Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tuesday's Tidbits: Tomorrow Today

Plan Tomorrow Today...

“Don’t start your day until it is finished on paper.” And the best time to do this is the day before.

This is an important and many times not so easy-to-keep discipline. The last thing I try to do before I shut down for the day, by routine, is to review and complete the plan for the following day. The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. What you don’t want to do is wake up and then figure out what you should be doing — it’s way too late by then. Chances are the rest of the world will have decided what it wants you to do and it will control your day, instead of you. You will be reacting instead of creating.

Just a little Tidbit...

~b2

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday Morning's Motivation: Getting Back Up

After experiencing one of the most incredible weekend's I experienced this year, I found myself with a ton of inspiration...

So much that I didn't sleep at all last night...

Even though I was exhausted, I still worked out. I just behind my office desk and did what I learned; make calls and book appointments...

Found it frustrating that while I booked appointments I could not solidify any appointments for today/tonight...The rest of the week is booked solid, but nothing for today/tonight...

Then I received this video - Which after viewing put me over the top and I made even more phone calls which turned into two appointments for tonight...

Inspiration...

I Love Life. I Am Happy

Friday, July 22, 2011

Friday's Facts: To Learn

Would you agree that in order to grow in life, one must listen and learn from people like our parents, our elders, our teachers etc?

Ok...

Would you agree that in order to grow in business (whether it's working for someone else or being self-employed), that one must "also" listen and learn from people like a boss, a mentor or a person who has achieved the level of success you seek?

Ok...

Would you agree that in order to learn "anything" in life, one needs to be trained, taught and mentored?

Ok...

So, why is it that so many people in life and business, find it so difficult to put all of their personal issues aside and remain uncoachable?

Let me ask you this...

If you had a goal - any goal - personal and/or professional, and someone said to you..."I can help you achieve that goal, by simply putting you in front of not 1, not 2, but 10 or so experts in the "field" of "your" personal goal...Would you show up and listen to them? Learn from them?"

Ladies & Gentlemen, I think you will agree that the above is common sense, right?

But I still ask, why does ignorance sometime over-power common sense in life?

What, are we supposed to get to some point in our life and all-of-a-sudden "know" everything? If that we the case, everyone would have already achieved everything they ever sought.

Of course that's crazy...

Ladies & Gentlemen, anything in life can truly be accomplished "if" you surround yourselves with the "right", "like-minded" individuals who have done the things you want to achieve - So why not check the ego at the door and "show up", "shut up" & "listen up" !!!

I am now off to do just that...

~b2

Monday, July 18, 2011

Monday Morning's Motivation: Bouncing Back (part two)

Bouncing Back from Tough Times with Self-Encouragement, Part 2
This is the second installment in a 3-part series.

Where the Miracle Begins
Sometimes, defeat is the best beginning. Why? Well for one thing, if you’re at the very bottom, there’s only one way to go—up. But more important, if you’re flat on your back, mentally and financially, you’ll usually become sufficiently disgusted to reach way deep down inside yourself and pull out miracles. Pull out talents and pull out abilities and pull out your desires and determination. When you’re flat broke or flat miserable, you’ll eventually become so disgusted that you’ll pull out the basic essentials required to make everything better.

It’s in the face of adversity that things begin to change, that you begin to change. With enough disgust, desire and determination to change your life, you’ll start saying, “I’ve had it. Enough of this. No more. Never again!”

Here’s where the miracle begins. “I’ve had it. Enough. No more. Never again.” These words and these thoughts really rattle the power of time and fate and circumstances. And these three things, time and fate and circumstances, all get together and say, “Okay. Okay. We can see that we have no power here; we’re facing some major resolve! This guy’s not going to give up. He’s had it. He’s done with all this nonsense. We’d better step aside and let this guy get by!” Inspiration through disgust.

A lot of people don’t change themselves. They wait for change. These poor unfortunate folks accept their defeats and wallow in their self-pity. Why? Because they refuse to take control of the situation. They refuse to take control of their life, their career, their health, their relationships, their finances. They refuse to take responsibility and get sufficiently disgusted to change it.

If you are disgusted, if you are in need of some change, if this finds you in the middle of your own personal slump, then I have some words to offer. Your present failure is a temporary condition. It is only a temporary condition. You will rebound from failure, just as surely as you gravitated into failure.

One time, when I was in the midst of a bout of failure, somebody suggested that I should tell myself, “This too shall pass.” I firmly believe that you’re only given as much as you can handle, as much negativity, as much failure, as much disappointment. This too shall pass, if you grasp for a new beginning. You need to pull yourself up and move back into the world with a plan.

As foolish as it might sound, you should be thankful for your current limitations or failures. They are the building blocks from which to create greatness. You can go where you want to go. You can do what you want to do. You can become what you want to become. You can do it all, starting now, right where you are.

A father talks about his daughter. She’s gone through some pretty tough times, and as he tells it, she’s a pretty tough person. He has a unique way of describing his daughter’s situation, though. While most parents would be frantic, even for their kids who are grown and gone, this man just smiles and says that his daughter is like a frog in a jar of cream: She keeps kicking and kicking and kicking, and pretty soon the milk will turn into a lump of butter and she’ll be able to jump out. That’s an interesting illustration of tenacity, because that’s how it really works. You’ve got to keep trying and trying and trying. You’ve got to have enough resolve to do it until.

Some of the most inspiring success stories have started with failure. Longfellow started in failure. Michelangelo started in failure. Lincoln started in failure. Rod Serling wrote 40 stories before he had one that was accepted. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper that felt he had no talent. Richard Byrd crashed his plane on his first solo trip before he became one of the world’s greatest explorers. And the success stories continue.

Be grateful for your adversity. At the same time, make sure that it’s working for your future, not against you. Make your failures give birth to great opportunity, not prolonged agony. Make your disgust lead to inspiration, not depression. The world will willingly sit by and let you wallow in your sorrows… until you die broke and alone. And here’s what else the world will do. The world will step aside and let you by, once you decide that your present situation is only temporary. The doors will open once you decide to get back on your feet and make your mark.

You have to care. In your own enlightened self-interest, give a run at adventure. Keep your eyes firmly set on achievement. Don’t settle for mere existence and self-pity. Make a commitment to excellence. And remember, it is your challenge, your own personal challenge, to use all your gifts and skills and talents and knowledge to survive and succeed - JR

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Thursday's Thoughts (become) Things: Recognizing It!

Very interesting morning I've had thus far.

A terrible night's sleep. Tossed and turned for hours.

Then I recognized "why"...

There's been a certain subject that seems to have reared its ugly head over and over, almost daily this past week and a half and voila, I "recognized" why...

It's because everytime it's made its way to the forefront, I've dwelled on it for hours and hours.

Constantly thinking about it. Trying to fix it. Trying to forget about it. But all along continuing to "think about it."

That's the problem...

The more you think about something - positive or negative...

The more it appears...

So, this morning, after "recognizing" that I've been dwelling on this negative subject so much, I've made a clear and conscious decision to snap (using the elastic band on my wrist) out of it...

"Thank you for sharing" I say, and immediately change my thought/emotion to something of a positive nature.

Folks, "recognize" when the thoughts and feelings that are bothering you seem to be surrounding you. Admit, that they are there because you are continually thinking/focusing about/on them, and then change your thought process...

~b2

Wednesday's Words (of) Wisdom: Spiritual Practice

The very purpose of spiritual practice is to help others.
~ Dalai Lama

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tuesday's Tidbits: Making A Connection

Wow...Last night I had the opportunity to shadow a real professional; a mentor to thousands and truly got to see how to "get off on the right foot" IE: Make A Connection with someone you don't know.

We're taught, that when we meet new people to try to make a connection asap; to try to start building a relationship asap - even though we just met.

Now, I've heard (and read) many times that the best way to "make a connection" or "connect" with someone is to ask questions and listen.

But I've found (and seen) that while that approach can work, there tend's to be a real sense of awkwardness at the beginning, and there's almost a "we both know what you're trying to do here" feeling...Yes? No?

Well, last night...I was in the presence of a master of connecting with people...

A new (to me anyways), approach that allowed the guest to automatically make the connection with you versus you making it with them...

Very Interesting I Must Say...

Thank you (Sir) FLF.

~b2

ps - I am going to try it out Wednesday Night in Pickering. Bing! (Aha Moment), I just thought of a way that I can incorporate it in to what I do for a living...See you Wednesday...

Monday, July 11, 2011

Monday Morning's Motivation: Bouncing Back

Great piece I stumbled upon earlier this morning...


Bouncing Back from Tough Times with Self-Encouragement

Here is a familiar scenario for all of us; you may even be going through something like this right now: You have an exciting goal in mind, you’ve done your homework, you think you’re amply prepared… but things just don’t work out. You’ve probably had times when you thought you were doing what you were supposed to do, but you were misinformed. You thought you had it all laid out, but it just didn’t work. You burned the midnight oil day after day after day, but it didn’t seem to help. You couldn’t seem to change the end result.

These are the times when you have to be your own best cheerleader. And there are two ways to keep yourself encouraged.

Number one: Take responsibility for the missed opportunity or the misrepresentation. Learn from the fact that even though you made the best presentation possible, your client wanted it a different way. Be prepared for the letdowns that happen every so often. Know that this lost opportunity just set you up to take advantage of the next one. Realize that you can make the necessary alterations next time. Make the changes that will make the difference. Study your mistakes and learn from them. Instead of dwelling on the mistakes, simply acknowledge them and learn from them. Remind yourself that you’re smarter than your bank account leads you to believe.

Encouragement practice number two: Remind yourself that you’re bound to get better. Don’t get down on yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s the next opportunity that matters, not the last one. The last one matters only in that you must learn from your mistakes. But the next one gives you the opportunity to show that you have learned from your mistakes. You can do it better next time. You just have to practice. Keep trying until. Until what? Until you’ve got it down.

If you figured out what went wrong last time, then you know how to make it right next time. If you figured out what it was in your presentation that didn’t work, don’t say that next time. If you figured out that the reason you didn’t close the deal this time was because you didn’t have all the facts and figures in place, have all the facts and figures in place next time. Don’t beat yourself up for messing up. Pat yourself on the back for figuring it out.

You need to encourage yourself. You need to pump yourself up. You need to be your own cheerleader. Why? Because you can’t wait and hope that someone else will come along and cheer you up… make you feel better… tell you that you’ll do better next time. You have to rely on yourself. You have to have faith in yourself and your ability to figure out what works and what doesn’t. You have to have the inner belief that everything you’re doing, you’re doing for a positive outcome in the future. You have to encourage yourself with future successes.

When you miss an opportunity, are unprepared for an opportunity, or suffer a setback while realizing your goals, you need to encourage yourself by immediately getting back into line.

There’s an old cowboy saying, “Fall off a horse seven times and you’re a real cowboy.” If you fall off a horse, get right back on. If you fall off track, get right back on. If you fall away from your disciplines, get right back to them. If you fall out of habit, get back into the habit. Something goes wrong, do what you can to make it right.

If you fall off… get back on. If you fall off the horse, that is, the horse of habits or disciplines or progress, get back on. It may be hard. It may be a bit frightening. But get back on. Keep your resolve alive and active and well. Cheer yourself on to victory. You can do it.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Friday's Facts: The Pencil

I received this early this morning from Tony Baggetta.

Upon reading, I felt it a worthy script for Friday's Facts...



A pencil-maker told the pencil five important lessons before putting it in the box:

1.) Everything you do will always leave a mark.

2.) You can always correct the mistakes you make.

3.) What is important is what is inside of you.

4.) In life, you will undergo painful sharpening, which will only make you better.

5.) To be the Best Pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

We all need to be constantly sharpened. This parable may encourage you to know that you are a special person, with unique God-given talents and abilities. Only you can fulfill the purpose which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot be changed and, like the pencil, always remember that the most important part of who you are, is what's inside of you and then allow yourself to be guided by the hand of God.

Thanks Tony...

~b2

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Thursday's Thoughts (become) Things: Learn It

We Have Been Duped!

There are so many things in this world that we don’t fully understand. The secret workings of this life are hidden from our sight, much like a theatrical production. A theater has stage hands dressed in black, lighting, and all kinds of props to create an effect that will hypnotize you into focusing all of your attention on the characters on the stage.

So, in life, a million things happen as if by magic all around us. Still our attention remains focused on the drama of our daily lives, as if we had a role to play, and pre-written lines to deliver.

From an early age we are discouraged from peeking behind the curtains; by adolescence we may cease to know that the curtain is even there. Science may tell us that the existence of the curtain cannot be scientifically verified. Religion may talk about a curtain but say that it is unknowable.

Yet from time to time strange things happen; you wake up from a dream one morning and know that what you dreamt was real, will happen, or was a message. You might be faced with a life threatening illness, or the death of a loved one, and find within yourself a source of strength and courage you didn’t know you had.

What we call “coincidences” happen all the time. You take a seat on an airplane filled with strangers and discover that the person sitting next to you is your long lost high school buddy, or has the one piece of information you have been trying to track down for months.

We have words for all of these kinds of events. “Serendipity” implies that you are just lucky. “Synchronicity” points to an underlying intelligence that is guiding your journey.

People have been experiencing the amazing, the miraculous and the coincidental for thousands of years. Old Testament stories record dreams that changed the destiny of nations, visions and other inspirations. We have words and common understanding to describe all of these things. And yet, as a culture, we like to pretend that these things are not real. And we even punish people who cannot deny that some things have occurred in their lives that defy rational explanation. We are duped into denying our own experiences of the miraculous to the point that we no longer listen or watch for them. And if something happens that is too big to deny we may toss it off as delusional, or a hoax.

The truth is that there are millions of things happening that science cannot explain, or recreate in a laboratory. Instead of exploring the miraculous and learning how to interact with it science chooses to pretend it isn’t there, or that it never happened.

Here's a great clip from John Assaraf explaining the intricacies of this thing we call the Law of Attraction...

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Wednesday's Words (of) Wisdom: Neglect

Read this gem this morning and it really hit home.

From the man with a ton (of) Wisdom...


...People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to do. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They found that easy not to do. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn’t matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I’m a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things.

In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.

It is not the lack of money—banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity—America, and much of the Free World, continues to offer the most unprecedented and abundant opportunities in the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books—libraries are full of books and they are free! It is not the schools—the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders, counselors and advisors.

Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply neglect.

Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.

Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more... and on and on it goes.

So my suggestion is that when giving the choice of “easy to” and “easy not to” that you do not neglect to do the simple, basic, “easy,” but potentially life-changing activities and disciplines.

....WOW

~b2

Tuesday's Tidbits: Dreams

Here's a little LR for your Tuesday Tidbits...

Do you lay your head on the pillow at night happily exhausted? Have you done everything within your power to move the mountains in your path as you pursue your goals and dreams? When you sleep, does the same dream that dominates your waking hours also with you in the dark? Hold onto that dream because its a great dream. NEVER apologize for it, and never let it go. It will happen if you persist!
- LR

For me, I've found myself (lately - past couple of weeks) still dreaming, sleeping well etc., but have found my energy levels have dropped, creating a compound effect on my motivation (decreasing). Recognizing that it's normal is one thing. Trying to get back on track is another...Any advice? Anyone?

~b2

Monday, July 4, 2011

Monday Morning's Motivation: Choices

It's not the day you have to manage my friend, but the moment.

It's not the dragon you have to slay, but the fear.

And it's not the path you have to know, but the destination.

~b2

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Sunday's Spiritual (commitment): New Beginnings

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
~ Maria Robinson



Friends...As Sunday, July 3, 2011 comes to a close, we will fall asleep and awake for the first full work week of July.

Are you forever trying to go back and start a new beginning? Or are you prepared to leave the past in the past and start today on making a new ending for you and the ones you love?

What are your plans?

~b2

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Saturday's Statement (just do it): Success Compression

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday, I spoke about facts, and a real opportunity that will help you change the facts that are holding you back both personally and professionally.

As always, my goal with this blog is to forward along many of the great inspirational & motivational pieces I come across IE: Read - So that you too can implement them into your life, and take advantage of them...

Success Compression:

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you and I are going to race from Los Angeles to New York City. We both have planes. You have a 747, which travels at a cruising speed of 875 mph. I have a mere Learjet, which travels at 400 mph. Now, if I fly straight through, but you have to land and take off in the 10 states in between—taxiing, parking and going through your preflight checklist before taking off again—who is going to win? Me. Even though you travel twice as fast in the air, I will still win because instead of wasting time repeatedly stopping and taking off, I just stay in flight. Even if I am traveling slower, I will still win—by a large margin.

This is how most people spend their days — constantly starting on projects, stopping to do something else, and then having to once again go through the process of getting their head back into the project and recapturing their rhythm - We've all done this - including me!!!

If you spend your day “multitasking,” you may not be getting a whole lot done. Days turn into weeks, months, years, and finally into a decade of constantly taking off and landing and not getting very far.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Recently I stumbled upon a strategy called Success Compression. The concept is that you can get more quality output by being supremely focused on an activity, by staying “in the zone” for a sustained period of time.

Upon learning this principle, I decided to start structuring my goals around 90-day cycles. Depending on what I wanted to accomplish, I would break the tasks into compressed chunks within those 90 days — three 30-day cycles.

When I read that my mentor built a large national distributorship faster than anyone else, for example, I've decided to follow his approach and focus solely on recruiting for 30 days.

Focusing on this task, and this task alone, I know I can get into a solid rhythm, getting hotter and hotter each day. I know I can recruit more in 30 days than I could in almost an entire quarter when mixing that activity with everything else.

The next 30 days could be dedicated to training those new IBOs, and the final 30 days within the Success Compression, I’ll be focused on their recognition & sorting leaders.

After that, I’ll start another 90-day cycle.

By compressing key tasks into extended windows of time, I believe staying in flight at the 400 mph rate will not only be easier, but I think that I'll truly start flying faster with the same energy applied and that my success was compressed (time)—and even multiplied (results)!

There is another great value to working in Success Cycles. We can only push so hard for so long without breaking down and burning out. The mind and body desire oscillation. Without it, we will turn to artificial means if needed: caffeine, amphetamines, alcohol, drugs or sleeping pills, etc. You cannot keep an intense focus for too long without time for recovery. When we relentlessly spend energy without allowing for sufficient recovery, we become mental and emotional flat-liners. We slowly, but inexorably, wear down.

Flavius Philostratus (170-245) wrote training manuals for Greek athletes and perfected what he called “work-rest ratios.” Russian sports scientists resurrected his principles in the ’60s and applied it with stunning success to their Olympic athletes. The theory explains that a period of activity must be followed by a period of rest to allow the body to replenish fundamental biochemical sources of energy. This is called compensation.

There are two common problems that affect performance: under-training and over training. Under-training is obvious, but over training causes equally damaging performance consequences that include persistent injury, sickness, anxiety, negativity, anger, difficulty concentrating, loss of passion and mental staleness. Over training causes toxins to build up inside us that lead to burnout and breakdown.
To build muscle, you must use focused intensity to stress and test the muscle. But only in recovery does it grow back bigger and stronger than it was originally. If you keep challenging the muscle without giving it time to recover, you will only continue to break it down.

Ever see a marathon runner? Even though they are working their muscles, they typically have little muscle mass. They are constantly destroying their muscles without giving them a chance to recover and rebuild.

That is what happens to your creative potential if you do not build recovery time into your annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and even daily cycles. Without recovery time, you hurt your performance and stunt your growth.

Here is what was suggested to me...

You're going to break your year down into quarters. You'll then pick a main theme for each quarter—one major area of focus. Then you'll break down the three months into supporting acts to the play of the quarter. Then pick a few key behaviors to focus on during each month in that quarter.

Let me give you an example that I read...

During one of the quarters last year, my mentor decided he was going to figure out and get serious about this social media thing. He didn’t even have a Twitter account (didn’t really know what it was or what it was used for), hadn’t been on Facebook more than twice ever and had about 20 connections on LinkedIn. He decided it was going to be the quarter of social media.

Then he picked a platform for each month: Month 1: LinkedIn, Month 2: Twitter, Month 3: Facebook. He chunked it down even further so that for the first three days of each month, He did nothing but learn everything He possibly could about that one platform — how it worked and how to work it.

Then he devoted an inordinate amount of time to that particular social media platform compared to the rest of my responsibilities that month.

The bottom line is, after that quarter, he had built a following on each platform (LinkedIn: several thousand, Facebook: almost 5,000, Twitter: 58,000) bigger and faster than many people I know who are still “multitasking” with it.

After that quarter of focused effort, he spends very little time maintaining those networks, but they continue to grow on their own because he put so much effort into getting them off the ground. It’s like the rocket example: Ninety percent more energy is expended getting it 3 feet off the ground than is used to orbit all the way around the earth. Most people don’t ever expend enough focused energy to get off the ground.

Here is the recommended formula:

1. Pick a theme for each quarter of the year that represents a major priority to accomplishing your overall 2010 goals.
2. Break the quarter down into cycles: three four-week cycles, two six-week cycles or four three-week cycles—whatever makes the most sense.
3. Define the key behaviors needed for each cycle.
4. Spend the first few days of each cycle “launching” the cycle with intense focused effort.


Here's hoping this all makes sense to you. I re-read this strategy a couple of times before it truly sunk in for me.

I am committed to trying it - question is, are you?

~b2

Friday, July 1, 2011

Friday's Facts: Success Cycles

Today's Fact is...

It's Canada Day - Happy Canada Day Everyone...

Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire.[1][2][3] Originally called Dominion Day, the name was changed in 1982, the year that Canada gained full independence from the United Kingdom. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as internationally.


In addition to the obvious (Canada Day) - There's another "fact" I want to make note of today and that's - We Are Human !!!


Yes, we are human - We cannot be 100 percent 100 percent of the time.

We cannot improve every area of our life simultaneously.

We cannot do everything at the same time.

When we try to do everything at the same time, we fail, burn out or blow up.

Nature works in cycles. As with the seasons, there is a time to learn, a time to produce, a time to harvest and a time to rest. Farmers, schoolchildren, and even professional athletes operate in seasons. That approach to life can help you excel, too.

I want to explain an advanced achievement strategy that I recently stumbled upon IE: Read - That will help both you (and I) make greater progress towards our goals...FASTER.

It’s a concept called: Working in Success Cycles.

Please come back tomorrow for Saturday's Statement (just do it) for the first of many steps in Success Cycles...

Until then, have an incredibly relaxing, family-filled Canada Day - You Deserve It!!!

~b2