want to become manager sometime. You have to be specific - tell yourself exactly what it is you want. Then, write that down on paper with a time line. Draft out how long you are willing to give yourself to get there and mark the steps in between. Being specific about time doesn't give you much room for excuses or procrastination. That way, it's easier for you to follow.

Read Full Article

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Based on impressive new discoveries regarding the body's subtle energies, Emotional Freedom Techniques  (EFT) has been astonishingly successful in thousands of clinical cases.  It applies to just about every emotional and physical issue you can name and often works where nothing else will.

Emotional Freedom Techniques

Based on impressive new discoveries involving the body's subtle energies,Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) has been clinically effective in thousands of cases for
            Trauma & Abuse
            Stress and Anxiety          

          Fears & Phobias
            Depression
            Addictive Cravings
            Children's Issues
            hundreds of  Physical Symptoms including headaches,
            body pains and breathing difficulties.
            

Properly applied, over 80% achieve either noticeable improvement or complete cessation of the problem. 

              ...Often works where  nothing else will.
              ...Usually rapid, long lasting and gentle.
              ...No drugs or equipment involved.
              ...Easily learned by anyone.
              ...Can be self applied

Download a free manual

Electric

They called him ‘Electric’. Later I found out that there were two pieces to that name—one public, one private. The public name referred to his ability to dance to a popular tune of the same name. The second secret of the name was the fact that he was able to throw the campus of our private boarding school in Jamaica into chaos by plunging us into blackout because he knew which switches to pull to do just that.

I first met him through his insistence that he join my literature class. I was head of department and so I chose the students of my class based on motivation and behavior. Electric did not qualify on the second ground because his teachers said he was a troublemaker. Since I was busy he had to hang around outside my office several times before he met me. He made a passionate plea to be in my classes. He said the other teachers did not want him to do well. When I asked why my classes he said I made the students laugh.

“When you make learning fun, people learn easily,” he said gravely as if he were some educational expert.

On a hunch I took him into my class but I warned him that I could send him to another class if he breached my code of conduct.

One of the things I impressed on my students was the need to own their own copy of the five essential texts. I gave a deadline for students to have the texts by the end of the month.

One evening my wife who was in charge of the library came home troubled. She had caught one of the students stealing books. She, however, was sympathetic once she heard his story. He pleaded with her not to report the matter to the principal because he said with his record he was bound to be expelled. That student was ‘Electric”. He has stolen the texts for my course.

We made a decision not to report the matter. Between us we had sample copies of the texts from the publishers which we donated to “ Electric.” We also asked him not to let on where he got the books so that we would not be questioned why we gave him the books.

After this incident Electric became a model student in my class. He volunteered to lug the big ,heavy reel to reel tape recorder from its storage place in the Principal’s office every time we played the “ Julius Caesar “ recordings. He helped me pack up the tapes, set up the recorder. He was eager to carry my books and notes. When we showed the movie “ To Kill A Mockingbird” he was the one who did all the arrangements of the projector, changing the reels and so one.

Often he would follow me to my home on campus discussing the books. He knew some of the texts by heart and could quote appropriate parts easily. I found out that he used to live on the streets of Kingston and was rescued by a foreigner working in Jamaica who was paying his tuition at this exclusive school.

Electric in his own way balanced out the costs of his education. I learnt that he asked certain teachers for help with buying his shirts, others he asked for pants, shoes and other school necessities. He told me that as a street kid he knew not to ask for too much help from any one person.

Electric taught me a lot about Jamaica. One day he surprised me by telling me that I had a political mind. It was after he told me that any would be political should read “ Julius Caesar.” When I asked him about this he said,

“ Mr. D. I know who is sleeping with whom in Kingston. I wash cars to earn money. I wash cars in the rich areas. They pay more to keep me quiet because I see whose cars are parked in whose driveway early in the morning. I see who comes out to pay me. I can tell what kind of person by the way they treat me. I know *Mr. Seaga and *Mr. Manley.”

“ Mr. D. you are a different person. You are a tough teacher but you and your wife have kind hearts. You treat me like another human being. You don’t act like a Pharisee shouting, ‘ Lord,Lord,look what I do’. You are like the Good Samaritan, you just help and move on.”

Electric went on to do really well in the regional examination but fate had one more card to play with us. Electric had really bad hand writing. I tried my best to get him to practice better handwriting but he did not think it was important.

At the regional examination I was a manager of a team of markers.

The head of the examining team was an old school mate. He was now Professor of English at one of the regional campuses. We were not allowed to mark students whom we taught. So Electric's paper went to another team. His answers caused some trouble. One marker who claimed she could not understand his writing scored him at three marks out of twenty on one essay. Our system,however,had a checking procedure where another marker looked at each script. This marker gave him 17.The head of the team who had to arbitrate the scores was inclined to give him at least 14 marks.

The head of the team, an earnest woman, who was determined to be fair sought out the Chief Examiner who was my friend. I had just decided to take a break and the Chief spotting me started a conversation on my teaching experiences in Jamaica. For some reason I told him about the strange student called Electric and how good he had become as a student by linking literature to his street experience.

We were interrupted politely by the head of the team who asked for an expert opinion from the chief.

He looked it over and said ,”I think it’s 16 or 17”.

Passing it to me, he said,” Have a look.”

A quick glance revealed it was Electric’s script.

“ This is the student I was telling you about, “ I replied shocked at the co-incidence.

The Chief took the script to his team of chief examiners. Later I was told they agreed that despite his bad handwriting they felt that he deserved a passing grade in all his essays.

I have often wondered if Electric would have passed if there were not a dispute, if the head of the marking team had not consulted the chief and if that chief had not decided to let his expert team mark the script.

Today, years later, I recall with fondness my long talks with Electric. I can still see his excitement of the day of graduation. When he introduced myself and my wife to his benefactor he said,” these are the people who most helped me graduate”.

That graduation night I finally asked “ Electric” why he had never asked me for money or clothes.

“ Mr. D, you gave me the most valuable thing any person can give—your time ,your knowledge and your respect. I thank you and Mrs. D. from the bottom of my heart.”