The Indispensable Quality

The Indispensable Quality
By: Brian Tracy

Dare to Go Forward
Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues because upon it, all others depend.” Courage is the chief distinguishing characteristic of the true leader. It is almost always visible in the leader’s words and actions. It is absolutely indispensable to success, happiness and the ability to motivate other people to be the best they can be.

Follow Through On Your Vision
In a way, it is easy to develop a big vision for yourself and for the person you want to be. It is easy to commit yourself to living with complete integrity. But it requires incredible courage to follow through on your vision and on your commitments. You see, as soon as you set a high goal or standard for yourself, you will run into all kinds of difficulties and setbacks.

Refuse to Compromise
You will be surrounded by temptations to compromise your values and your vision. You will feel an almost irresistible urge to “get along by going along.” Your desire to earn the respect and cooperation of others can easily lead to the abandonment of your principles, and here is where courage comes in.

Stick to Your Principles
Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character. The first form of courage is your ability to stick to your principles, to stand for what you believe in and to refuse to budge unless you feel right about the alternative. Courage is also the ability to step out in faith, to launch out into the unknown and then to face the inevitable doubt and uncertainty that accompany every new venture.

Avoid Your Comfort Zone
Most people are seduced by the lure of the comfort zone. This can be likened to going out of a warm house on a cold, windy morning. The average person, when he feels the storm swirling outside his comfort zone, rushes back inside where it’s nice and warm. But not the true leader. The true leader has the courage to step away from the familiar and comfortable and to face the unknown with no guarantees of success. It is this ability to “boldly go where no man has gone before” that distinguishes you as a leader from the average person. This is the example that you must set if you are to rise above the average. It is this example that inspires and motivates other people to rise above their previous levels of accomplishment as well.

The Attack of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, was one of the most superb leaders of all time. He became king at the age of 19, when his father, Philip II, was assassinated. In the next 11 years, he conquered much of the known world, leading his armies against numerically superior forces.

Finding Mentors in Your Memory

In Kevin’s Own Words
by Kevin Eikenberry

Finding Mentors in Your Memory

Most of us, at one time or another have looked to someone more experienced or expert than us to help us navigate through a difficult challenge or situation. Whether formal or informal, we’ve had these sorts of relationships throughout our lives.

Sometimes these relationships have happened serendipitously – we start a new job and meet someone who helps us be more successful with the job or in the company. Sometimes we find mentors based on a person’s position – we look to a minister, priest, rabbi or other spiritual leader to help us in times of grief or confusion. At yet other times we seek out a mentor because we have noticed a person’s behaviors, skills or knowledge and know that they could help us be happier, healthier or more productive.

All of these are natural and effective ways to find a mentor.But these strategies can limit us in terms of the mentoring we can receive. Contrary to popular belief and practice, we don’t have to meet or even have a conversation with our mentor to benefit from his or her guidance. In fact, our mentors don’t even have to be alive.

While we may have many people we look to as mentors, I’m sure there have been times that the person whose wise advice and counsel you’d like to benefit from is far away or no longer living. This could be the person who gave you your first job, a particular teacher or coach, a parent or grandparent, or anyone you looked up to and respected.

When you want to get the guidance and insight of someone you can’t talk to, ask yourself the questions below. All of these questions require you to use your memory and to make some guesses – but your guesses will be educated ones based on your experience and knowledge of the person you are thinking about. Let go of any concerns you have about the answers being perfect – just answer them and use them. In the process of asking and answering, you will be surprised at how much you will learn.

What did they do? You may wish you could talk to someone because they went through a situation similar to the one you are facing. If that is the case, spend some time thinking about the choices they made and the outcomes they experienced – even if their outcomes weren’t as desirable as the ones you hope to get. By reviewing their experience second hand, you may get some ideas of the mentoring you would receive from them, even though they aren’t there personally.

What would they do? Maybe you don’t know if they faced a situation similar to yours. If not, you can still think about how they might have approached the situation or opportunity; how they would have thought about it; and what actions they might have taken. Thinking about your situation from their perspective can provide you with insight and ideas to consider before you move forward.

What would they say? Have the conversation in your mind that you wish you could have. Think about where you might have this conversation – the setting and associated sights and sounds. Then talk to your mentor in your imagination – explaining your situation or asking some questions. After you’ve “talked,” quiet your mind and listen. Think about what you think they might have said. Allow yourself to hypothesize. Let your intuition tell you what they might have said. Then, just as if the person were right next to you in conversation, you can use the advice or counsel in whatever way is most useful to you.

What can I learn from who they were? You don’t have to start with the more direct questions you’ve already read, and you don’t even have to start with a specific situation in mind. Sit down at your computer or with your journal and make a list of the habits, behaviors and experiences of the person you wish to learn from as a “mentor in memory.” This can be the things you admired most about the person, their idiosyncrasies, their habits and tendencies; anything you can think of. It should be anything and everything about them. Spend some time with this list, but leave room to add to and supplement it in the future. As you think of new things to add to your list, go back and add them. Then, when you wished you could talk with the person, read over your notes. As you read, ask yourself what you can learn from their example, as well as using your review as a great thing to do before you ask yourself the other three questions above.

This approach may seem unorthodox to you – perhaps you have never thought of those who you can no longer speak to as possible mentors. Often these important yet unavailable people may be the perfect mentor for you in a given situation. Use the questions above and you can gain the benefit of their wise counsel, even if you can’t speak to them face to face or on the phone.

The Creation Ground Of Experience

The Creation Ground Of Experience
Our Thoughts

Our thoughts are powerful forces in the creation of our experience of life. You may be able to recall a time when frustration that was based on a misunderstanding completely evaporated when your understanding changed.

This is because our interpretation defines our experience, and it can change in an instant. Our only true reality is the present moment, so rather than merely accepting that life is happening to us, we can harness the power of our thoughts to actively create a positive reality. For example, we can choose to appreciate beauty around us rather than focusing on traffic or look for admirable qualities in the people we deal with rather than focusing on the negative. By choosing how to interpret and define each moment with your thoughts, you truly create your reality.

Throughout the day, we can monitor our thoughts to catch ourselves in the middle of investing our energy elsewhere—such as into belief in limitations—and instead pull our focus back to the infinite possibilities of the present. Taking a deep breath will help us center our thoughts on being in our bodies right now. Regular meditation allows us to gain mastery over our minds so that we can still our thoughts to focus on the pureness of being. If we mentally dwell on the past or the future, we may miss the experience of living in the present moment. Setting and visualizing goals is wonderful, but we can bring our thoughts into our current experience by taking steps to create them now.

Our minds are powerful tools that we can harness to create our reality. Through them we move the unformed energy of the universe into form, which gives us direction for our words and actions. Each thought is like a stone dropped into a lake, sending ripples out into our world to affect all they touch. We can choose our focus and how we invest our energy, which gives us the power to design our lives to be whatever we choose in each and every moment.

Reprinted with permission from www.dailyom.com-Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day. Register for free at www.dailyom.com.
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Happy Father’s Day

Wishing all the Dad’s a Happy Father’s Day!

Your Friends at The Winning Attitude.com

What We See – Judging Others

What We See
Judging Others

Though it is human to evaluate people we encounter based on first impressions, the conclusions we come to are seldom unaffected by our own fears and our own preconceptions. Additionally, our judgments are frequently incomplete. For example, wealth can seem like proof that an individual is spoiled, and poverty can be seen as a signifier of laziness-neither of which may be true. At the heart of the tendency to categorize and criticize, we often find insecurity. Overcoming our need to set ourselves apart from what we fear is a matter of understanding the root of judgment and then reaffirming our commitment to tolerance.

When we catch ourselves thinking or behaving judgmentally, we should ask
ourselves where these judgments come from. Traits we hope we do not possess can instigate our criticism when we see them in others because passing judgment distances us from those traits. Once we regain our center, we can reinforce our open-mindedness by putting our feelings into words. To acknowledge to ourselves that we have judged, and that we have identified the root of our judgments, is the first step to a path of compassion. Recognizing that we limit our awareness by assessing others critically can make moving past our initial impressions much easier. Judgments seldom leave room for alternate possibilities.

Mother Teresa said, “If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.” If we are quick to pass judgment on others, we forget that they, like us, are human beings. As we seldom know what roads people have traveled before a shared encounter or why they have come into our lives, we should always give those we meet the gift of an open heart. Doing so allows us to replace fear-based criticism with appreciation because we can then focus wholeheartedly on the spark of good that burns in all human souls.

 

Reprinted with permission from www.dailyom.com- Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day. Register for free at www.dailyom.com

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One Day Blog Silence

One Day Blog Silence

10 Reasons Why People Fail

10 Reasons Why People Fail
by Gary Ryan Blair

1. Taking Action Without Planning
   When it comes to your goals and future, impulsiveness is the mother of regret. Considerable thought must be given to the ends as well as the means of your strategy.
2. Planning Without Taking Action
   Endless preparation is worse than action without planning. Accept that things will never be perfect. Questions will forever exist. Plan well and launch!
3. Unrealistic Timeframes and Expectations
   Life is a process not an event. Nothing great was ever built easily. Exercise wisdom and learn to be patient. Unfortunately most things in life take longer and cost more than the best-laid plans anticipate.
4. Reasons “Why” Are Unclear
   Why you want to achieve a goal is more important than the goal itself. Before taking action on anything it is imperative that you ask yourself this key question: “Why do I want to achieve this goal?”
5. Denial of Reality
   It’s far easier to deny reality than it is to accept it. And far too many people take what seems like the easy way out. Success is information dependent, when we deny reality for whatever reason, we devalue the integrity of our information, thus ensuring failure.
6. Conflicting Values
   When we have not clarified our reasons why or defined what success means to us personally, we operate on someone else’s definition. When that occurs values are sure to be in conflict and progress is short- circuited.
7. Diffusion of Energy
   Attempting to do too much is a recipe for mediocrity. Rather than doing an excellent job at a few chosen goals we spread our energies over a vast terrain and diffuse what matters most; time and energy.
8. Lack of Focus
   Success demands focus. It is the hallmark of all truly great people. Your ability to get and remain focused or lack there of is perhaps the key determinant of your success.
9. Trying To Do It All Alone
   Nobody goes through life alone, we all need the cooperation and assistance of others. Put your pride aside and learn to ask for help when you need it. Learn to leverage and share knowledge for your own well being as well as for others who are dependent upon your cooperation.
10. Fear Of Failure
    Fear of failure is The “Grand Daddy” of them all. Far too many dreams have suffocated and died because of it. Fear resides where knowledge does not exist; the more you know about anything the less intimidated that you feel. Replace your fears with knowledge and watch your performance leap.

    
    About the Author:
    Gary Ryan Blair is President of The GoalsGuy. He helps business owners, corporate executives and sales professionals manage their time, set their priorities, and stay focused so they can achieve their goals, grow their business, and be more successful. Gary can be reached for speaking, coaching and media requests at 877-462-5748 or by sending an email to Gary@GoalsGuy.com

 

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Create Your Own Reality

Create Your Own Reality
By Jason Clegg of Mindful Entrepreneur.com

In my recent article about how to stop smoking, I identified three key areas for rising above an addiction or bad habit: focus on what you want, change your identity, and prepare for setbacks.

When developing my outline for that article, I wondered if “Prepare for Setbacks” would be an appropriate section to include. The idea that setbacks will develop along the way might suggest inevitable failure. Such an outlook contradicts the idea behind creating your world the way you want it and attracting into your life only those things that bring great satisfaction.

Even still, when we are moving towards new goals it is inevitable that obstacles will develop between Point A and Point B if we see the “obstacles” as obstacles. When a personal growth plan is unsuccessful, obstacles take on a great deal of power and control over our intentions. When we are successful, our goals and objectives have control over reality and the obstacles take a backseat.

What is Your Reality?

The ideas I have been exploring lately through some profound writers and thinkers – The Law of Attraction, Subjective Reality, Personal Creation – point right to the heart of the problems many people experience when implementing change in their lives. The fundamental principle is that change begins on the inside. Perhaps the idea is cliché and overworked, but it really is that simple.

In my view, the problem often is not that we don’t understand the idea. The concept of “personal creation” is an integral part of virtually every world religion, belief system, and personal growth paradigm. We get it! Yet really making creation happen requires more than just “getting it.” It takes real implementation.

I like Dr. Wayne Dyer’s analogy about implementing change: If you want to learn how to swim, you can’t just sit around reading books and thinking about swimming all day! You must get into the water and make it happen.

And to take Dyer’s idea a step further… as you’re learning how to swim, you may very likely struggle in the water – that is, you may have setbacks. But, to answer the overarching question here, you will create exactly the kind of world you want by responding to these setbacks (either as part of the path towards change, or as frustrating signs of your failure).

How Do You Change Your Reality?

To return to my example on quitting smoking, you alone decide what the “setbacks” are. You create your own reality. If you focus on the obstacle and give it power over you, you will continue to attract the obstacle into your reality. You will create that. If you focus on the goal and give power to it, you will attract the goal into your reality.

By preparing for setbacks, you’re disarming them. You take the lead by communicating with yourself ahead of time and during the moment when they arise about what it is you really want. The setbacks will pop up and entertain your old vision of reality. Since you are already a creator, you have to take responsibility for the things already present in your reality.

These changes that you create will generate more power with time. Think of all the time you have spent in the past creating the world you see today. If you’re new to this way of seeing, you may be beginning only now to see things consciously and embracing your control. Making the move from powerless actor and responder to powerful director and creator will take time and will require adjustment. But once you begin to embrace the change, you’ll begin to see exactly the world you want.

The following article is by Jason Clegg The Mindful Entrepreneur, who publishes his thoughts on entrepreneurship and personal growth at www.mindfulentrepreneur.com . Mindful Entrepreneurship is about integrating personal growth into business development for total life success!

I highly recommend visiting Mindful Entrepreneur.com it’s a fantastic blog, and is growing by leaps and bounds!

The One Bagger Story

The One Bagger Story

Thirty years ago, two 14-year-olds, Steve and Sam, worked as bag boys at the same grocery store.

When Steve bagged groceries, he would pick up each item, look at it, and then place it in a bag. In the meantime, the counter would quickly fill with cans and produce as the cashier frantically rang up the groceries.

No matter how many items the customer was buying, Steve worked at the same pace. He took his time filling one bag, then methodically moved to the next. Each time a customer bought more than just a few groceries, the cashier would have to stop and help Steve so she could check out the next person.

But cashiers never had to stop to help Sam when he was working at their counter. Not only would Sam keep up with one cashier, but he kept up with two!

Sam would say hello to the customers, bag their groceries quickly, place them in their cart, then immediately start bagging at the adjacent counter. His mission was clear: to make sure that no two cashiers could ever keep up with him.

Today, “one bagger” Steve has a job he despises, and he constantly complains to his wife. He insists that his boss doesn’t like him, moans about how rotten it is that people keep passing him up for promotions, and grumbles that he doesn’t get the bonuses that everyone else gets. He often tells his wife that he isn’t treated fairly and if he weren’t so shy, he would speak his mind.

When his wife asks him why he doesn’t quit, he exclaims, “Because I’ve only got 11 more years before retirement! I’d be crazy to quit now!”

“Two bagger” Sam, on the other hand, now owns a chain of grocery stores, never allows himself to be defeated, and enjoys every day of his life. Sam is a shining example for others as he lives life on his own terms.

What made the difference?

Feeling Down And Out

Feeling Down And Out?… Here’s An Idea
by Robert Hunt

I was watching television the other night and there was an interview with Bill Bartmann, a man who had gone from a billionaire to bankruptcy and back to wealth again. He was asked how he kept his composure and was able to pull himself out of an incredible hole and back to success. His message was the model of simplicity but very powerful.

On those bad days he didn’t feel like going on, when things weren’t going his way, he found a way to overcome those negative feelings with one simple solution.

As Bill sees it, we don’t have a problem remembering our failures. Its easy to remember when we screw up or embarrass ourselves or let someone down. But how often do we remember the good things we’ve accomplished. How often do we remember when we’ve helped someone or accomplished a goal or made someone’s day that much easier.

The usual answer is we don’t take the time to remember those days when everything goes right. We tend to focus way too much on our screw ups. But here’s a very simple way to use those negative vibes and turn your focus back to a more productive way of thinking.

Make a brief list of your most cherished accomplishments. They can be small intimate things that make you smile or your larger career accomplishments that make you proud. Make your list powerful. Make it meaningful. Get your juices going. Whatever they are, write them down and keep them with you. Carry your list wherever you go.

Whenever your feeling negative or overwhelmed with failure, pull out your list of triumphs and read your successes. Remind yourself that you have done great things in the past. Pull those emotions into the present.

This simple idea, will redirect your focus back to where it belongs. I’ve written it before, but I’ll say it again… negative thoughts are essential in helping you keep your focus on what it is you desire. By being consciously aware of your negativity, you can use these down and out feelings as a signpost to pull out your list and remind yourself of how cool you really are.

About the Author:
Robert Hunt is the founder of My Self Development.net a fantastic site devoted to consciousness, creativity, abundance, career, health, personal fulfillment, basically everything having to do with higher levels of human consciousness and ideas and insights on living a great life. Many of the articles you’ll find at myselfdevelopment.net are written by Robert, some of which are based on his life experiences.

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