Three Simple Ways to Motivate Yourself Today!

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Are you having a hard time getting things done? Are you making no steps toward achieving your goals and dreams? Could you use a little “motivation”?

Here are three easy things that will help you get there one day at a time.

1—Review your Goals first thing in the morning.

It is so easy to lose sight of where you want to go. You might have a Great Big Dream or perhaps you just want to get a promotion at work. Maybe you have an elaborate detailed action plan or perhaps only a general idea. Most people do know what they want, and some know exactly how to get it. But, many people get bogged down in the day-to-day business of life that they don’t have time, energy or inclination to “go for it? The biggest obstacle in achieving goals & dreams is often just choosing what you want, clearly defining it, and reminding yourself! Don’t let the day-to-day details keep you from seeing the big picture.

2—Decide one, just one action you could take toward your goal.

Just one will get you going. Perhaps you have flow charts or to-do lists already completed—just pick whatever is your next action step and make some progress, no matter how small. If you are having a very busy day, pick a small thing, like checking on pricing for business cards. If you have more time, design the cards. If you have a really busy day and you see no time, take 10 minutes

and plan time for the rest of the week for working on your goals—this will count as your one action, because making time for your dreams is essential, and sometimes it can be a real challenge.

3—Reward yourself.

It’s a good idea to have a list of mini-rewards for those days when you can only spend five minutes toward your goal, as well as progressively better rewards. Of course the best reward of all will be achieving your dream, but to spur you along while you are on the journey, have some small rewards when you make progress, and even when you put forth a good effort toward progress.

Rewards can be as simple as allowing yourself to soak in a bubble bath instead of your usual quick shower. Some great ideas for mini rewards: a phone call to your best “cheerleader?who always makes you feel like you can conquer anything; ten extra minutes stretching after your workout; dessert; a manicure; a cuddle on the sofa with your sweetie; a new houseplant.

You get the idea—little pleasures that make it all worthwhile, don’t cost a fortune and make you smile.

Now, don’t you want to get started? Good luck & Happy Dreams!

P.S. Repeat daily for best results!

Deborah Crawford is owner of Smart Marketing Works, and provides smart, affordable marketing solutions for growing your business. Twelve years experience in sales and marketing, plus two years as a teacher give Crawford excellent skills to help you learn to promote and market your business.

Visit http://www.smart-marketing-works.com for more information and ideas.

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Lights, Camera, Take Action

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Have you ever had a great business idea?

Did you focus & plan out the business in your mind and then write it down on paper?

Of course you did “Take Action”? Right?

Well most of us have great ideas or talents that we can share with the rest of the world but never do. WHY???

Think about how many Jobs you could have created and how many people you could have helped with your idea or business. Do you see where I’m going with this?

So what happened? Why didn’t you make it happen? There are many reasons most of us don’t Take Action on our ideas but Fear is one of the biggest reasons why.

Why are you afraid? Well fear is the result of an incorrect thought. We are fearful of failure and of the unknown. I know because I was guilty of that too!

What I really “Failed” at was realizing that failure is a gift that brings knowledge. If you fail, you learn and grow but only if you accept it as the gift that it is. If you’re like me you’ve failed and given up a time or two. BUT the simple TRUTH is that when “Failure” happens you have to see the lesson to be learned.

My Friend when this happens you will always succeed! Failure is your friend remember that!!!

Besides, it’s not even TRUE failure. TRUE failure happens when you stop trying.

Fear of the Unknown is the bane of many people’s existence.

You know how it goes – ”What if…”

And YES, I was also afraid

of the Unknown. Remember we’re programmed from a young age to Fear and to fear the Unknown. The problem is that Fear breeds negativity and that in turn can ruin anything if we let it. But, that’s a subject for another day.

Those “What Ifs” usually never happen and if they do then you need to take the time to examine them for your lesson. Every bad thing has good in it, so it’s up to you my friend to decide which side you’ll look at.

The Unknown has immense opportunities and potential for growth both spiritually and financially. The past is known and the unknown lies in the future. If your past has not gotten you to your dream or goal, then the unknown is the place to be. Don’t you think so?

Take Action and Do something worthy!

Here’s a couple quotes for you to think about:

“Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” –Louis E. Boone

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” –Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962, Social Activist and Former First Lady

Rasheed Ali was once homeless and penniless on the streets of New York and is now helping to change the lives of THOUSANDS of people around the world with his innovative coaching, mentoring and newsletters. He is co-founder of http://www.SleepYourWayToRiches.com

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Celebrating the Couch Potato

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Ah, the couch potato, that icon of American pop culture values. Isn’t that the life? Why would anyone want to exert extra energy to be productive when you can simply plop down on the couch in front of the telly and enjoy all that delicious snack food and a cool one. Why worry about a yard that needs mowing, a sink full of dishes or that overflowing garbage can. They will all be there tomorrow or even next week – you can take care of them then, or not.

There are more important things to do. On TV there are all those fantastic game shows, ball games and sitcoms. Oh, those beautiful sitcoms. You can, literally, sit there for hours and be transported to an altered state of consciousness where you can laugh and cry and be entertained and not have to do one little bit of thinking the whole time. And don’t forget those great video movies. You can transport yourself to become a great athlete or movie star, and can even fall in love or feel a whole range of other emotions without ever having to risk danger or heartache. What a life!

Then there is the great food. Everyone knows that the best food in the world is snack food. It is virtually drips with the tastiest greasy stuff you can find. And there are dozens of flavors of chips and all kinds of frozen pizzas and other tasty things you can just throw into the microwave during a commercial. Then there are all the sweet snacks. My favorite has to be Zebra Cakes, but who could turn their nose up at cookies, cakes, pies and candy. And the drinks – ah yes, the drinks. There are so many flavors of canned soda these days that you could have a different kind every day for a month – and so many are low calorie. That’s so great because with all of the calories you save drinking those, you can grab a couple of extra slices of pizza.

Of course there are a couple of minor drawbacks. Being a couch potato may cause you to gain weight and suffer a few health problems that go along with that. And with the lack of exercise you might end up being a bit weak physically. And of course, with all the TV viewing, the mind gets a little numb. But what are a few minor irritations compared to

the overwhelming happiness that allows you to sing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” even in your sleep.

But I’m really afraid of what might happen in the future. The fantastic lifestyle of the couch potato may be under attack. I heard that there is a lawsuit coming down the road where some folks are suing fast food establishments for making them fat. When I first heard about this I was sure that I heard wrong. These people who are suing must, themselves, be couch potatoes. They seem to have all the characteristics of people with a couch potato lifestyle. Somehow, someone must have paid them off. Or worse, they somehow got turned by the enemy.

I don’t think they realize what is at stake. What if they win? Sure they might get some money, but look at what will be lost! First, fast food establishments will have to give up serving the really good tasty fat filled stuff. In the future everything will be veggie burgers and salad with lemon juice dressing. But it won’t stop there. When the fast food companies are conquered, they will move on to the other food manufacturers. This is where we really get killed. Frozen pizzas with no fat cheese (Have you ever tasted that stuff? All I can say is “plastic.”), chili with soy burger, turkey dogs, popcorn with no butter, candy with that bitter tasting artificial sweetener, non-fat yogurt ice cream! AAAGHHHH! It is enough to make a grown man cry.

The result of all this will completely take the pleasure out of couch potatoing. With none of the fattening food around we might lose weight. We might have so much time on our hands that we get bored and start working around the house. We might start working out. We might even actually get a job and lead a productive life. Woe is me, what a miserable existence it would be to have a trim body, a clean house, and a productive office. What is this world coming to?

About The Author

Dr. Freddy Davis is the owner of TSM Enterprises and conducts conferences, seminars and organizational training for executives, managers and sales professionals to help develop greater effectiveness and productivity. He is the author of the book Supercharged! as well as the Nutshell Series of books for strengthening business. You can visit the TSM website at www.tsmenterprises.com, or you can contact Freddy directly at 888-883-0656 or davis@iname.com.

davis@iname.com

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Don’t Let Motivation Cause You to Fail

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Yesterday my teenage son Matt came home with a less than stellar report card. (Yes, even peak performance experts sometimes have trouble motivating others.) Now Matt is by no means stupid. The reason he got poor grades is because he did not do the work that was required for some of his classes. Why didn’t he do the work? According to him, he didn’t feel motivated to do it. After having a loud discussion with him (translation: I was ranting and raving), I realized that Matt is no different than many people in his erroneous idea about motivation and success.

The impact of motivation on success is highly overrated. Motivation has very little to do with success. Successful people do not wait to feel motivated to do things that need to be done. They take action whether or not they feel like it, and this continuous action towards a goal is what results in success.

Realize What You Are Losing

If you are not doing what you need to do, you are paying a price for it. It could be the constant stress of knowing you should be doing something but not doing it. It could be the subtle feeling of realizing that by your inactivity you are not achieving what you know you can achieve. Many people have a vague idea of what their inactivity is costing them, but they try to push away these thoughts because they are very uncomfortable. I am suggesting that you not only don’t push away these thoughts, but that you experience them fully.

Think about what your lack of action is costing you and notice how miserable this feels. Am I telling you this because I am sadistic and want you to feel bad? No, I am urging you to do this so you connect with this discomfort. Feeling this pain will often spur you to give up your excuses and move. Most people will do more to avoid pain then they will to move forward towards pleasure. Recently, my toe has been causing me some problems. This has been going on for several weeks. I know I should have gone to the doctor to get it checked out, but I didn’t want to take the time to do it. However, the pain has been getting worse and is now preventing me from participating in some activities that I enjoy, so I finally made an appointment to see him. Pain catches your attention.

Are you experiencing the pain of mediocre revenues in your business because you are not doing enough marketing and selling? Have you been having conflict with your team because you have not effectively dealt with a difficult employee? When you experience enough pain, you will be surprised how motivated you will be to take action.

Focus on the Pay Off

If you don’t particularly like the task that you have to do, don’t focus on how miserable you might feel at the moment. Instead, focus on the pay off that you will receive as a result of your work. People who are successful in any area of their lives usually focus on what they will get out of their activity.

I have been a size four since I was 15. Most people who have problems with their weight will often comment that I am lucky to be so thin. I tell them that I exercise a minimum of one hour at least five days a week. Their next remark is usually, “You must love to exercise.” No, I don’t love to exercise. I would much rather get up and make a pot of coffee. To me there is almost no greater delight in life than enjoying a cup of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning. That’s my exercise pay off. As I am in the process of exercising, I count the minutes left that I have to do it before I can have my cup of coffee. Does this sound simplistic? Maybe, but it works. This

simple strategy has motivated me to work out consistently for many years.

What is your pay off? Is there something that you really enjoy? Tie it into the task that you know you should do, but that you have been putting off. Make the pay off be the carrot that drives you to action.

Don’t Worry About Perfection

One of my biggest blocks in getting started with doing something is that I’m afraid I won’t do it right. This is usually in connection with something new that I don’t have a lot of experience with. I want to do a good job and I don’t want to mess it up. So what happens? Nothing. I focus so much on my fear of making a mistake that I often do nothing at all.

When you are starting a new project, don’t worry about doing it right initially. Just do something. There is a common principle in physics that states, ‘A body at rest tends to stay at rest, a body in motion tends to stay in motion.’ Get moving. Recognize that you will need to make adjustments along the way. Making adjustments is part of the process of learning how to be successful in any new endeavor. As you begin to do the new task, you will find out what else you need to know. You will discover additional information that will help you achieve your outcome. Don’t focus on the success or failure of each step. Be concerned with taking the most intelligent action at any particular moment and make whatever changes that are necessary. Action, not perfection, creates results.

Develop a Plan

Sometimes we have a new idea but it seems so overwhelming that we do nothing. Create an action plan for a project and then just do one step at a time. I wanted to create an electronic newsletter for more than two years. On a regular basis, I felt the guilt and self-recrimination that comes from knowing that I should do it but not taking action. I am technologically challenged so the entire project seemed more than I could handle. Finally, I decided to create an action plan. I would find other successful electronic newsletters and see how they were put together. I would determine ways to distribute the newsletter to subscribers. I would find ways to let others know about my newsletter. I focused on completing each step and within two weeks, I sent out my premiere issue of Peak Performance Pointers. When I finally broke the task down into simple action steps, I was able to get it done.

Motivation Comes From Action

An interesting thing about lack of motivation is that when we begin a project that we have been putting off, we finally start to feel motivated. Motivation often comes from the doing. When we start something and see it begin to take shape, it becomes exciting. Once we get started, we often find it difficult to stop until the project is completed. As we work on accomplishing a new idea, it is easier to focus on the end result and this creates even more motivation to get it finished. So recognize that if you are waiting to feel motivated to do something, start to do it and then the motivation will kick in.

Many people erroneously believe that successful people are super motivated individuals. Nothing could be further from the truth. While it is wonderful to feel motivated to do something before you begin it, don’t let motivation cause you to fail. Take action towards your goal and you’ll be filled with more motivation than you can handle.

Della Menechella is a speaker, author, and trainer who inspires to achieve great success from the inside out. She is a contributing author to Thriving in the Midst of Change and the author of the videotape The Twelve Commandments of Goal Setting. She can be reached at della@dellamenechella.com. Subscribe to free Peak Performance Pointers e-zine – send blank e-mail to mailto:subscribe@dellamenechella.com.

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Motivation: Small Changes, Big Results

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

When I was 8 years old, my parents let me go to the toy store with my buddy Mike and his Mom.

My dad gave me a whole dollar to spend.

At the store I found a Frankenstein model that I really really wanted. The problem was the model was 88 cents, I had a dollar and I didn’t want to waste the 12 cents difference.

Fortunately for me, Mike’s Mom explained that if I took the model to the check-out counter and gave the lady the dollar, she would give me 12 cents back.

I thought this was a pretty cool way to run things so I bought the model.

The model is long gone, but the lesson is not.

Once someone explained the concept of change to me, a new part of the world opened for me.

In my work with helping people to get the changes they want and need in their lives, I find that most clients do not understand the concept of change. Once people see how easy change can be, they get excited, begin to believe they really can change, and a whole new world opens up to them.

One of the most common places people get confused about change is the false notion that in order to change you have to make big, huge, and difficult changes for it to make a difference.

That’s just not true. A small change, the right small change, can bring big results.

For example, a plane flying from Atlanta to Hawaii could be off course by only one degree at the start and wind up in Australia.

Applied to our own lives, just one small correction in our course can make all the difference.

I know of a man who was very out of shape who decided to start running. The first day, he made one small change in his day. He ran from the mail box in front of his house to the mail box of the house next door and back. By adding

one more mail box to each of his runs, he was able to run a marathon within the year.

Small change, big results.

Let’s take an example from one of my coaching clients. This person really wanted to start a savings plan but believed he did not have enough money to begin.

Experience tells me if you look in the right places, you can usually find a little bit of money.

We discovered that he was spending at least $2 a day on a soda and a candy bar on the way to work each morning.

That small amount of pocket change adds up to $10 a week, approximately $43 a month, which is more than $500 a year.

Put that small $2 a day into the right interest bearing places, and you are well on your way to a healthy savings plan, all based on the small change in a pocket.

Small change, big results.

So let’s put some hands and feet on this, and apply these notions in your own life.

Choose something you have been wanting to change – just one small thing to do differently. Give up caffeine, walk around the block each night, go to bed an hour earlier, listen to your kids, smile at your spouse, etc. All of these are small changes that can lead to big results.

Here’s my challenge:

test this out and see if what I am saying makes practical sense.

For the next week, choose just one small thing to do differently and commit to it.

At the end of the week, check out the results.

I’m willing to bet you’ll be surprised and motivated to move on to some more changes. Then you are on your way.

It may even open up a whole new world of

small changes, big results.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

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JJKs First Six Secrets to Becoming a Successful, Creative Entrepreneur!

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Hello Creative Entrepreneurs!

As many of you may know I have 24 Secrets to Becoming a Successful Creative Entrepreneur.

In this article I am going to share with you my first SIX SECRETS but let’s start with the thought for the day:

Your determination and desire to succeed and be a winner will take you far, even though sometimes events may be moving a little slower than you wish. Even if you don’t see instant results today, don’t ever give up! Remember it’s the journey, the creative evolution that matters! And you are planting the seeds for future success today!

JJK SIX SECRETS:

1. Affirmations: Write ten affirmations in your journal. Also, place them on your refrigerator, in a bureau drawer, a book, in your wallet, in your top desk drawer at work… I like to think of affirmations as your personal fortune cookies. An affirmation is really a prayer.

2. Dream-Keeper/Gift-Giver—your child-spirit! Discover, embrace, nurture and love your inner-spirit or inner-child, your little boy or girl. This is your creative, divine spirit; it is ageless and immortal.

3. Unlock your creativity through meditation, dreams and creative writing exercises. Be a good listener to your self, your intuition, your dreams… and listen to others–the positive ones. God also speaks through people!

4. Create a sacred place for nurturing your dreams/ideas. This place may be a spot in nature or a special nook in your home or somewhere else that feels right for such a space to be. This is the place where you can go to nurture yourself and

your dreams.

5. Set Goals! Make a list of the most important ten things you need to do to achieve your goals or realize your dreams. Then prioritize the list and each day, work at accomplishing at least one to three of these items on your list. Know that you will be making a commitment to hard work and perseverance.

6. Study the Masters: those experts in your field of interest. How did they become successful? Learn their stories. Stick with the winners! And don’t be afraid to pick the minds of the experts.

I hope this helps! Remember, we are all in this together!

To learn more about my seminars, books and CD’s visit my website below.

Live and love your passion!

John Joseph Kennedy

THE HON. JOHN JOSEPH KENNEDY, President & CEO JJK Enterprises/John Kennedy Enterprises, Inc. Founder, JJK School of Entrepreneurship™ (A Business Franchise).

U. S. Presidential Candidate (2004 write-in), Justice of the Peace International, author, international award-winning speaker, marketing guru and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Mr. Kennedy is the author of Creativity & Entrepreneurship© and The 72-Hour Entrepreneur™

As a journalist and writer, JJK has more than 100 news bylines to his credit, and more than 10,000 article have been written about him worldwide. His work and inspiring life-giving messages and speeches have reached television, radio, newspaper and live audiences of more than 100 million people in the United States, Latin America, Canada, Mexico, England, India, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Africa, and other countries.

JJK’s e-mail: JJK@JJKEnterprises.com

Websites: http://www.JJKEnterprises.com

http://www.JohnJosephKennedy.com (Political)

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Step Out

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Living your successful life requires you to step out. I remember as a teenager, right out of high school, learning this valuable lesson. Now – 15 years later – my life is the result of habitually stepping out.

The scene is Naval Recruit Training Center in San Diego, Ca. There I am, standing poker-straight in a line with some 15 other recruits as the Southern California sun tans our young faces.

“I need a volunteer,” shouts the drill instructor. “Take one step forward!” The first thing you’re taught in boot camp is never volunteer for anything. Of course, I wasn’t very good at conforming and stepped right out.

The drill instructor approached. Standing nose to nose with me, he stated in a quiet “Dirty Harry” kind of voice “Pollock, do you know only true leaders step out front?”

John F. Kennedy, echoing Theodore Roosevelt, stated the idea more eloquently when he said:

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, if he wins, knows the thrills of high achievement, and, if he fails, at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Living your life on your terms means stepping out on a regular basis. You have a song in your heart.

Will you step out from the crowd and sing that song? Will you risk appearing the fool to live your dreams?

It may seem frightening and lonely to step out front. It is, but only for a short time. The comfort of conformity soon pales in comparison to the power, passion and excitement that comes with any bold, new, purposeful action.

You’ll soon find others who’ve stepped out front with you. They’re people like you who’ve grown weary of living a mediocre existence. They – like you – will have heeded the whisper of God within, which quietly says “It’s your life. Make it great.”

Step out front this week. It doesn’t have to be a big step. Maybe you’ve been thinking about starting your own home based business. Perhaps you have an idea for your own newsletter. Maybe there’s a class you’ve been wanting to take. Whatever it is, take your first step this week.

If you’re not sure what that first step is for you, shoot me a message and we’ll come up with it together.

Step out and have a great week!

It’s your life! Create it the way you want it.

About The Author

Michael Pollock is a popular online writer and Personal Coach. He empowers proactive individuals who’ve decided to live a passionate, prosperous and power-full life. Visit his website at http://www.successfulifecoach.com You may also subscribe to his free weekly newsletter It’s Your Life at subscribe-ItsYourLife@successfulifecoach.com

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Motivating Your Staff Is The Key To Enhanced Profits

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Diane had always been enthusiastic and passionate about her job as a financial advisor. Sitting in my office nursing a cup of coffee, Diane told me that she was motivated by the belief that she helps safeguard her clients’ future health and wealth.

But she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep herself motivated since she had switched companies in order to take on a management role.

During her first three months in the new job, Diane had been dismayed by the amount of negativity displayed by the unenthusiastic members of her team. And she had been quick to learn that negativity – like panic – is infectious, and that she too was beginning to succumb to its detrimental effects.

Clearly Diane needed to change tack – and fast – if her first job in management was to be a success. Diane and I had first met two years ago, when she had wanted help in defining her career path. While she was still on track with her goals, she was afraid that this unexpected obstacle with her sales team would take her off course.

I reminded Diane that much of her enthusiasm for her industry came from her own attitude and belief that she was helping her clients. Also motivating her was the knowledge that by achieving the work goals she set herself monthly, the large commission cheques she was earning were taking her closer to her personal five year goal of owning a property in France.

Having a personal reason for doing her job made each day more rewarding, Diane agreed. I then asked Diane if she could describe to me her staff’s personal goals.

Her hand flew to her mouth in shock – as the realisation of the cause of her predicament began to dawn. Gently, I explored with Diane the fact that being a manager means much more than setting targets and writing reports.

For Diane to be an outstanding manager, she would need to take on the role of motivational coach with each of her staff. First, I suggested that she should sit down with

each member of staff and ask them to outline their hopes and aspirations.

Most people, I explained, fail to spend time working out what they want from life. As a result, they feel that life happens to them – without their having any say in it. Often, these same people resent their bosses, who appear to be demanding and unreasonable.

By working with each individual to align their goals with those of the company, Diane’s team would soon find their attitude changing for the better.

Diane’s second task would be to work with her staff to create personal action plans for each of them – and each month, I suggested, she could organise a quick and informal appraisal to make sure that they were meeting their own personal targets.

Equally importantly, by understanding her staff’s personal goals, Diane would be able to talk to them in the “language” of their aspirations, which would enable her to create a deeper rapport with them all.

Finally, I suggested that Diane would benefit from a little attitude reconstruction of her own. She agreed that perceiving her staff as negative and unenthusiastic was interfering with her ability to respect and lead them.

I took Diane through a quick visualisation process in which she told her staff how unimpressed she had been with them. The next step was for her – in her imagination – to forgive each person for his or her negativity. Finally, she made a pact with each one to drop her judgement of them – and instead, she decided that she would focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses.

Diane looked relieved as she left my office, for she knew that – by becoming more of a motivational coach and less of a traditional manager – she would be able to create a highly successful team.

Olivia Stefanino is a leadership development consultant and executive coach, who works with blue chip organisations, SMEs and individuals. To find out more – and to download your free e-booklet “128 ways to harness your personal power”, visit http://www.beyourownguru.com

© Olivia Stefanino 2004

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Self Confidence: How To Build Your Confidence In Three Simple Steps

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

To Feel Confident – A C T

A new, more exciting and happier life is yours when you know how to build your confidence. You can do it with these three simple steps.

You grow in confidence by accepting challenges and overcoming obstacles. The three elements involved in becoming more confident are represented by the word ACT.

A stands for ACTION

You have to do something to overcome obstacles in order to grow in confidence. In other words, do not say, “When I get confidence, then I will sing.” First you start singing. Then, as you sing, you will grow in confidence. The secret is that first you must take action without having confidence in order to build confidence. The next two steps are what make your action effective.

C stands for COURAGE

It takes a lot of courage to act when confronted with difficult obstacles and challenges. Without courage most people simply stay in their comfort zones.

How to get courage

You get courage in many ways. The best way is an inner belief that you can do it no matter how discouraging things get. Most people don’t have this strong inner belief, and, therefore, need encouragement. As you can see, the actual word -courage- is inside the word encouragement.

You can get encouragement is from other people. Cheerleaders in your life can give you the energy and motivation you need to keep on going.

Be your own cheerleader. Imagine a time when you were confident and use that experience

to give you courage in your new adventure.

Powerful encouragement can also come from reading inspirational books and poems, and from listening to audio CD’s and watching videotapes.

T stands for Target

You must have a goal in mind that you want to accomplish. You need something to aim at. At the same time you need to be open to unexpected results. You may get a pleasant surprise, a result that is different from, and even better than you expected.

By – taking action – with courage – aimed at a clear target-, you will be accomplishing your goal and at the same time building your confidence. This confidence will carry over to help you conquer bigger and more difficult challenges in other areas of your life.

How confident are you? The author, Harriet Meyerson, founder of The Confidence Center, will give you a Confidence Quiz and weekly confidence building tips in her email newsletter. When you subscribe you will also receive a list of the Top Ten Employee Morale Boosters, and the Top Ten Confidence Boosters. They are F.r.e.e on her web at http://www.ConfidenceCenter.com

Copyright Harriet Meyerson. At The Confidence Center we work with companies who want to raise employee morale and confidence – on a shoestring budget. We offer seminars, telephone seminars, books, eBooks and many more resources.

* Editors, you have permission to reprint this article in your newsletter, or post this article on your web with a live link, please.

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The Undeniable Power of a Mastermind Group

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

A Mastermind is a group of individuals who are joined inpurpose. All bringing their collective talents andexperiences to the achievement of a common goal.

When people join together in a combined effort anextraordinary thing happens. A new mind is formed. It isnot the mind of one of the team members, it is a mind thatexists only as a result of all members coming together, anadditional mind, a group mind…

A Mastermind.

The Mastermind is greater than the sum of the minds of theindividuals in the group and from its efforts great thingscan be accomplished. Each member contributing to theMastermind can receive benefit far greater than couldotherwise be generated from the same efforts if working bythemselves.

Nearly every great achievement or massive fortune in historyhas been the product of a team of minds united in achievingthe same goal. The American Declaration of Independence wasthe result of a Mastermind, so was man’s first poweredflight and the first man into space and eventually to themoon.

Spend time on the Internet and you will begin to notice thatmany of the very successful marketers work in a group of 2more and many of the most successful products are the fruitof a mastermind group. This is becoming such a universalidea (first made popular by Napoleon Hill) thatoccasionally you will read an invitation to partake

in amarketing group or program worded as an invitation to joina mastermind group.

http://www.nitromarketing.com/g.o/greatsale, originally created by Matt Gill and KevinWilke is an excellent example of a mastermind group inaction. I have watched as these guys have grown andcontinue to grow their Internet marketing empire to one ofthe most profitable and innovative online today. Theyembrace the mastermind principle to the point of activelycreating programs that bring new talent into their group.

Joint ventures are probably the most common kind of onlinemastermind group where an arrangement is made between 2 ormore parties for mutual benefit. For instance, I may have aproduct that would be of use to the people in your mailinglist. We put our minds together and come up with a way thatI can send my offer out to your list and we both make somemoney or receive other benefits as a result.

In all walks of life and any endeavor the Mastermind is aformidable force. If you have the opportunity, associateyourself with like minded individuals and great things willbe made possible.

Written by Murray Hughes

007WorkFromHome.com

http://www.007workfromhome.com/mastermind-group.php

Learn how to easily build your own Internet marketingbusiness from the ground up from a long-time marketergiving away his experience for nothing. A Warehouse ofInternet Marketing Knowledge at no cost, EVER! Go here now: Working from Home

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