H is for Hope,Honor, Help....

H

Honor

Help

Hope
Honor yourself and your Dreams. Honor your clients.

Listen to their suggestions – who knows, maybe they see something you don’t?

Help others.

We are not “islands” existing apart from each other. What we say and do has long reaching effects.

Success is a team sport. No one “makes it” alone. If you are manufacturing a product…you are relying on customers to purchase.If you are providing a service ..you are relying on customers to service.

None of us exist in a vacuum.

Provide HOPE.

This is what business is all about.

Think about it.

Isn't Hope the underlying emotion we are all in the business of selling?

Hope to solve a problem with a new product or service. Hope for education or for healing.
Hope for improving another’s life in some way shape or form.

Even in marketing entertainment this applies – they are giving the “hope” of making the customer enthralled, mesmerized – entertained.

Every thriving business exists because somehow, somewhere they are providing their clients with HOPE…hope to somehow enhance or improve their life.

The drug companies sell hope for a cure…

The travel industry hope for relaxation...

The insurance industry…hope for protection against disasters and unforeseen accidents.

The real estate industry..hope for locating the house for their client they will call home.

Hope is like the wind behind the windmill – unseen but powerful beyond comprehension. Hope backed up by action and accompanied by belief, drives entrepreneurs like yourself to find solutions to life's challenges every day. And everyone benefits when hope's seed turns into solutions and cures.

G...is for Gratitude

G

Gratitude.

Gratitude for your Gifts, your clients, your mentors.

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."~ Cicero


Keep ever grateful for whatever got you this far.

You are alive.

And obviously you are able to read or you wouldn’t be reading this book.

Your literacy already puts you ahead of much of the world. Be grateful for it. Realize it is a gift. Spend a few moments and identify the gifts you have been given. List them. Now spend a few moments each day being grateful for those gifts.

Use those gifts. Incorporate your gifts into your business.

Grateful Hearts do Great Things. Gratitude has the ability to transform.

"You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you."~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

Find yourself a Gratitude partner and Commit to taking a daily inventory of things to be grateful for.

It will change your life.

How do I know?

About few years ago now I formed such an alliance with a wonderful insurance saleswoman, Kay Barrett, who I met at a business seminar. We didn’t officially plan to become ‘gratitude partners’ but as we shared emails and laughs, the idea suddenly popped into my head. I emailed Kay to see if she would be interested in sharing daily doses of gratitude to keep us on track. She responded with a resounding “yes” and thus began our daily dose of gratitude. At one point our schedules became so hectic and we missed each other for a period slightly longer than a week. In the middle of one those days I stopped and asked myself “Why do I feel like I am in a ‘funk’”? Then I realized how one day had slipped into another and the whole week had past without spending the time to chart gratitudes. I recommitted to myself to the gratitude habit and apologized to Kay for the delay. Come to find out Kay also missed it and we quickly returned to our “Grats” lists.

And so we have continued.

We may never know the full extent of the blessings received from this daily habit but we are very aware of the contribution it makes to our daily joy.

Having Financial Woes?

Be grateful we live in a land where one can start over. Be grateful we live in a land where poverty is NOT the norm.

Fighting with the spouse?

Turn it inside out. Instead of focusing on the struggles between the two of you, take a break for a week force yourself to find something each day to be grateful for in the other. Remember all the people in the world who are presently alone, not by choice but by death or divorce. Be thankful for this person who is interested in your life.

Kids arguing again?

Be grateful for those little bundle whose boundless energy could fire up the world for eternity, if only we could harness it. Tell them how thankful you are that you get to be their parent. See if that doesn’t stop them dead in their tracks.

Let your gratitude for you employees and clients show, also.

Customers and employees who feel appreciated are more likely to be loyal when it counts.

"Every time we remember to say "thank you", we experience nothing less than heaven on earth."~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

See you at the gratitude gathering!!!

F...forgivenesss and focusing of forgiving failure and mis-takes

Next… let's Focus on Forgiving Mistakes. Yes…

Forgive Mistakes

Yours, your employees, your clients…mistakes are as much apart of growth as success.

Sometimes we may learn more from a man's errors, than from his virtues. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882, American Poet

John Maxwell, best selling author of “Failing Forward Fast” suggests that success is less determined by “failure” than by the person’s ability to quickly pick back up and ask “what can I do now”…a person who holds this attitude about all aspects of his life and all the things he encounters will be successful.

Again we go back to a person’s “attitude” and mindset.


Take for instance Lex Velarde, an ex kickboxing champion turned spirited, young, successful 27 year old entrepreneur. Lex credits much of his entrepreneurial success to the skills he learned while kickboxing. His mentor, Al Labato tells this story of one of his first discussions with Lex when he first came to work with him.

“You see, it is not how many times you are hit while boxing that determines whether or not you will become a champion boxer, because after the 1st 4-5 hits your body is numb – you don’t really feel much of anything.

(He then points to his head) This is where a guy win’s or loses the match.

It is not the hits that gets the boxer, but his mind.

I learned to stand up, to get back up and stand. That is why I was a kickboxing champion.”

And that is why Lex, when he was first introduced to an entrepreneurial opportunity at the young age of 24, already had what it would take to rise to the top 10% of producers nationwide within 2 ½ years of his beginning his entrepreneurial telecommunications business.

Lex knew the power in “standing back up”.

You see, Lex learned this trait well from his mother, Lucy Rivero’s example.

Lucy wasn’t raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. In fact she wasn’t raised in the wealth of the United States at all, but rather sought refuge here after being unable to be granted a divorce from her husband in Mexico for his infidelity.

Although she ran a successful business in Mexico, she came here with little.
Nevertheless, she was determined to make a good living for herself and her 3 boys. She quickly acquired jobs to make ends meet and continued to work diligently. Now she HAS created a good life for her and her kids – now joined Lex in his business and is once again her own boss, owns a great house and now owns her own BMW.

How’s that for standing up?

Stay tuned for another all important building block..one that is essential to ultimate satisfaction and success!

F
Focus, Focus, Focus…

Hmmm.

Can’t really emphasize this enough.

Focus can be the difference between success and failure.

Focus on the End Goal.

Focus on Your Customer’s needs.

Keeping focused on these 2 things will keep you on track when other things clamor for your attention.

Think of the great golfer Tiger Woods. When he is preparing for a swing he is fully and completely focused on 1 thing – driving the ball into the hole.

Think of Shawn Johnson preparing for her floor exercise performance. All her attention is focused on one thing – seeing herself complete the routine perfectly

All outstanding athletes understand the power of the focused mind– today they not only take training to improve their field skills but they spend time training the brain, learning how to filter out unnecessary distractions to peak perform.


They are FOCUSED

Find a way to stay FOCUSED.

Practice meditation.

Take up Yoga.

Master the Martial Arts.

Play Chess.

Take up some discipline which will teach you the art of Focus.

My friend and respected Visualization Expert Sigal Zoldan teaches a simple exercise to help people quickly regain focus when their day has become chaotic. I use this when I become distracted after an interruption while writing.

Try it:

Draw a Big (yes BIG) circle on a blank piece of white paper.

Now…place a dot in the middle, like a target.

Now place the piece of paper on the wall a few feet away.

First take one minute and put your entire focus on the dot in the middle of the circle. Don’t let your gaze go to the outside of the dot. During this time think of the issue with as much gusto as you can, every aspect which is bothering you distracting you from your end goal.

Now take one minute and “notice’ everything other than the dot (in other words use your peripheral vision) and don’t let your mind wander to the problem.

Breathe deeply and evenly during these 2 minutes.

When you are finished, you will once again be centered and focused.

Sigal has successfully used this technique to help numbers of people, some of who even overcame migraine headaches by implementing this simple, yet effective exercise.

Next time you lose focus while working towards your creating your business, TRY IT..It REALLY WORKS!!!

Next up....something not often discussed in a business blog..but VERY important skill to obtain if you are going to get the most of your experience as a entrepreneur....forgiveness.

E - for Encouragement

E is for
Encourgement

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than a hour of praise after success.” Anonymous

Master Sales Coach, Kris Thompson who has been dubbed “most encouraging coach” title by his prospering clients makes encouragement a part of each and every coaching session and sale training.

He is a Master at making “mistakes” into ‘mis – takes’ and moving his people to new action. His gift of balancing just the right amount of encouragement with accountability has enabled him to pull the very best effort out of his clients.

Is it any wonder he has now become a sought after Master Sales Coach?


One of his clients insists she needs her weekly “doses of Kris’s confidence boosting” to keep her at her best. I am sure this woman’s enthusiasm for Kris’s ability to be encouraging has won him numerous referrals. What an excellent way to grow a business!!!

Imagine what little encouragement can do for your business! Think of the internal satisfaction of choosing to bring a flicker of light to another’s life. With headlines full of cynical news day in and day out, people can use a little bit of extra encouragement? And in return they will send business your way. So be sure to be a source of encouragement to your clients and employees and watch your business blossom!

“Flatter me and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” William Arthur Ward

E is for Energy...and Enjoyment..

Energy.

Have it –

Get it –

Keep it.

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” Benjamin Franklin.


Do whatever it takes to reenergize.

Your family, friends and employees will thank you.

If you are energetic and enthusiastic you will more than likely attract employees who also love their work which makes the whole business pleasant, which in turn attracts more clients and so on and so on. It begins with YOU. People like to work for others who like their business and appreciate their employees.

Energy, especially directed energy is priceless.

“The world belongs to the energetic” to once again quote the great Ralph Waldo Emerson.


Your business is bound to be full of flaws and challenges – especially in the beginning.

The ones who seem to set themselves apart and persevere in spite of these obstacles are those whose energy and enthusiasm acts like a magnet to draw people and business in.

Often one business owner’s great enthusiasm for their work can make their flaws disappear.

Charles Cerami expresses this point excellently

“Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities, but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant.
If you don’t have enthusiasm for what you are creating GET OUT.

Find something you can be enthusiastic about – in fact you must

Enjoy Your Work

Yes,enjoy your work. This is of utmost importance if you desire long term success. In my journey I have met a number of successful realtors who despite their financial success eventually reached burnout because they entered the field not because they particularily liked or enjoyed people and real estate but because of the money they could make. This is a one way ticket to heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or depression. So before you choose your path be sure it is one which brings you joy.


Enjoy your customers; they are essential to your business.

Enjoy you employees and partners ..after all you couldn’t be successful without them.

Join me next for a look at how this next element can not only increase your employees productivity...but add to their loyalty as well.

E - is for...

E

Enthusiasm.
Energy.


“He did it with all his heart, and prospered.” The Bible
-

"Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier” Susan Rabin




“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might.

Put your whole soul into it.

Stamp it with your own personality

Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object.

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”
Ralph Waldo Emerson


“Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier” Susan Rabin

The great playwright Tennessee Williams, (Death of a Salesman) believed that “enthusiasm is the most important thing in life.” And Henry Moore agreed “There is nothing greater than enthusiasm.”

It has been said that enthusiasm moves the world

Enthusiasm is essential to success.

Can you imagine an American Idol contestant winning who was not enthusiastic about singing?

Can you take the enthusiasm, the passion out of David Cook’s “The Time of My Life” winning song or his voice and still see him as a success?

The actual word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words “enthousiasmos” meaning possession by the presence of god.

Hmm. Now this is worth pondering over a hot steaming cup of Java!!

No wonder Enthusiasm attracts.

How could one not be attracted by a divine presence sensed in another?

People naturally are curious when you are enthusiastic in your work.


Enthusiasm draws people to you whether your business is producing and marketing a product or offering a service, as put by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, “nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm, it moves stones, it charms brutes.”

Whatever your chosen field on entrepreneurship, you are bound to be more effective if you have enthusiasm for your work.

“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.” Charles Schwab.

Now maybe crunching numbers and building a financial business doesn't get your blood pumping, but obviously it did for Mr. Schwab. Just take a look at his success.

Consider this:
Some of the greats even rate enthusiasm above professional skill!

Ever wonder why we love children so much?They are endless examples of enthusiasm. Children set out each day to enjoy every bit of the day. Heed this words of wisdom, " The great man is he who does not lose his childlike heart" Mencius

Maybe you have lost some of your innate enthusiasm during the daily grind of solving issues and putting out fires.

Don’t despair.

No one keeps up his enthusiasm automatically.

Not even the greats like Michelangelo or Albert Einstein.

They tired too.

The difference is they continued.

They nourished their enthusiasm with new actions, new aspirations, new efforts, new visions.

And they showed up.

Day in and day out they showed up to continue to paint, experiment, write – not waiting for enthusiasm to come prior to beginning but instead beginning and knowing that the enthusiasm would again show up as they persevered and looked for “newness”.

To paraphrase a common saying..it is your own fault if your enthusiasm is gone; you have failed to feed it. Hm.mmmm. Is that true for you?

Nurture your enthusiasm.

Feed it with new ideas, new projects, new goals.

For if you don’t you burn out could be waiting around the bend.

Pete Rose, the great baseball player, shared this observation about players, "
When his enthusiasm goes, he's through as a player.".

YIKES...pretty harsh? Maybe, but maybe that is one of the Laws of Life. Maybe, just maybe we are not here so much to stack up accomplishments as we are here to go after this life with enthusiasm, using up every bit of creativity and inspiration we have. Maybe out goal should be to have this phrase on our tombstone "Whatever he did, he did it with all his heart."

Next we will talk about...ENERGY

More on D's...Dedicate Your Heart and Determine you Desitny....

Dedicate your Heart

and

Determine your Destiny:

We are all moved to support those things which we are dedicated to. Thomas Edison, great American Inventor and Entrepreneur once said:

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

When one has dedicated his/her heart to the outcome, the strength to try one more time often appears from the ashes. When others who are less passionate would walk away, those who are dedicated to ultimate success of their dream will go the extra mile. How many times, one wonders, has a business owner folded their hands and closed their doors when just around the corner was the breakthrough they had been waiting for.

Think of a teeter totter with a 100 pound weight at one end, representing return and a 50 at the other, representing your business. Now think of Effort/Persistence/Time being one pound weights which are added to the 50 side- One pound at a time- to the business or 50 side. This might take awhile. Yet once the 51st or 52nd or 55th one pound weight is added, the scales shift tremendously and drastically on the side of the “business or 50 pound side”. How often, one wonders has the business given up at the 49th pound?

Be Different.

Be One of Those who just keep adding weights, understanding the Rules of the Universe which govern things such as teeter-totters!!

Og Mandino, American Motivational Author and Speaker in his book “ The Greatest Salesman in the World” writes

“ Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”

Determination will go a long way in seeing you through those bumps in the road. Determine your direction and then act! Like Andrew Jackson, (7th President of the United States) once said “ Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in!!!!!

Desires your Dreams:

One must not lose desires.

They are mighty stimulants to creativeness, to love, and to long life.- (Alexander A. Bogomoletz)
Without Desires life often becomes flat. Nature itself “desires” Desire is the drive behind our existence.
Without it, life can loose its flavor. People loose their zest for living.
Desire drives men and women to pro-create (which ensures the survival of the species) as well as to create and invent new products and services.

Desires drive creativity. Think of the toddler desiring to reach the “pretty” on the table.
There is no end to the toddler’s imagination as they think of ways to create the attainment of their goal – coffee tables, blocks, dad’s bike helmet…..

Let your desires make you as determined!!! Get back in touch with the "little engine that could" part of you which says "I think I can, I think I can ...I know I can!"

The great Albert Einstein said "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. " So when the successful entrepreneur encounters what appears to be an impasse, they may pull back and access the situation or go for a brief rest and reprieve letting their subconscious minds find the way through the maze, yet soon they are moving forward with new energy and determination.

Continuing with the D's...Decide your Direction...

Decide your Direction –

All good trips begin with some sort of plan, some sort of destination.

It is no different for a good business.

Make a plan.

It doesn’t have to be detailed to begin with. Just get your ideas down on paper, either visually or linguistically or - better yet – both.

Imagine what the business will look like in one year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years.

Our subconscious minds drive our direction, our actions, so fill your mind full of what you want your business to look like, what you want your life to look like – but just like the archietects who build supersize buildings like the Chicago Trade Center – leave room for the building to “adjust” and move with the winds of change. Flexibility is the key to success.

“It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream”. – Benjamin E. Mays, 1895-1984, American Educator and Clergyman

So sharpen that pencil, find a comfortable pen or purchase a handheld recorder - DO whatever it takes to get Your Dreams, Your Desires Down out of your head and into the physical world. There is a saying in the self development world which goes "everything begins in thought"...but maybe it should go on to say..."and ACTION brings it about".

Do you realize that everything we see today was once a "thought" of someone's? The clothes you wear, the car you drive, the glass you drink life giving water out of, even the way in which you obtain the water, through a faucet (our great grandparents knew no such convenience) - all of these began as "thoughts".

And best of all? There is a never-ending supply, abundance incomprehensible to the human mind of the number of thoughts one mind is able to produce. Just opening your mind to the possibilities in front of you heads you in the direction of seeing those thoughts come to pass.

Yes, there may be obstacles on the road which will need to be removed..maybe they block traffic and impeded progress for a time, but if you are certain about the Direction you are headed a minor block or detour only serves to increase your determination to reach your destiny.

Having your Directions, your Dreams recorded just helps you to stay on the course.

D-Dream Big...

D

DREAM BIG!!!!

Decide your Direction.

Dedicate your heart.

Determine your Destiny.

Desire your Dreams.

Walt Disney once said: “If you can Dream it, you can Do it. “

This was a man who at one time couldn’t even get hired as an ambulance driver, let alone an artist. He was fired from a cartoonist position in Kansas City. Then he started a company which created, then sold an improved method of making cartoons to a company which then quit making payments for the technology- resulting in Walt filing bankruptcy.

He lost one of his first “characters” because of the small print in a contract which again put him and his business ‘in the red”. Out of this loss, however, he created Mickie Mouse, (first named Mortimer mouse.) Mickie mouse emerged in the movie Steamboat Willie and Walt Disney’s luck took a definite turn. After these failed business attempts , he found the way to create his dreams

He went on to became a Multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Wow. Along with his brother, Roy O. Disney, he created Walt Disney Productions and became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation he co-founded, now known as The Walt Disney Company, today has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion. (Wikepedia)

WOW!

Now THAT is a Dream come true!!!!

Michael Phelps once said during an interview after his Olympic wins “Everything is possible if you dream. My coach helped me to dream big. …..He told me to dream as big as you can.”

He should know.

He now holds the record for the single most gold medals ever won in One Olympics in the history of the Olympics. All of this from a boy who at the age of seven refused to even put his face in the pool!!

Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French Poet/Dramatist/Novelist put it like this

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future”.

Dream Dream Dream…and then dream some more.

The great American poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist (Whew!!! How would you like to have all of those on your resume???) Henry David Thoreau is known for this great quote: “Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Keep building those castles in the air.

Press forward .

Build strong foundations based on great principles of Honesty , Integrity and Compassion.

C - is for Caring.....

C


Care about your Clients.
Compassion for their needs.
Creativity creates Champions.

Whether or not we realize it, all businesses are designed to serve others.

Selling is service.

Success is serving others.

Caring about their needs, their desires their wants.

Just consider this..when you choose a favorite restaurant for a nice dinner, is it one where the service is lousy and the food is mediocre or do you prefer a nice restaurant with friendly, knowledgeable and courteous staff where extra care is taken to fix the food just as you like it? Other businesses could learn much from great restaurants.

Focus on your clients needs. Consider what way to best serve them. Take an interest in their life- their desires- their dreams.

Create the kind of business you would enjoy walking into.

B-

Believe



Believe in what you are creating, selling, producing, forming.

If you don’t – who else will???

"Belief in yourself, belief in your abilities, will override fear almost every time. The only thing we are afraid of is what we are capable of accomplishing." *Rich DiGirolamo


If you don’t believe in the product or service you are providing then do yourself, your family, and your future clients a favor and get out NOW and go look for something you do believe in.

Believe in YOURSELF – in your ability to create a the Life of Your Dreams –

Believe in your ability to become the Captian of Your ship and direct your business where you want it to go.
"Believe you can do it. Believing something can be done puts your mind to work for you and helps you find ways to do it." *George Shinn

Very well said George.

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.- Norman Vincent Peale

Marianne Williamson in her book a “Return to Love” puts it this way.

"Our greatest fear is not that we are are inadequate our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness which frightens us.

We think who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of god. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make and manifest the glory of god that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

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 fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Wow.

Amazing.

What Power in Belief!!

Maybe this story will drive home the Power of Belief.


It was football season and East Carolina was playing North Carolina State. Now there was about 20,000 East Carolina fans sitting in a special section of the stadium set aside just for them. East Carolina was losing the game. The score: 37 to 9 with 7 minutes left in the game.

(stop for a moment and ask yourself…what is typically the outcome of a football game where one side is down 25 points with only 7 minutes left? ….they usually lose, correct?)

Then one guy in the alumni section begins to chant

“We Believe! We Believe! We Believe!!”

As he was chanting about 10 people joined in with him…

We Believe! We Believe! We Believe!

And then…………………………….


all of sudden…….

all 20,000 East Carolina fans began to chant


“We Believe! We Believe! We Believe!!!!!!”


East Caronlia went on to score 4 touchdowns and won the game 37-34.


*NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF BELIEF*

Today is...for those of you who are STILL not committed to begining a program of affirmations!

I knew I would have some skeptics reading this blog, because I was one!!!

So now I am going to share with you two other quick examples of the power of affirmations from “outside” sources.

After all, before you logged on to read this blog( or heard me speak), you most likely had never even heard of Deborah Morgan. So let me share with you some powerful examples from people who you might already be familiar with and the names don't ring a bell you can easily Google their names.

First, let’s look at Harv Ecker, author of “The Millionaire Mind” and now running one of the MOST successful financial seminars in the nation – the Millionaire Mind Intensive.

This is a brief story of Harv.

After many failed business attempts, Harv had for the third time moved back home with his parents. And yes, he was way over his teen years. A wealthy friend of his father’s happened to notice Harv one day while playing cards with Harv’s fathers and some other men. This man shared with Harv that he had the same disastrous start in business as Harv. Then he shared this advice with Harv
“. Rich people think in similar ways and poor people think in completely different ways, and those ways of thinking determine their actions and therefore determine their results….all you have to do is copy how rich people think.”

This made Harv think…

So Harv began to study successful and wealthy people and how they thought and what they did.

One of the things he discovered was that wealthy people practiced affirmations. Now Harv, at first, being the skeptic he was, thought: “No way. This affirmation (declaration) stuff is far too hokey for me”

But since he was broke at the time, he finally decided “What the heck. I’ll give it a try. It can’t hurt.”

And he started doing them.

Now he is wealthy and has this to say: “Either way I’ll rather be really hokey and really rich then really cool and really broke. How about you?”

Another example of affirmations and success comes from an amazing insurance company whose office lies within a 45 minute drive from San Diego, in Temecula California.

This is a brief story of owner and entrepreneur Julie Ngo.

The story begins when Julie was a successful executive in an unidentified insurance company.

Her job?

To train the insurance claims agents how to say “no”…yes, you heard me right..….to train them to always say “no” or refuse a claim first.

After many years of this she was disgusted with the company and her job. She told her husband she was going to quit and start out on her own.

So she did.

She interviewed with a number of Insurance companies before finally making her decision. She chose Statefarm because she was impressed by this company’s financial stability and their philosophy of caring for their clients.

This woman started her business and in just 4 short years had moved to number 1 in her region, # 30 in the state and in the top 4% Nationwide.

And guess what routine is a part of her entire staff of agents and workers?

Yes..you guessed it – Affirmations.

Every morning the entire staff together recites their company’s philosophy and goals..

Things like :
“We are growing in number of clients every day
“We build lasting relationships with our clients and they refer more and more business to us.
" We are now number one in the state..etc etc.”

Yes, each and every morning.

Tom Hopkins in his book “The Official Guide to Success” says:
“High Achievers go further. They use self instruction in an organized and consistent way to get what they want from life. If you are NOT in a program to multiply your achievements with positive self instructions, what are you waiting for?

He goes on to say this: “Self Instructions (or rather affirmations) are deliberate repeated thoughts about yourself that YOU have decided to make come true. They are not true when you first begin to say them. If they were, there would not be the need to repeat them.”

Think of it this way. Your subconscious mind will EVENTUALLY believe what you tell it over and over again.

Knowing this why would you NOT consciously choose what to tell your mind to think?
Chew on that for a while.

In the next post we will examine the 2nd set of building blocks.

Personal Illustration on the Power of Affirmations

Previouslyl I said I would share with you some powerful illustrations which demonstrate the power of affirmations to illicit change.

First, let me take a quick moment to clarify what I mean by affirmations.

Affirmations are simply statements of our ‘intentions” or our desires.


They are statements reflecting who we want to be, what we want in our life and possibly even how we plan to get what we want.

They are statements which reflect our deepest desires.

Affirm simply means “to make firm”. By speaking what you desire you are literally “making firm” these ideas in your subconscious mind.

Needless to say, be careful what you choose to affirm.

Now let me share with you my personal experience on the Power of Affirmations. A few years ago, I attended a Public Speaking Academy given by Eric Lofholm. Eric is an expert Sales Trainer, one of the Best Script Writing Teachers in the World. This training was conducted by Eric and partner Tony Martinez, a multi-millionaire who got his start in real estate. At the time I was going through a divorce, home schooling my daughter, managing 23 rental properties and studying for my broker’s license. Not yet totally convinced I wanted to continue to pursue real estate as a career, I was “open” to other opportunities and options.

In fact, deep down I knew I didn’t want real estate as my career. I just knew I needed to move forward and for the moment it seemed the ‘logical” thing to do considering my background. Now, for a year prior to attending this seminar I had been creating “Intentions” and writing affirmations both individually and with a Mastermind partner.

By the close of the first seminar day, I knew I wanted to eventually work with/for Eric or Tony, yet neither of them had any “positions” in their respective companies reflecting my idea of co-training or “trainers” under them. However, because of my Masterminding and affirmations habit, I decided to not let the absence of these job positions deter me from writing exactly what I preferred or desired to see myself doing.

So the first night of the seminar, after working on the scripts we were to give the next day, I began to write affirmations.

Affirmations like this: - I see that I am now working for Eric and/or Tony teaching, speaking and helping others to become the best they can be. - I love speaking, teaching and writing and make a wonderful income doing what I love.

Keep in mind there was no such position open then with either of them. I kept writing these as well as others, kept going forward with studying, handling the rentals and other responsibilities.

Then suddenly, about 6 months later, Eric says he is going to create a coaching team under him. I applied, received some training and was hired. Then, about 5 months later out of the blue, or so it seemed to me, Eric announces he is going to begin having trainers giving his presentations so together we could reach more people than he can reach on his own.

I found myself doing exactly what I wrote about 18 months previous- before the position was even created.

“But ok,” you think, “that could just be coincidence and you being at the right place at the right time.”

Maybe.

But maybe I was at the right place at the right time and given the opportunity because I wrote the affirmations?

Who knows?

This I do know, I continue writing and creating affirmations for everything I want in my life – even down to creating the kind of relationship I want with my daughter and my eventual partner.

Ok I knew I would have some skeptics reading these blogs, because I was one!!!

So for all of you skeptics….tomorrow’s post will be for you!

Moving on with More "A's" in the Language of Entrepreneurs...

Today let's do a quick test to guage where you are at in your journey ....




Before we go any further ask yourself would you be willing to spend 5-10 minutes per day doing a simple exercise if you knew it would increase your chances of success?




If you said yes..good.



Congratulations!!.



You have just increased the likelyhood of your eventual success.


Here are two of the greatest tools supported by numerous successful entrepreneurs to help you with your attitude.


What are they?

Affirmations

and

Adopting the Mindset of a Winner

Maybe you think you have heard all about affirmations before.


That's ok.


But let me ask you this.


Are you PRACTICING them?


You know, using them every day?


If not, don't worry. It is just because you don't fully understand their POWER. For I am sure if you did understand the Power of these tools no one could keep you from using them on a daily basis.

But let's back up for a moment.

Some of you may not even know what "affirmations" mean. Let's take a quick moment to clarify what I mean by affirmations.


Affirmations are simply statements of our ‘intentions” or our desires. They are statements reflecting who we want to be, what we want in our life and possibly even how we plan to get what we want. They are statements which reflect our deepest desires.

Affirm simply means “to make firm”. By speaking what you desire you are literally “making firm” these ideas in your subconscious mind. Needless to say, be careful what you choose to affirm.

On the next post I will give you some powerful illustrations of the power of affirmations to illicit change..see ya there!

Building Blocks of Successful Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a state of mind, a can-do attitude, a capacity to focus on a vision and work toward it."*Barry Rogstad

Just as a Master Builder would not consider placing his most precious building on a weak foundation, a Master entrepreneur would not proceed to build their business without first considering the foundation.

Building a strong foundation requires being aware of the variety of materials available and choosing those best suited for the job. This is true when building a great building or building a great business.

Our brains work best when we give them familiar "anchors" to hang bits of new information on. So...
Let's have some fun with this using the buildig blocks of language to explore the "building blocks" of successful entrepreneurship.

As Maria sang in the famous "Sound of Music"...let's 'start at the very begining...'

A -

Attitude and Action

Your Attitude ultimately determines your Altitude - how far up can you go in your business?

First let’s look at attitude:

Are you upbeat, positive about your product/service/idea?

Are you one who easily crumbles when things go awry or are you one who is able to focus on looking for solutions rather than focusing time and effort on dissecting the problem?

Let’s be honest here.

You do probably not want to be an entrepreneur just to have your business “break even”

In 2005, BITS showed that 66 percent of new employers survive two years or more, 50 percent survive four years or more, and 40 percent survive six years or more. Wouldn’t you like to be in that 40%?

Do you think possibly those that survive are the ones who have the attitude of solving any challenges which arose or do you think they were the ones who thought “yikes” this will be the doom of me.

Successful entrepreneurs train themselves to immediately look for solutions.

The great Albert Einstein once said “sticking with something is the genius”

Don’t you think this guy should know? After all not only was he a successful inventor he also published a total 450 works in his lifetime.

Not exactly a quitter.

Stay tuned as we move on with a few more great "A" materials for a firm foundation...