You Must Create and Make Use of Your Quiet Time

The era of ‘work hard and get success’ is past. Now, it is work smart and get success. Some people will disagree with this still maybe because of their misconception about ‘working smart.’ Let me try to clear this: the era of intense physical labour to get things done is now fast fading away. This is the hard work that many people believe in. Now, we are in a period of the great mental involvement to acquire success. This is working smart. There’s however a twist to all this: mental work is really hard work. Get me? Working smart entails putting all your mental faculties to great task. You push them until they give you what you want. This is by no means child’s play, but its better and accomplishes so much more than physical labour.

Someone said that necessity has often being referred to as the mother of invention and if that’s so, creativity is the father. Every one has a level of creativity in them right from birth but you can get much out of your creativity only to the extent that you use your creative tool- box, your mind. All you have to do is find out the right methods to employ to get this creativity out of your mind.

You cannot however get the best of your mental faculties, that’s talking about the mind, brain, conscious and subconscious if they do not get the right atmosphere of absolute quietness; solitude. It is so very unfortunate that most people do not have any quiet time when they have to sit and dig into themselves and activate the immense power of their mind. This I have been practicing and it has been giving me great results.

The most important part in the process of getting in touch with your feelings is to begin to practice solitude on a regular basis. Solitude is the most powerful activity in which you can engage. Men and women who practice it correctly and on a regular basis never fail to be amazed at the difference it makes in their lives. "Men and women begin to become great when they begin to take time quietly by themselves, when they begin to practice solitude", said Catherine Ponder. It is by no means an easy task but it would be everything to you.

Go through the biographies or stories of most if not all of the world’s great and famous achievers and you will discover they had a particular period when they retreat to spend time with themselves. They spend time with their imaginations (dreams) seeing them come to be in the physical. This concept of use of the mind called visualization aids greatly of the desired goals.

Let me explain the power of visualization with this story that has not stopped amazing and inspiring me since the first day I read it: Two basketball teams of equal ability were asked to practice shooting. One team went to the court every day for two weeks to practice while the second group only practiced their shooting by visualizing it; of course in the quiet (emphasis mine). At the end of two weeks, both teams were brought to the court to contest. Guess which team did better; the team that only visualized their shooting.

This is was possible because it is the mind that sends impulses to the brain which in turn controls every other part of the body through the Central Nervous System (CNS). When you visualize, you are in essence training your brain. As you know, during the visualization every thing you do is perfect. And so because this perfect training impulse is sent to the brain, the execution coordinated by the brain is also perfect. Another great example of the potency of visualization is the case of Beethoven who gave the world its best symphony after he had gone completely deaf at the age of thirty- five. He visualized the notes in his mind and I believe he could hear them before playing it out to the world; amazingly without practice. Successful public speakers know and use this concept which accounts so much for their success. They visualize themselves speaking the actual words they would like to say during the real speech over and over again, which is why most of the great speakers that have left a mark never give their speech reading from paper. Ask Dale Carnegie. Am sure you would have noticed the toast of the day, Barack Obama giving great speeches during the election campaign.

The success of your visualization however depends on its frequency. How often you do it? It depends also on it duration. The length of time you can hold that mental picture. Other factors that influence its success are the clarity and intensity. Do you see it as you want it to be? The last factor is the emotion with which you desire it.

If you are going to have to put your brain along with the creativity of your mind to full test, then you MUST start now to create your quiet times. The reason you must do this is that as you run from pillar to post, from east to west, engaged in one activity or the other (which we can not seem to get away from because our universe is so full of them), only the conscious part of your mind, the AWAKE you, is active. The most important and strongest of them, the subconscious is subdued. It is not as if it is not working (as we will be seeing in the next section), only you will not be able to hear it as you battle through the bustles of everyday life.

Culled from my about to be released book The Most Potent Weapon for Success!

Handling Mistakes

Are you afraid to make a mistake? Some people feel as if no one is ever paying attention until they make a mistake! If you goofed in a big way recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.

The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech and the University of California. Shortly before halftime, a man named Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his team-mates outdistanced him and tackled him after he had run 65 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct advantage through the error.

The men filed off the field and went into the dressing room. All but Riegels sat down on the benches and on the floor. He wrapped his blanket around his shoulders, sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.

Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply, "Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second."

All the players except Roy trotted out to the field. He didn't budge. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained huddled in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said, "Roy, didn't you hear me?"

"Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've ruined you; I've ruined the school; I've ruined myself. I couldn't face that crowd in the stadium to save my life."

But Coach Price put his hand on Riegels' shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and go on back; the game is only half over." Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as well as Roy Riegels played that second half.

The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC method of handling mistakes.

A - Acknowledge your error and accept responsibility for it. Don't try to fix the blame on other people or circumstances. When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.

B - Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the blunder, so try to lighten up a bit now.

C - Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to make amends, if necessary. "Those who are wise don't consider it a blessing to make no mistakes," says Wang Yang-Ming. "They believe instead that the great virtue is the ability to correct mistakes and to continually reinvent oneself."

Now, go make your mistakes. And though some may be no less than spectacular, if you practice the ABC method, you'll live to laugh about many of them.

Remember ...

Don't be afraid to make mistakes because it is by Making mistakes that we learn!

Perfectionists can have great difficulty in accepting this principle, but you simply have to allow yourself the space to make mistakes; or you will cripple your ability to perform. That message is the essence of the book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway; and it is absolutely correct!

I think it was Albert Einstein who said something like ...

"Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I will show you a person who has never tried!"

Remember to use Steve's A,B,C method next time you fail. Then pick yourself up again and get ready to go!

Will Edwards

The White Dove Partnership

Motivational Leadership

Motivational leadership is based on The Law of Indirect Effort. According to this law, most things in life are achieved more easily by indirect means than they are by direct means. You more easily become a leader to others by demonstrating that you have the qualities of leadership than you do by ordering others to follow your directions. Instead of trying to get people to emulate you, you concentrate on living a life that is so admirable that others want to be like you without your saying a word.

The Most Powerful Motivational Leaders
Perhaps the most powerful motivational leader is the person who practices what is called "servant leadership." Confucius said, "He who would be master must be servant of all." The person who sees himself or herself as a servant to others and who does everything possible to help them perform at their best is practicing the highest form of servant leadership.

The Leader of Today
Today's leaders are the ones who ask questions, listen carefully, plan diligently, and then build consensus among all those who are necessary for achieving the goals. The leader does not try to do it all alone. The leader gets things done by helping others do them.

Qualities of Leaders
The following are important qualities of motivational leaders. These are qualities that you already have to a certain degree and that you can develop further to stand out from the people around you in a very short period of time.

Vision
The first quality is vision. This is the only single quality that, more than anything separates leaders from followers. Leaders have vision. Followers do not. Leaders have the ability to stand back and see the big picture. Leaders have developed the ability to fix their eyes on the horizon and see greater possibilities.

Motivate Others
The best way for you to motivate others is to be motivated yourself. The fastest way to get others excited about a project is to get excited yourself. The way to get others committed to achieving a goal or a result is to be totally committed yourself. The way to build loyalty to your organization, and to other people, is to be an example of loyalty in everything you say and do.

The Ability to Choose
One requirement of leaders is the ability to choose an area of excellence. Just as a good general chooses the terrain on which to do battle, an excellent leader chooses the area in which he and others are going to do an outstanding job. The commitment to excellence is one of the most powerful of all motivators. All leaders who effect change in people and organizations are enthusiastic about achieving excellence in a particular area.

Action Exercise
Try a new attitude toward your employees; show up on Monday morning and be positive and cheerful. If you are motivational, your attitude will rub off on your employees and they will work more efficiently.

By My Mentor
Brian Tracy

Managing Your Time

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." - Carl Sandburg

Imagine there was a bank that credited your very own account each morning with a large sum of money. But, it carried over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deleted whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out all of it, of course!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is - Time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it makes a new deposit for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." You must live in the present on today's deposits. So you must invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

Time is a truly mysterious quantity. When you are enjoying yourself, it flies past; when you are waiting for a bus, it drags by - isn't that true? But time is the stuff from which our dreams are crafted. We must first have our dream, of course, but then our actions cause our dreams to become reality - and our actions are subject to the constraints of time.

Everyday you are blessed with a fresh 24 whole hours to do what you please. If you invest your time wisely, you will turn your dreams into reality; if you squander this precious resource, you will forever be just a dreamer.

The clock is running. Make the most of today. And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why it's called The Present!

The White Dove Partnership

How To Change A Bad Attitude In Three Simple Steps

If you want to know how to change a bad attitude, then this article is right up your alley.

Everyone has, at one point or another, come to a conclusion that they need to do something about their life. More often than not, that decision involves getting rid of a few bad habits here and there.

If you're at a point in your life where you need to learn how to change a bad attitude, then read on!

Step 1: Recognize The Issue.

The first thing you need to come to terms with is the fact that you have a bad attitude. Far too often, it is one of the most neglected steps in the process of change.

Sure, people have told you that you have to change; but if you yourself do not recognize the need for it, then you're not really going to get very far.

It's difficult to see anything negative about ourselves, especially in the beginning; but if you're honest to yourself, you'll get through the muddle.

Step 2: Commit To A Goal.

The next step on how to change a bad attitude is to make a commitment. Now, committing yourself to something new might be scary.

Hardly anybody wants to do that, especially if they're not sure they can see something through until the end. But it is this lack of commitment that is hampering you from what you want and what must happen.

So set a goal (and when I say set, I mean set it seriously). Don't just say you'll do something or change something about yourself (all the while thinking that you can adjust your goal anytime you want). You got to consistently take action towards achieving your outcome.

Step 3: Remain Patient.

Patience is very crucial when it comes to the process of learning how to change a bad attitude. To be truthful, altering a bad behavior can take a long time. After all, you've gotten so used to acting a certain way that to change sometimes means to start all over again from scratch.

Halfway through the process, the idea of giving up will become very tempting, especially with all sorts of challenges that will come your way. To be prepared for that eventuality, I'm telling you to practice the virtue of being patient.

Learning how to change a bad attitude takes work; that's not something I'm going to lie about. It is, however, going to be very good for you in the long run. Whether you want to live with having a bad attitude or not depends on you and you alone. What kind of life will you choose?

Michael Lee

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Lee

Believe in Yourself and Boost Your Confidence

Just think: What difference would it make in your life if you had an absolutely unshakable confidence in your ability to achieve anything you really put your mind to? What would you want and wish and hope for? What would you dare to dream if you believed in yourself with such deep conviction that you had no fears of failure whatsoever?

Most people start off with little or low self-confidence, but as a result of their own efforts, they become bold and brave and outgoing. And we’ve discovered that if you do the same things that other self-confident men and women do, you, too, will experience the same feelings and get the same results.

The key is to be true to yourself, to be true to the very best that is in you, and to live your life consistent with your highest values and aspirations.

Take some time to think about who you are and what you believe in and what is important to you. Decide that you will never compromise your integrity by trying to be or say or feel something that is not true for you. Have the courage to accept yourself as you really are—not as you might be, or as someone else thinks you should be—and know that, taking everything into consideration, you are a pretty good person.

After all, we all have our own talents, skills and abilities that make us extraordinary. No one, including yourself, has any idea of your capabilities or of what you might ultimately do or become. Perhaps the hardest thing to do in life is to accept how extraordinary you really can be, believe in yourself, and then to incorporate this awareness into your attitude and personality.

Download my FREE report here: Discovering Your Talents

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By My Mentor,

Brian Tracy

5 Key Questions for Setting Priorities

A key part of personal time management is for you to take the time to look into the future. Project forward five years and think about where you want to be. Create a mental picture of your ideal future- your best future- and then think about the steps that you would have to take, starting today, to make it a reality. Remember, it doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that really matters is where you are going.

Think about the things you would like to achieve, so that your future focus is on your goals rather than focusing on the past. Focus on opportunities rather than problems. Think about solutions and what specific actions you could take, rather than things that have gone wrong and who is to blame. Keep asking, “Where do we go from here?” As John Maynard Keynes said, “We must give a lot of thought to the future, because that is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives.”

In many companies, 80 percent of the time of senior people is spent on the problems of yesterday rather than on the opportunities of tomorrow. Keep thinking of ways that you can change the things that you are doing today, so that your future focus is consistent with what you desire.

Project forward 5 years:

Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, the strategic planners who wrote the book, Competing for the Future, encourage decision makers to project forward several years when they do strategic planning. They encourage executives to imagine that their company is the top company in the industry some years in the future. They then identify the products, services, markets, and especially skills, talents, and abilities that they will need to be industry leaders five years from now. Finally, they encourage business leaders to begin immediately to develop the core skills and competencies they will need to be market leaders in the future. You should do the same.

Focus on the first 20 percent:

In setting priorities, remember that the first 20 percent of any task usually accounts for 80 percent of the value of that task. Once you begin working on that task, the first 20 percent of the time that you spend planning and organizing the resources necessary to achieve the task usually accounts for 80 percent of your success. In setting priorities, always focus on the fist 20 percent of the task. Get on with it and get it done. The next 80 percent will tend to flow smoothly once the first 20 percent is complete.

If you are in sales, getting the initial appointment where you meet face-to-face with the decision maker is the first 20 percent of the transaction. But it accounts for 80 percent of the value in the sales process. The presentation, the closing of the sale, the follow-up, the delivery of the product or service, and so on, represent the second 80 percent that only account for 20 percent of the value.

Forget about the small things…

While setting priorities, never give in to the temptation to clear up small things first. Don’t start at the bottom of your list and work up to the important tasks at the top. Don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in low-priority activities. Don’t major in minors. As Goethe said, “The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.”

The natural tendency of human nature is to follow the Law of Least Resistance. In time management and personal work, this means that we have a natural tendency to start on small tasks, thinking that as soon as we get warmed up, we will launch into our big tasks and increase productivity.

Here is what I have found. When you start in on little tasks, they begin to multiply, like rabbits in the springtime. When you begin clearing up your small tasks, you seem to attract more and more small tasks to work on which, in the end, does not increase productivity. The longer and harder you work, the more small tasks seem to arise. By the end of the day, you will be exhausted, and you won’t have accomplished anything of value. Start with your most important work first.

Here are 5 key questions for setting priorities:

These are questions you can ask yourself regularly to ensure that you are working on your top priorities and getting the very most done that is possible for you.

1. Why am I on the payroll? Ask yourself if what you are doing right now is the most important thing that you have been hired to do. If your boss were sitting across from you watching you, what would you be doing differently from what you are doing at this moment?

Here is an exercise. Make a list of everything you think you have been hired to do and take it to your boss. Ask your boss to organize this work list by priority. Have your boss tell you what is most important and what is least important. From that moment onward, work single-mindedly on those tasks that your boss considers to be more important.

2. What are my highest value activities? Remember, there are only three things that you do that account for most of the value of your work. Which of your activities contribute the greatest value to your company? If you are not sure, ask the people around you. Everyone knows the most important things that other people should be doing.

3. What are my key result areas? What are the specific results that you have to get in order to do your job in an excellent fashion? Of all those key result areas, which are most important?

4. What can I, and only I, do that if done well will make a real difference? What is the one thing, hour by hour, that only you can do and, if you do it well, will make a significant contribution to your business? This is something that no one else can do for you. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done. Doing this task, doing it well, and doing it promptly can have a major impact on your career.

5. What is the most valuable use of my time, right now? This is the key question in time management. Every time planning and management skill is oriented around helping you determine the correct answer to this question at every moment of the day. What is the most valuable use of your time right now?

My Mentor,
Brian Tracy