5 Simple Steps to a Super Attitude

Lately I've been on a binge of reading leadership books, and I have just finished "Today Matters" by John C. Maxwell. In the book, he talks about the 12 daily practices that anyone can adopt to guarantee success, and the very first practice he discusses is choosing the right attitude daily.

If you are not convinced why the right attitude is so important, just find out how many athletes attribute their success to their "winning attitude". Your attitude at the beginning of a task affects its outcome more than anything else. So, it is definitely beneficial for us to check our own attitudes daily.

The great thing about this practice of choosing the right attitude is that anybody can do it. It really doesn't require any special skills or years of learning except maybe total honesty. However, there are some tips that can help you become better at it, and I am going to reveal the process to you now.

1. Start noticing your attitude

Do you have habits that you are unconscious about? I know women who play with their hair, or men who jiggle the change in their pockets, and they are completely unaware that they are doing it most of the time. Do you let your attitude degrade and assume the whiner or victim mentality, like a bad habit, without even noticing? If that is the case, you need to start noticing now.

Check your attitude about a task, a person, or a situation. How do you feel about the situation? What are your actions saying about your attitude? Do this every day, or even multiple times a day when circumstances change, or your mood changes, or you feel particularly challenged about something in your day.

2. Check the impact of your attitude

Once you've noticed what attitude you have, now you have to decide if it is the right attitude to have. The determining factor is the result or outcome you want and the impact your attitude has on your ability to achieve that outcome.

Does your attitude:
. Help you stay motivated?
. Improve your confidence?
. Help you believe in yourself?
. Reduce your stress?
. Make you feel more in control?
. Keep you focused?
. Get you excited?
. Make you feel grateful?

If you can answer "yes" to many of these questions, then you have the right attitude. If the answers are "no", then make up your mind to change your attitude immediately. There may be other questions you can ask that is more relevant to your situation. I trust you get the general idea of how to decide if you have the right attitude.

3. Choose another attitude

Now that you have noticed your sorry attitude, and determined that it is indeed a sorry attitude to have, you need to drop it like a hot potato and pick another one. It is really that simple. You just have to make up your mind that you are choosing to change your attitude and do it.

Just because I said that it is simple does not mean that it is easy. In order to change your attitude, we may have to change your belief system, and many of our beliefs are tied into our words.

4. Change your vocabulary

In order to have a more powerful and helpful attitude, stop using these words:

"Can't" - people use can't when they either don't know how to do something, or they don't want to. If you don't know how, you can find out and learn. If you don't want to, then you need to admit that you don't want to. Stop saying "I can't" and start believing "I can."

"Try" - as Yoda said: "Do, or not do, there is no try." And wise creature that he is, he is absolutely right. There is no state of trying. You are either doing something, or you are not. When you use "try", there is an implied possibility of failure, and you are accepting it. So, delete "try" from your vocabulary, and just do your best.

There are many other "weasel" words that we use often. Start paying attention to your own speech pattern and eliminate them from your vocabulary. It will help your attitude.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

Now all that's left is for you to take this knowledge and put it into use. Start small; pick one thing you want to change your attitude about and just do it. Check out the results after you made the change, then move on to the next thing.

Don't expect to transform yourself overnight. It takes 21 days to form a new habit, and this is definitely a new habit you want to keep. So, start today, and stay with it until you start noticing that other people are hanging around you. You see, attitudes are contagious, and if you always have a super attitude, people really like being around you because they want some of what you have to rub off on them!

Double Or Triple Your Time! (Stop Wasting Time)

Why do some say that time is much more important than wealth? Nearly all biographies and self-help books, by top leaders and speakers from the past decades, all focus on time as being the most important resource available. When we manage our use of time, through self-mastery, success is a natural product of that effort. Success becomes the harvest we reap.


Proven Technique Number 1 - Delegate and assign simple routine tasks to other people.

If you have a home business, consider hiring a temp to deal with book entry. Most people don't need a full time employee and the time you save allows you to focus on building your vision. This is very elementary but of great significance. If you have the money, hire people to do the housework, the repairing, and even some of your other office jobs. Let others do the research. But of course, you have to reward them accordingly so they will be motivated to render their services again. There are also web sites dedicated to connecting you with the talent you need to complete projects. Use their skills to fulfill your dreams.

Proven Technique Number 2 - Plan

Begin with the end in mind is a popular phrase and it represents a very important principal. The less time you think you have, the more critical it is for you to plan. By planning carefully, you'll be able to manage your time better and avoid costly mistakes that eat up even more of your time.

Can you imagine an archery competition where there are no targets? How would the archer know if he or she hit anything, or even came close? Too often we treat our lives and our businesses as though the target is unimportant.

You might say that you're so busy you don't even have time to plan. That's usually a sign that you need to take time to plan more than anyone else. The payoff is the ability to see your entire project holistically and see efficiencies in tasks and perhaps areas where you can hire out.

Your plan is like a road map. Spend enough time to ponder through the different approaches and activities, and you will soon realize that you can save a lot more time by doing this. Make sure you are going towards the right goal and check your plan from time to time to make sure you haven't driven off then road.

Choose a quiet place to make your plan and let your mind focus on this important process.

Every individual has a unique perception of a well-made plan.

There are no specific rules in making it. Here are some tips which you can apply to your own system.

1. Write down your objective. This is a precise definition of your target.

2. Brainstorm the strategies & tactics you will employ to accomplish your objective.

3. Assess the advantages & disadvantages of carrying out those strategies & choose those tactics where the pros outweigh the cons.

4. Set a timeline or deadline in completing your mission.

5. Make modifications & back-up plans in case Plan A doesn't work.

6. Learn from the evolution of your plan. It's from this experience, and comparison to your original plan, that you will gain skills and talent.

The most important time management tip of all is to take action immediately. If your time is that important, then don't waste it by sitting around or over planning. Determine your course and move. You can always make course corrections as you move along

Why Get Angry?

If there's any emotion that gives us trouble it's anger. Experiencing it is hard on bodies. It raises our blood pressure, causes our hearts and heads to pound, makes us sweat and shake, and separates us from reason.

We don't need medical studies to tell us this. We know it makes us feel bad. All that adrenalin rushing around with no outlet for release. It's a call to action, and often there's no outlet. We just have to sit and endure. No wonder we resort to shouting and pounding our fists as if this would drive the source of our frustration away.

And, sadly, it often does. Anger is also hard on the hearts of those around us. Expressing it can be detrimental to relationships. We don't always have the patience and understanding to listen to our loved one's anger, and the quality of mercy can become strained.

Is the answer then to suppress our anger? This has become akin to argument about nature v. nurture, where we attempt to decide whether a person's personality is nature (the way they were born) or nurture (the way they were raised). Is anger nature or nurture? We're born with the ability to get angry.

It's a basic emotional response to frustration or danger that we need, because it gives us information. As has been said, "Anger is good for knowing what you want, but not for getting what you want." Our response to anger, is partly innate (nature) and partly learned (nurture).

If you grow up in a family where emotions are expressed, then you learn to do the same. You also learn how to express them, whether in an assertive, constructive manner, or a hostile, verbal attack.

If you grow up in a family where emotions are considered "infantile," or "unbecoming," then you learn to repress them. Your body will still experience them physiologically, but you aren't mindful about what's going on. In the worst-case scenario you become numb, unable to connect with others and with life. We are our emotions, and if you have none, at least none that others can discern, then for them, there's no one home!

This history of anger-management is the history of cultures and times. It's an emotion that, when not contained and channeled, can be harmful to the individual and to society. In the US, we've gone through different fads from keeping a stiff upper lip to letting it all hang out.

What's the common sense approach? What do you innately know about anger? What do you observe from those around you?

Perhaps you know someone like Bill. He lives in the Sunny Meadows subdivision. Recently there was a construction project going on behind his subdivision that was causing concern. How they built the roads in and out of the project would affect housing values. At the meetings with city council, Bill was the spokesman for the group, angrily stating the case and demanding action.

When you told his wife how glad you were that Bill had taken on this fight single-handedly, she replied, "He's like this about everything."

Bill was unable to attend the last meeting because he was in the heart hospital having tests.

Edward, on the other hand, never gets angry. Even if you insult him to his face, he just smiles, but it's a smile that kind of makes you sick. You'd think his life would be a bed of roses, but Edward suffers from migraines, osteo-arthritis, and stomach problems. He lives alone because he can't sustain an intimate relationship. His partners find he can't deal with conflict.

He's great during the courtship, but when it comes to the daily stuff, he's seething inside, but cold and distant on the outside. He can't get it out, so there's no connection. His partners, tired of walking on eggshells, shadow-boxing, and getting the cold freeze, leave.

Sandra is on an even-keel most of the time, though you've seen her get angry occasionally. When she does, it doesn't last long, and she expresses herself in an assertive, direct, and nonviolent manner. She's comfortable with her emotions, and has had practice choosing appropriate strategies. She's in control of her feelings, not vice versa.

When you're around Bill and Edward, you don't feel safe. Bill is anger looking for a place to happen, and you know you'll be the object sooner or later. You're afraid Edward is going to implode some day from holding it all inside, and that when it does erupt, it's going to be very primitive.

There's something to be said for practicing the overt expression of anger, and Edward has had none. In the meantime, his shutdowns remind you why the deepest level of hell in Dante's "Inferno" was ice, not flames.

You feel comfortable around Sandra because you know you're dealing with a full and balanced personality; someone who is in control, and making choices about anger and other emotions. You know that if something's wrong, she's going to tell you about it before it gets out-of-hand.

If she does choose a verbal strategy when angry, it's constructive and she's had practice. Constructive discontent is an emotional intelligence competency. It can be learned. In fact it must be learned for a healthy person and healthy relationships.

Should you hold anger in, or express it outwardly? Research suggests that either extreme puts you at risk for heart disease.

Anger is hard on your heart! It's hard on the hearts of those around you as well.

So what's the solution? It's best not to get angry in the first place. Failing that ideal, you can develop your emotional intelligence, and get smart about it. Flexiblity is an EQ competency, and it appears to be the key to managing anger.

A study of how men coped with anger revealed that those who were rigid in their approach - either always holding it in, or always expressing it -- had higher total cholesterol and higher bad LDL cholesterol levels than those who had a more flexible approach.

"It depends" is the answer to how you handle anger. Sometimes it should be kept in, and sometimes expressed. If you always hold it in, or always express it, you know nothing about anger. An "always" strategy with any emotion is no strategy at all. If you're unable to think about it, it remains in its raw state.

Emotions come from the reptilian and limbic brains. In order to choose a good coping strategy, you need to be able to move up to the neocortex and make a decision. This involves considering the information the emotion is giving you and decided what to do about it, including doing nothing. Practice makes perfect, and it starts with self-awareness.

How To Boost Your Creativity

Creative Problem Solving

Have you

Got Niggling worries that just won’t go away?
Got Several possible options to solve a problem and you just don’t know which one would be the best one?
Got Shall I, shan’t I? decisions to make?
Got A lack of inspiration for a project?
Got Stuck with a problem that is keeping you awake at night, that you just can’t find a solution to?
Exhausted all the options you can think of?
Run out of creative ideas?
Feel like you are tying really hard to solve a problem and feeling very frustrated with it?

Relax Your Troubles Away

Believe it or not, you are more likely to find creative solutions to problems when you are not thinking about them, and you are relaxed. If you have ever had a brilliant inspiration jump into your mind when you are chilling out in a hot bath or out on a peaceful country walk, then you have already experienced this phenomenon.

The less you try, the more relaxed you are, the easier it is to find creative solutions that are just perfect for you.

How to Quickly & Easily Solve ANY Problem Write it down. Define the problem as clearly as you can. You may find it is not as big as you thought.

Write down the PERFECT outcome for you. What would it look, feel, sound, taste, smell like? Forget the “How” for the moment.

Take a blank piece of paper. Write at the top “How can I achieve…” and write the outcome. Avoid writing “How can I solve this problem?” because that is focusing your mind on the problem. You will find solutions by focusing on the PERFECT OUTCOME.

Write the numbers 1-20 down the page and start writing ideas. Make yourself come up with at least 20 ideas. Do not JUDGE or EDIT anything. Write down everything you can think of, no matter how bizarre it or unrealistic it seems.

If you have a little voice in your head saying “Don’t be silly, that won’t work!” silence it for now. Write down the opposite of what you have written. E.g. if you want to get more done at work, you could put “get up earlier, start earlier and work later” or you could turn it around and say “ Get up same time, start later but spend that first hour planning my day so I can be far more productive in shorter time and finish earlier.

When you really can’t think of anything else, put the list to one side, put your feet up and relax to the Creative Problem Solving CD.

Write down any insights and inspiration from the CD on your list of ideas.

Pick the best one and take IMMEDIATE ACTION

Be prepared for Creative Insights and Ideas to flash into your mind over the next few days.

The Simple Steps To Reaching Your Goals, by Carol Halsey Motivational Self Improvement

I'm sure this is not the first time you have heard about goal setting.

The reason you keep hearing about it is because it really is important to your life. A good definition of goals is that they are dreams with deadlines.

Yes, you can make your dreams come true.

How do you want your life to be 10 years from now?

How about 5 years, next year, or even 6 months from now.

The only difference between setting goals for your business or career, and setting personal goals is the subject matter.

With commitment and persistence, and setting goals, your life can be any way you want it.

When you actually sit down and start identifying goals, you will probably end up with a long list. Decide what is most important to you in your business and personal lives.

All goals do not have equal value. Some will be more meaningful to you. These are the goals to start on. Keep your list of the remaining goals to get back to later.

Trying to do too much at the same time can be self-defeating.

Once you have selected the goals to start on, give each goal a deadline. Short term goals, such as completing a project, will be completed in six months or less.

Medium term goals, such as increasing a customer base, or revenue, will be a yearly target. Your goal for career advancement could be in this time frame.

Long term goals can run for several years, such as where do you want your business to be in 5 years, or building your nest egg to retire in 5, 10 or 20 years.

Write your goals down, as this increases commitment. Make your deadline for each goal realistic and reachable.

There is no right or wrong on how long you determine it will take to reach a goal. It will be different for each person and each goal. Whatever is comfortable for you is what counts.

Okay, you have done this. Now, how do you get started? By identifying what you must do to accomplish your goals.

Look at each one individually. Under each goal, write down the tasks to be undertaken to reach that goal. You may not think of everything to the smallest detail, but you will come up with the major tasks.

Give each one of these tasks a deadline.

On short term goals, your deadlines will most likely be daily, weekly and monthly. On long term goals, deadlines are more like six months, first year, eighteen months, second year.

You can break these down even further. If you know what you want to accomplish the first six months of a long term goal, what can you do this month, next month, etc. to get there.

Include these tasks and their deadlines in your calendar, and schedule the time needed to work on them.

Once this is done with all your goals, you have made a contract with yourself and the commitment to take action. This is your road map to get you where you want to go. Each day, ask yourself if what you are doing is helping you get there.

If the answer is no, be sure you know why you are doing it at all.

If all this seems difficult or overwhelming, start with just one goal. Make it easy and short term. Once you have accomplished this, go on to another goal.

Remember that life is a journey to be enjoyed. Be kind to yourself. You will find by setting goals and identifying what you need to do to get there, will cut down on a lot of stress in your life.

At the same time, you will be making those dreams a reality.

Be an Embodiment of the Person You’d Like to Be By Mark Victor Hansen

Being starts with simply being that which you would like to become. Once you mediate and hold the belief within yourself that you are what you would like to be, you start becoming that very thing, from the inside out!

Embodying what you would like to become transforms you. You already hold the traits within you that you would like to become.

In fact, it wouldn’t be possible to envision this new “person” you would like to be if you weren’t actually able to achieve that very vision. Allow yourself to feel it. And allow yourself to believe it.

Action Step:

Sit down for a few minutes in the week ahead and make a list of everything you would like to be and do. Then, over the next few days, for each item on your list, take a few minutes and sit with each thought.

Meditate on how you would feel being that person in that very place, having turned that vision into reality. Don’t let any negative thought patterns or incredulous talk (i.e. “you can’t possibly be that!”) force you to back down from envisioning this person you want to be. Just be still and let that thought warm you.

As I always say, what warms you the most is what you most resonate with. Focus on what you resonate with. Then, as you hone in on that person you wish to be, ask yourself what practice or trait you can consciously incorporate that further embodies this “future person” into your reality today.

Yours in Success,
Mark Victor Hansen

Purpose Gives Your Life Meaning By Mike Brescia

Purpose Gives Your Life Meaning By Mike Brescia

Look at any person, past or present, who achieved truly great things. People you know. Behind their accomplishments you will undoubtedly find a passion and love for what they do.

That deep emotion can only be aroused by a compelling purpose…

…an idea about what their life is to stand for.

So few people ever take even a few minutes and think about their purpose. Hardly anyone ever asks himself or herself, “What am I here for?” I never asked myself that question until October 1996.

In building the largest business of its type in the world, I became a slave to it. Building that business was not my purpose. So I asked myself, “What would I really love to do if I didn’t have to work to make a living?” The answer allowed me to be able to talk to tens of thousands of people every day.

And I love doing it…

Here’s a great story about being led by a great purpose:

Back in the late 70’s three white Canadians, two men and a woman, met and got to know a black teenage boy at a series of conferences held in New York City. They saw that he was very smart and enthusiastic, but were amazed that he couldn’t even read. The school systems passed him through without regard to his future. His parents were both alcoholics. They couldn’t run their own lives, let alone raise a family.

These three warm and loving people were skilled at buying and selling real estate, so they earned a very good living.

They also had a lot of free time.

Something in their hearts made them want to help this boy succeed in life.

He had the mind and the desire, but no guidance. They were heartbroken with the thought that he could wind up in prison, like his brother.

With the blessing of the boy’s parents, they brought him to live with them, where they home-schooled him so that he might be able to go to college…

Soon after his arrival, at a used book sale, he bought his first book, “The Sixteenth Round,” about a boxer named Rubin Carter, a former number one boxing contender, who had been unjustly accused and convicted of murder in 1966.

Being exposed to this story, the Canadians and the boy let a great mission guide them. They moved from Toronto to New Jersey to help Rubin win another trial, and went about trying to uncover new evidence that would prove his innocence. They had tremendous opposition to the gathering of their facts, but their determination and belief in Rubin’s innocence kept them on course.

In 1988, through their persistence, and with the facts finally on the table, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter became a free man for the first time in twenty-two years.

Many had come before them in the fight to free Rubin. But only they had stuck it out to the end.

These three wonderful examples of love, passion and purpose helped Lesra Martin, the Brooklyn teenager, to ultimately gain a Masters Degree in Law. And together, those four people helped give Rubin Carter his life back.

Now I have some questions for you…

What could you achieve if you put in one tenth of the effort and energy they exercised to achieve your own outcomes?

What does your life mean now? What will it have meant years from now?

You don’t have to free the world.

You don’t have to stop world hunger.

But unless you have a larger purpose in life and a larger purpose for today, you’re open to all kinds of fears, worries… about small stuff. It’s too easy to get depressed about stuff that doesn’t mean anything in the big picture.

As Richard Carlson says, “It’s all small stuff.”

So start out small.

Make it your purpose to stay away from the refrigerator for the last 3 of your waking hours; to eat one raw vegetable today; to smoke one less cigarette today than yesterday; to send those e-mails; to make the call; to set a goal that will stretch you just a little bit.

And celebrate when you achieve it. Feel good about it. Then tomorrow do it again… Make your days blocks of time where you’re achieving 5-10 mini goals. And make sure you give yourself the credit you deserve. This will create tremendous momentum. Soon, you’ll look forward to each day with an enthusiasm you thought couldn’t possibly exist in you.

Lesra Martin couldn’t read before he went to Canada…

Little by little he learned and built upon his knowledge. He was encouraged to keep learning. The little he learned each day built up and allowed him to read a single book. He then changed the course of many people’s lives.

You can do the same.

What’s today going to mean for you?