Maps tell you where you are and how to get to where you're going. Few people have the ability to sense their direction in life and take all the right turns. These people know who they are and where they're going. They are usually the ones who become the CEO's and wealthy entrepreneurs we read about in Forbes magazine. The truth is, you don't have to be a wealthy CEO or entrepreneur in order to be happy, but you do need a road map of where you're at and where you want to go in order to build your prosperity in any area of your life. The vision statement is our road map.

In order to write a dynamic vision statement, you must first look at the areas of your life you would like to change or create. These areas could fall into the categories of your finances, career, relationships, spirituality, health, or recreation. Here is a short list of questions you can ask yourself. Make sure to write down your answers as this gives your thoughts added power and helps to begin the creation process.

1. What areas of my life would I like to change (relationships, career, etc.), and in these areas, how would they be different? (Be specific)

2. What would I like to attract in to my life? (Be specific)

3. What are my values? (Things that I consider to be worthwhile, my driving forces) Examples: motivated, empowered, compassion, nurturing, friendly, ambitious, driven, etc.

3. If I had all the time and money available to do whatever I wanted, what would I do?

4. What actions am I willing to take in order to make this happen?

These are very basic questions, but the idea is, to ask yourself questions that stir your imagination and your emotions. The more you truly feel and believe your vision, the faster it will come to fruition.

Once you know where you are now, and what your destination is, writing a vision statement you can read 3 times a day, is a reminder of what you're aiming to build. The vision statement helps to reprogram the subconscious mind and assists you in mapping a plan of action towards your goals. Your vision can be the beginning of a new way of life if you dare to honor your feelings and commit to do the work.

Writing a vision statement can seem like a daunting task for some people, but if you take your time and don't get bogged down in over thinking, you are sure to come up with a solid written vision of your desired outcome. The following steps will assist you in writing an effective vision statement.

1. Know what you want to achieve, and write your future destination so that the end result is crystal clear.

2. If you're writing your own vision statement, write it in first person. If someone else is writing your vision statement, they may use second person writing style. Some people respond better when they feel someone else believes in their vision, and feel supported by another person.

3. Your vision should be written in present tense and it should read like your living it now.

4. Use positive words and phrases, such as transform, amazing, excellence, awesome, powerful, awe-inspiring, I'm now experiencing, I have reached, I have implemented, etc.

5. Using the word because at the beginning of a sentence can help you write a well written affirmative statement.

There are many good web sites on the internet that have well written examples of vision statements you can print out for more ideas, or if you don't like writing, you can hire someone to write one for you. You can try a vision statement writing service, or you can ask a life coach to write one for you for a small fee.

Success is an arbitrary word which means something different to each person. Regardless of the meaning we place on success, it is something that we are all familiar with in varying degrees. Throughout our life, we've experienced incremental successes along the way.

As children we may have made the honor roll or done well on a sports team. As we got older, success continued but likely shifted to social arenas. Your first date or first kiss may have been a success and when you passed your driver's license exam. Then, as we approached early adulthood, success meant something different... college acceptance, college grades, new boyfriend or girlfriend, a car, a job, a new position, etc.

Have you noticed that some of your successes generate negative emotions from your closest friends?

This is the "success-effect"! At the same time, some of your biggest successes seem to generate none of these emotions; no success-effect at all. Why is this?

Understanding what the Success Effect is and why it shows up at some points in your life yet not at others can influence your life. You might be able to handle it effectively when it comes up in a way that brings your friends and loved ones closer to you rather than pushing them away. And this is after all, what true success is all about.

Your success is like a shining light, but not always the way you would think. When you succeed, friends that have not had the same success as you may compare themselves to you, and see their own failures more clearly. They either acknowledge that which is painful OR they react negatively towards you as a self-defense mechanism. So why is it that the Success Effect only happens sometimes and not others?

Remember, earlier we said success is arbitrary and each of us has our own definition of success. What this means, as it relates to the Success Effect, is that our friends and loved ones evaluate what we consider to be "success" by their own definitions. What we consider to be a huge success may not be to our friends because it doesn't meet their definition of success. In these cases, we generally don't see the Success Effect. However, regardless of the value we place on an achievement, if a friend evaluates this as a level of success they have not attained, they ask themselves a question subconsciously. "Am I moving forward to this or higher levels of success?" If their answer is "YES" then they may be supportive of your success. However, if they answer "NO" to that question... enter the Success Effect.

For you to use this to your advantage in creating closer relationships, you must understand this and act accordingly. They don't wish you failure. They are simply avoiding being positive about your success because that would mean they have to face their own deficiencies. Have empathy towards this fear and assist your friends and loved ones to grow. It is in this way that the Success Effect can serve you in being outward-focused.

So far we have been viewing this from the perspective of your successes and your friends. Let's cut the crap, you are guilty of this at times too, aren't you? We sure were... actually, quite frequently in our past. It has become much less often for us now but these emotions still show up from time to time. In fact, you are probably much further along than we were when we learned this concept.

We are all guilty of this at times if we are honest with ourselves. One of the 6 Human Needs is significance and since our brain processes all data through the concept of "relativity" we assign significance, or insignificance, by relating our experiences to those around us.

Let's talk about empowerment! The simplest and most certain way of never being "run" by this emotional response again is by becoming aware of where it comes from and why. It isn't that you are jealous of someone you care about. It isn't that you don't want them to have their successes. Of course not, you love them and care about them. You are comparing their haves with your have-not's. Here's how you can handle it:

1. Be aware of your jealous or envious feeling.

2. Recognize the truth; there is abundance in all things. There is no lack or limitation that can permanently and forever hold you back form anything you truly desire.

3. Think of three ways you have significance right now in your life. How does that make you feel?

4. Send the successful person love even if only in your mind. Create clear mental thoughts about how and why you are truly happy for them. Understand that you can have the same success or greater so there is no need to do anything but send them love for their success.

Perform these steps and you will begin at once to feel at ease. Your tension will release. You'll be overcome with peace and calm. You are now free to enjoy the love you have for your friend and support them in their journey.

By,
Michael Bloxton,
President & CEO,
oneMYnd, LLC.

1. Establish why stopping would be beneficial - If you want to break some bad habits that are harmful to your health or to others, you already know that doing it isn't good for you. Write down the habits you wish to change and list what good will come from those changes. Once you see them on paper, you'll realize they are much more hurtful than you might realize. Find reasons to stop!

2. Reward yourself - Once you break one of the habits you have, reward yourself something special. It doesn't have to be expensive, just something that you would really like to have. Rent a movie you've wanted to see and for the bigger things you accomplish, take a mini-vacation for the weekend.

3. Educate yourself from those who are successful - Buy a book, read an article, or search the web to find those who have achieved success and find out how they did it. I'm sure they had to overcome some habits on their road to success. Find out what they were and follow their lead.

4. Start out small - Don't try to do everything at once and don't start with the things that are huge. Start out small and work your way up. Set yourself milestones and make sure you keep to them. Reward yourself when you have accomplished each little target. Be careful not to overwhelm yourself otherwise you will just get frustrated and will end up giving up.

5. Break it down - If you tend to procrastinate then break down those larger projects into smaller ones. It makes the big one seem less intimidating, but you will eventually get the project done and probably in less time that you would have if you tried to tackle it all at once.

6. Make your goals for quitting realistic - You have to set goals for breaking a habit realistic. It takes twenty-eight days of doing something for it to become a habit, so make sure to invest those twenty-eight days into whatever you've decided to quit doing.

7. It is important to find a replacement for these bad habits (of course with a good habit.) otherwise there is just a void and you are used to doing something. Identify yourself with success, believe in your self and create positive attitude to changing your bad habits.

8. If you want to break the bad habits then stop identifying yourself with them. For example, stop thinking of yourself as a smoker and more that you smoke, it is an action not an identity. As soon as you think of it this way you will find it easier to stop. Changing an action is easier than trying to change a characteristic.

If someone offered you thirty dollars for free, would you take it? Most people would not, and the reason is incredibly revealing.

The rules of the game are simple; take $100 and two people. One is the banker who decides how the money will be divided between the two. The banker can choose any amount to keep for himself.

The only catch? He can only make one offer, and the other person can accept his offer or say no to it, in which case neither player gets any money.

As Eban Pagan shares, the test has been given in various countries and in various cultures and the results are consistent and fascinating.

Many people feel the pressure to split the money evenly, and both players walk away with fifty dollars each.

However, there are a number of bankers who believe that since they are in control of the game, they deserve more money. After all, they feel they are being generous offering the other player any money at all, even though they are not playing with their own money to begin with.

With this belief system, it is not uncommon for the banker to feel entitled to a larger cut and offer to split the money sixty forty. In this case, though feeling somewhat slighted, the receiver almost always accepted the offer and walked away with $40 while the banker kept $60.

It is at this point that things got even more interesting. Some bankers tried to go even further to keep more of the free money for themselves. They decided they were entitled to a bigger slice of the pie, and offered the other player thirty dollars while they kept seventy dollars to themselves.

Remember, if the offer is rejected by the other player, neither person gets any money.

And it was precisely here that people's ideas about what is fair came into play. In every case this was the cut off point and each player put into this scenario rejected the banker's offer and both players walked away with nothing.

When the researchers asked why the other player rejected the banker's offer, in each case they said they would rather have nothing than to watch the other guy get so much more than they would have.

In summary, even though they could have had thirty free dollars, they said it was too difficult to feel like they were receiving the short end of the stick. At that point it became more important to ensure the other guy didn't get too far ahead.

Researchers labeled this 70/30 mark the "justice mechanism." It is where people drew the line at what they felt was fair.

As Eban Pagan shares, it is also one of the reasons many people never reach their own goals. Because instead of focusing on what they could obtain they spend all their energy anxious that somebody else might be getting ahead.

What is the solution? Learn to celebrate when other people succeed, and learn to stop comparing your own life with anyone else. Simply put, come to love receiving the short end of the stick. If you can stop competing with other people and learn to love getting less, the paradox is that you will always walk away with more.

Everybody on this planet wants to be successful, because the desire to succeed and be one of the best is keyed into human beings. Even in prehistoric times, men would try to outdo each other because the best man would lead the tribes or clans. In the modern world, success is usually measured on the basis of money, and a great man is evaluated in terms of how much money he has. If you have a desire to be rich, then you should not feel guilty about it because you just desire to be the best. People who want to be rich but are unable to achieve their dreams often wonder why lady luck passed them by and made their friends or their neighbors rich. There is no answer to this question, because the question is flawed in itself. The reason why people end up achieving their dreams and desires is not that lady luck thinks they deserve it. Instead, it is the fact that these people feel the desire so strongly that they take hard decisions in their lives with respect to their growth while others choose to procrastinate or dither.

In simpler words, the true secret to becoming rich is not the fact that some freak incident driven by chance gives the person an opportunity, but instead is the ability of this person to take hard decisions. The reasoning behind this is fairly elementary in that a person cannot achieve what he wants to achieve if he is not willing to make sacrifices for it. Nothing in this world comes for free, which is why having a burning desire is very important for a person.

Owing to this burning desire, the person feels driven away from procrastination and towards strong decisions. In fact, if you go through history and try to analyze various interviews of all the successful people, one thing that you will find to be the same in all of them is a resolve to achieve what they want. This resolve is a direct result of the burning desire. Furthermore, this resolve drives the person towards making decisions that he may not be able to make without the focus or the determination.

Strong decision making skills are often also a sign of a person of a strong will, and a strong will can only be a result of determination. A prime example of this strong will and strong decision making skills would be Henry Ford, who was regarded by many as obstinate. However, it is his determination that resulted in the creation of the model T which is regarded as one of the most important steps for the automobile industry.

Effectively, if you are looking to become rich then you should set a certain amount in your sights, make an organized plan for achieving it and then leave no stone unturned or decision untaken to achieve it.

Planning comes naturally to some folks, and not so naturally to others. I am one of those that it does NOT come to naturally. Throughout my life I have had to learn the art and science of planning, goal-setting, and using a structured way to move toward my life purpose. I tend to go with the flow, take it as it comes, see what happens. This serves me well for some tasks (such as creative brainstorming or being flexible), but has worked against me when it comes time to take that great idea and make it happen.

There are many inspiring quotes about planning, but one of my favorites is something about if you set out on the ocean to sail, but don't know where you are sailing to - you will get there (you'll drift aimlessly). I can't remember who said it or exactly how it was said, but it gives such a clear picture of why we must plan where we want to head in our life, our relationships, and our work.

We don't need to complicate life any further, but taking some time out each week to reassess your plans is a great habit. It will actually simplify life and make life flow more smoothly if you have an idea of what you are going to do with your precious and valuable time each week.

Planning for success is really quite simple (though not easy) and can be summed up in the following three steps:

1. Get alone and get quiet and ask the questions - what is my life purpose? Based on my life purpose - how do I want to treat all the people in my life? Get clear about what you want to create in your life, your relationships, and your work. When you base your relationships and your work upon your life purpose - everything has more meaning.

2. Guided by your life purpose - begin to write out each of the main steps you will need to take in each of the three categories of life: life, love, and work. Write about steps needed to improve a friendship (e.g. call them more often, tell them I appreciate them... ). Write out steps needed to improve work. Want to start a business of your own? Write the steps you must take to decide how to start it.

3. Break down the main steps to achieve your goals into even smaller steps. What steps can you take daily to get you a little bit closer to that change in career? What steps can you take daily to find your perfect mate (if you're single and looking). Then COMMIT! Commit to action each and every day.

Have fun along the way. Build spontaneity into each day, but have a plan and a vision for where you are headed. Your loved ones, friends, family, colleagues and children will love you for it. You will feel absolutely fantastic as you take strategic steps toward your work goals (maybe you'll open your own business or change careers to something more exciting and more fitting). Your life will love you for it - the Creator put you here on earth with all your unique personality traits, strengths, gifts, and passions. Get in touch with those things and experience joy on the way to success.

Sherry Collier is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Small Business Strategist who specializes in coaching entrepreneurs about starting and/or expanding their business. As a therapist, Sherry understands the importance of shifting your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to overcome mental blocks, out-dated patterns, and other obstacles that stand in the way of success. Don't stay blocked, grow yourself and grow your business.

Entrepreneurs benefit from vivid visual imagery to propel them to succeed in business and life. Visit http://www.creativepathtogrowth.com/ and sign up for your free audio entitled, "Envision Your Success".

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherry_Collier

Imagination has been described by many wise men as the biggest strength of human beings. It has even been said to be the sole difference between humans and all other animals on the planet. Such statements, although being simple, carry a lot of significance and weight. For example, they mean that the reason for the rise of human civilization is nothing but the fact that humans can imagine how they want the future to be for them. While in the earlier stages, these imaginations were more about basic stone tools and safety, in the modern world they have converted into being rich and successful. Resultantly, by the same logic, it stands to reason that imagination and creativity are very important for a person to become rich and successful.

Conversely, man's only limitation is also his imagination. This means that any limitation that you think you have is a result of your own limited imagination. Therefore, if you think you are not smart enough to achieve something or suffer from an inferiority complex, you should realize that you are holding yourself back from achieving great things. Similarly, lack of confidence is also something that is self imposed rather than an inherent thing. In terms of the practical aspect of imagination, there are primarily two imaginative faculty functions. Consider the following:

1. Synthetic imagination: Synthetic imagination can be best described as the ability of a person to use already learnt information to create something new. In different words, the establishment of a corollary or new combination with the help of already established concepts, methods, idea or plans can be defined as synthetic imagination. For example, if you set up a new company by taking the best practices of other companies then you would be practicing synthetic imagination.

2. Creative imagination: Creative imagination, as opposed to synthetic imagination, is a process through which you actually create something new. This is why, in most cases, creative imagination comes through due to inspirations and hunches. Therefore, with the help of creative imagination you would be coming up with the raw material for synthetic imagination.

For you to be successful in life, you have to use either or both forms of imaginative faculties. While being rich is easily possible within the realms of synthetic imagination, being a legend may only be possible with the help of creative imagination. At the same time, while the latter will require more effort and sacrifices, the former will come a little easier. Ideally, you should be using both the creative and synthetic imagination to become successful and rich. It is also worth noting that if you have not used either properly before, then it may be a little difficult in the beginning. However, with practice it actually becomes easier to apply both the concepts and come up with new ideas.

It's obvious where success resides, usually it's with people who worked hard to get it, and dared to take risks! You could say it's with people who take matters in their own hand. While this is nice to know, you yourself might still be looking for success...

Success has to start somewhere and it would be nice to know where it begins.
I can tell you, it starts very close to you!

Success starts right between your ears...

But success can't start if it hasn't settled down in that unique place, success has to feel comfortable up there. You will have to prepare yourself for success. If you start building your path to success, you will need a goal. Otherwise doubt and uncertainty will come and cause you to drift, and failure will be imminent.

It doesn't matter for what you need 'success', success works for anything you do. Success can happen if you want to lose weight, start a business or start to exercise.
Just make sure that success is fastened safely between your ears and have a daily positive mindset.

There is one law: if you're in doubt you'll never have success!

Having low self-esteem will also hinder success.

But positive as I am, I have news for you! Even if you're in doubt or have low self-esteem, you can be successful. You'll have to understand that it only happens in one place, namely between your ears. No coach, course or study can help you if you don't help yourself. You and only you can make some room for success in your mind. You have to really want it, because success doesn't come easy and it's hard to keep hold on.

If you want to learn to be successful in everything you do, you will have to take action, because there is no ordinary school or training to teach you! There is no Success Mindset School to program your mind for success. The only thing you'll learn in school are facts, and you'll forget most.

There are a lot of people who are educated like a professor, with a lot of diplomas and certified for almost anything you can imagine, but all that knowledge didn't make them happier.

Why? Because they never created a career-plan. They live the life that someone else designed for them. They live a life that just goes with the flow. I know, there is no remote control to zap to the Success Channel.

It is a process where you'll have to consciously work at. You can train yourself, but if you ask me it is a mindset that you'll have to acquire! A process that already started in your mind or maybe starts by reading this article.

Sometimes it seems, when the road was tough, at the end the resulting success is bigger than you imagined. Everyone who passed all tests on the way to success, will have a taste of success. The one who quits, fails!

Looking from the person in doubt's view, it can look like successful people are blind for risks. It's like risks just don't exist for them.

Maybe it's like that... People who have a success mindset are busy chasing opportunities, not worrying about risks and fear. A person in doubt doesn't see chances, only fear and uncertainty. They only act when all the risks are taken out of the picture, preferably by other people.

Well it doesn't work like that, there will always be risk!

When the quality of your life is concerned, isn't it about time to straighten your back and take heroic control of your life?

I use the word heroic because everyone who takes control of their own life is a hero. A hero that took risks, and even though their family, friends and even the government said they would fail!

It takes a lot of courage to take life's matters in your own hand. Almost no one dares. Who do you know that got exactly the job they went to school for? Not because their family wanted them to or not because they want the security of a steady paycheck.

Reality is that most people get a paid job and end up working with an employer by coincidence. Almost 60% of working-class people aren't satisfied about their job;function or employer. That says enough, don't you think? This implies that almost 60% of the employees are to chicken to take responsibility of their own life. They don't dare to take matters in their own hand, because they are scared of... Loosing their steady income, their status, fear of losing their pension and so on.

Nobody put a gun to your head to force you to keep working for that annoying boss.

Why do so many people let it happen to them? Why do so many let their lives be deprived of happiness by this. The answer is simply fear! The fear of leaving your comfort zone. I told you earlier that wherever there is fear, there can be no success!

If you want to prepare for success, read a book about it! Tony Robbins has a some nice books, and if you go to Amazon you'll find plenty books about success!

Not the reading type? They have audio books too, listen to them in the car or while working out. You'll notice a change in mindset when you've read them.

Now I'm not saying that you should quit your job, but I'm telling you to prepare for success. Even if you like your job, you can be more successful at it, but not for people who didn't prepare!

I wish you the best!

Have you ever wondered how to boost your personal performance, when learning, working and problem solving? Do you enjoy listening to music? Most people would agree that music has a powerful effect on their mood and state of mind. Music can create an almost instantaneous change in how we feel and our energy level. The evidence is in, both scientifically and anecdotally, that you can power boost your performance by aligning specific music selections with specific activities. You have nothing to lose by trying these practical neuroscience-based practices. The worst case scenario is that you will enjoy the music.

Studies by the National Academy of Sciences suggest that background music stimulates the brain to absorb and retain knowledge. Georgi Lozanov, referred to as the "father of accelerated learning," advocates the use of music, as it has an observable effect on retention and memory. Don Campbell popularized the idea that listening to Mozart (The Mozart Effect) improves learning performance and IQ. Neuroscientists have since reported that the effects of classical music are temporary and there is no long-term improvement on IQ. This finding is positive, however, because the disagreement between Don Campbell's work and the neuroscience community centers on how long the improvement lasts and the exact nature of the improvement, instead of on whether or not there is improvement.

There seems to be universal accord that music has an impact on our mood and temporarily improves performance in different areas. The overarching condition of doing anything well is that we need to be in the proper state of mind. So, why not use music more, even if the effects are short-term.

Music can activate a memory of an event or period of your life. As an example, a childhood song like "Old McDonald Had a Farm" may seem playful, silly and funny. However, it may create feelings of sadness depending on what was happening when the song anchored the memory. A happy song played during a gloomy and difficult experience will likely trigger sad and depressing feelings when you hear it. The common sense approach is to select music that helps you feel motivated, energized,safe, secure, confident and competent. These are prerequisites for consistent performance excellence.

Music with lyrics are best for breaks between activities, recreational listening and elevating your energy levels. Listening to words is likely to distract you when learning or working. When you listen to music with words, be aware of the meaning of the words. They may affect your mood as much as the melody. The benefits of an upbeat and energizing melody with a pleasing rhythm may be cancelled out by negative and wounding words.

Classical music has the soundest scientific and experiential base to improve learning and cognitive performance. The following list is a way to get started with accelerated learning and breakthrough thinking.

Active Learning- read material, aloud or silently, for the first time to the beat of the music.

Mozart (According to Don Campbell, Mozart strengthens the mind.)

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major

Beethoven: Concerto #5 for piano - E Flat major; Concerto for Violin in D major

Memorizing- play while reading material (aloud or silently) you need to memorize for meetings, interviews, negotiations, presentations, trainings or examinations.

Bach: BrandenburgConcertos; Preludes and Fugues for Organ

Vivalidi: The Four Seasons; Five Concertos for Flute

Handel: Water Music; Royal Fireworks Music

Creativity - play while problem solving, "brainstorming," creative writing, doing art, inventing.

Tchaikovsky, P.: The Nutcracker Suite

Debussy: La mer; Prelude a l'apres midi d'un Faun

Ravel: Daphne et Chloe

In conclusion, music may not increase your long-term IQ, but it sure will accelerate your learning, memory and creativity. Besides, performance may be more important than IQ. Music affects your mood and state of mind. Even if you don't consider yourself "musical," you can still receive positive effects.

Stephen Hager is a lifelong learner, scientist, author, speaker and teacher. Along with Deanna Phelps, he is the co-creator of brain-based human development products. Their goal is to help people live better and more peaceful lives through the "power within." Since 1992, Deanna and Stephen have been developing practical neuroscience solutions for better communications, clearer thinking, faster learning, higher productivity, stress management and creative problem solving. Everything they have learned from 20 years of research and working with people is incorporated in the comprehensive and individualized Brain PathWays 14-page report. For a daily dose of practical neuroscience tips, visit http://www.brainpathways.net/ and sign up for Free Daily Messages From Your Brain.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Hager

How do people successfully leave the herd? We cannot help but look up to people who have succeeded like Oprah Winfrey or Donald Trump. We even have people who we know personally like family or friends who have done well.

One thing is for sure they all had a dream, vision, or goal -- call it what you want. They made it work by taking action, yes making a start. Sometimes they had a plan already in great detail from day one but usually it was a picture or vision of the final result. One action you can count on is that as they went forward each day though they took steps or actions to go forward towards their goals.

It is a common thing that as soon as you start to lift yourself up you very quickly can be cut down to size by well-meaning friends, family or colleagues. They become concerned that you are stepping not only outside your comfort zone, by your actions but here is the important bit, outside their comfort zone. This can come as criticism, resentment, even envy. Tall Poppy Syndrome, as it is called in some countries, is a problem. It is essential to just accept that this will happen at some stage.

Many people question themselves decide it is not worth the hassle and give up the challenge at this point. It can be too scary to move forward. Now you have to make the mental shift, toughen up as they say. Remember it is your life, your dream and it is up to you to make it happen. Many successful people have said you have to develop a thick skin.

Once you make this decision to carry on with your quest, life becomes easier; you have mentally risen above the status quo. You are more determined now and find you can apply actions everyday towards your goals. You increase your mental strength to apply focus, persistence, determination and patience. Every day you are getting on, getting the jobs done with increasing passion and inner strength. This is possible because you focus on your dream with a detailed step by step plan on how to get there.

People often think you need to have special talents but usually it is not raw talent but drive that makes people successful. What is called good old-fashioned dogged determination.

"The world stands aside," said David Jordan, "to let anyone pass who knows where he is going."

Richard Brody has over 30 years experience and expertise in consultative marketing and sales, management, organizational, and hotel conference and convention organization, management and negotiation. ...

While it is true that the greatest leaders are usually creative, that does not mean that they find it necessary to overly complicate solutions or methods. The adage K.I.S.S. (Keep it short and simple) is particularly applicable when it comes to efficiently handling situations. Many individuals, unfortunately, mistake "thinking outside the box" for making something very involved, while often the simpler solution may work better.

When I refer to something be simple, I mean that something does not have to be done in an overly complicated manner. It does not mean that the task is easily performed or without difficulty. Seth Godin wrote, "Simple doesn't always mean easy." There are many situations that leaders confront where they can opt for a more complicated or a simpler method of accomplishing a task.

1. In many cases, it is wise advice not to try to reinvent the wheel. Most of the time, things done in the past, although perhaps not done optimally, create a framework for doing something better. The simple approach, therefore, would be to maintain those things that work, and tweaking and changing aspects that need improvement. There is no need for change solely for the sake of changing something.

2. Many organizations in recent years have begun to overly depend on technology to perform many of the tasks formerly done manually. While certain things can certainly be generally performed better digitally (such as maintaining mailing lists, producing mailing labels, many forms of accounting and tracking, etc), there are some things that are far more time consuming and backup flawed (meaning that if there is some difficulty, there is no simple backup), when done with technology instead of manually. For example, have you ever been to a retail store that's computers "were down" and the staff was "paralyzed," because everything was technology- dependent, including their registers, and they had no way of using a backup system manually. I have even been to a food court at a mall where one of the vendors stopped serving food because his computers went down, costing the business a substantial amount of lost revenue and spoilage, because consumers simply purchased elsewhere.

3. Many organizations have turned to technology to assign table assignments for Food and Beverage sit- down functions. Think about which is easier, accessing and using a computer (and being dependent exclusively) or using a simple, basic system, where some sort of sticker system is used on tickets for seat assignments (With the sticker system, if there are no more stickers, there are no more seats at that table. It's that simple and basic, with no true advantage to technology.)

4. The more something becomes complicated and involved, the more that can go wrong. Organizations should evaluate what their true needs are, and not just make something more complicated to get more information, much of which might be unnecessary.

While in certain instances, there may be a need for more information, there are at least as many times when simple may be at least as good, or even better. And, the simple approach nearly always has as many aspects or things that might go wrong.

Richard Brody has over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience. He has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. Richard has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. Richard is a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate.
Richard Brody has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. Richard has a Consulting Website ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbcons ); a blog ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbstake ); and can be followed on Twitter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Brody

Spiritual Business Myth Buster If You Build It, They Will Come... Or Will They?

As a business coach for dynamic spiritual entrepreneurs I speak to gifted metaphysical practitioners every day who have invested their time, money and energy into learning their specific craft.

Among my clients are Reiki practitioners, tarot specialists, spiritual and shamanic counselors, raw food experts, and metaphysical ministers. All of whom have tremendous gifts to share with the world. And all of whom have one common challenge... finding clients!

The problem is that when these amazing women learned to do whatever it is that they do so well, no one ever told them that the next step in bringing their unique skills into the world was to learn to market them.

The truth is, you can't just expect to get your training, hang out a shingle and have clients pouring into your practice... no matter how gifted or talented you are. Because no matter how life-altering your services, if nobody knows about them, you're not fulfilling your spiritual mission to help and serve others.

Fortunately, the solution is easy...all you have to do is get some support around marketing your spiritual business.

What's All This Fear Around Marketing?

If you're resisting marketing your spiritual business and you're still operating on the "If you build it they will come premise," I'm willing to bet that you're struggling at least a little in your practice.

No doubt the clients you have love the work you're doing with them. And you know that if you could only reach more people with your message, your business would take off.

Yet if you're like most spiritual entrepreneurs you still have a sense of fear and trepidation around the concept of marketing. In my experience this usually stems from one of two things...

1st ~ You Don't Want To Market Your Spiritual Business

Some spiritual practitioners still associate marketing with corporate America and a masculine greed paradigm that feels totally out of alignment with their spiritual purpose as a healer, counselor or practitioner.

The truth is, when done correctly and with the proper intention to guide it, marketing your spiritual business can be a divinely feminine expression of your soul's purpose on this planet.

So I want you to learn to LOVE marketing your services. Because from an energetic standpoint, you want every aspect of your spiritual business ~ from your marketing to your client care ~ to carry the loving and nurturing feelings of connection and integrity.

2nd ~ You Don't Know HOW To Market Your Spiritual Business

Most of the time when people tell me they don't feel comfortable marketing what's really going on is that they simply don't know HOW to market in a way that feels in alignment with their spiritual truth.

Not knowing about something makes it seem foreign, frightening and sometimes overwhelming. This sense of fear and overwhelm usually results in two actions...

First, you'll make some sporadic attempts to market your business without a real plan of action or strategy behind it. Unfortunately, the results for this type of marketing are usually pretty disappointing.

This leads to the second action, which is... well...inaction. A common human response when we don't know how to do something is to do nothing at all. It's comfortable, it's easy and it's not scary. But it also allows you to stay stuck and keeps your gifts from reaching the people who need them the most.

So ask yourself now, what is the cost of your inaction? How many people are being denied your unique transformational services simply because they don't know about them? And how many people might benefit if you made the decision right now to truly let your light shine?

Think about that. And, if you're serious about helping more people and building a successful spiritual business, it's time to TAKE ACTION!

Here's Your Goddess Action Step

If you're hiding out and not marketing your business, or you've done some marketing with disappointing results, I want you to know it's not your fault! All you need is a little guidance.

If you're ready to get real with your gifts and take the next step toward creating a successful metaphysical practice, I invite you to check out my Goddess Keys Platinum Marketing Program.

To learn more about how this program will help you build a successful spiritual business by providing you with a step-by-step marketing plan and all the templates and tools you need to get started today, email ME!

Rev. Michele McGrew
http://www.wakeupgoddess.com/
michele@wakeupgoddess.com

Rev. Michele McGrew is a spiritual practitioner and coach who teaches heart-centered entrepreneurs to fill their practices and market their businesses with grace and ease.

By blending spirituality, energy dynamics and good, solid business skills, Michele helps her clients create a steady stream of ideal clients into their business by marketing their services with total integrity so that they can let their light and passion shine in the world through the inspired work that they do.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_McGrew

Ever notice what happens when you gather a group to complete a task? With a challenge and a common goal people become energized and mobilized, it brings out their best.

I am watching my son and a group of people working on his gym. Moving and assembling equipment, designing and laying flooring to improve the space he and his two partners opened just a few months ago. It struck me while watching them the fascinating dynamics that occur when people come together and are bonded by a purpose and mission. You have no doubt seen it countless times: often it is a group moving or building something, putting their heads together to design a plan and working tirelessly together to make it happen. Or planning and organizing an event, designing and implementing everything to the smallest detail. Pulling together as a team, each eager to contribute to the clear task and goal. On a larger scale think of the bonding and teamwork after a crisis or traumatic event. In these times when there is something bigger than the individual at stake or there is a clear problem or challenge that requires action we often see the very best in people. Most people want to be involved, crave being useful and helpful and truly excel given a goal to work for that they can believe in. They are happy to answer the call to pitch in. Purpose. Mission. Meaning.

How is this also true in our individual personal lives? Do you find yourself to be more focused and successful when you have a clearly defined task or goal? Maybe you are at your best when the stakes are high or you are facing a deadline? Most people function best when they have a clear goal, an understanding of what they are to do and why as well as the feeling that what they do matters and contributes. When we find that elusive but magical combination: mission, purpose and meaning we will inevitably also find deep satisfaction and real lasting happiness.

So, what drives your life? For many this is a difficult question. But what might we accomplish and how might we feel if we had the answer and the energy and direction that comes with it? Knowing what is most important to you, having clear goals to strive for and are meaningful to you will bring out your best as well as set the foundation for a richly satisfying life.

For those that are uncertain or still looking for their mission and purpose start by making that your mission: to discover it. Take some time for self-reflection. Think about the times you felt at your best and the activities you most enjoy. Reevaluate your values and priorities and start to find the threads of meaning as well as the strengths and talents that are individually yours. These things will begin to take shape and can then be built upon to define your mission and purpose which is the foundation for setting meaningful goals.

What brings out our best as a group; a desire to achieve a common goal, to contribute, accomplish and make a difference also brings out the best in our own lives. All you have to do is ask: you are eager to answer the call, to be energized, mobilized and be your best.

Julia Skeesick, CPC. ELI -MP
Certified Personal Development Coach and owner of LifeScape partners with clients to discover their mission and purpose, set and achieve goals to design a life they love. She offers private and group coaching as well as workshops to facilitate self discovery and growth in all aspects of life.
Learn more about Julia and LifeScape at http://www.lifescapesite.com/ or call 630-465-0607

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julia_Skeesick

Richard Brody has over 30 years experience and expertise in consultative marketing and sales, management, organizational, and hotel conference and convention organization, management and negotiation. ...

The most successful individuals, those that have contributed most to their organizations, their communities, and to society as a whole, have not aimed for or sought success. Rather, they have a dream, which they have nurtured into a vision, and strove to reach a goal or goals that they have set, to help achieve and/ or reach that vision. While success has often been the result, those that strive simply for success often neglect the essential process, and thus become inflexible and do not adapt to changing circumstances, nor do those people handle failure or adversity particularly well. Thomas Edison famously credited his thousands of failed experiments (failures) as leading to his successful and important inventions. Albert Einstein may have put it best when he wrote, "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

Some believe that if one does not strive for success that he sets himself up for failure. However, I feel that in most cases the opposite is often closer to the truth, that is, that adversity is part of the "growth" experience, and if one learns from his failures, and uses the knowledge productively, that he will be a more valuable individual in the long run. Often, those who merely strive for success don't get there because they are often seeking the credit without doing the work, nor taking the necessary steps. Seeking success, as the goal, is often more an egocentric approach than conversely planning thoroughly based on a dream that becomes a vision, and then working diligently to create and implement an action plan. This action plan must focus on its goal, which must be the value it provides in the particular circumstance.

1. Take for example someone in a leadership position in an organization. When they state as their goal, being successful or having a successful administration, this rarely has any true and worthwhile meaning. In order for this leader to have a meaningful and/ or important goal, it must be one that advances things for others, providing a value or importance for the individual or the organization as a whole. Unfortunately, far few leaders seem to possess this way of thinking.

2. President John Kennedy famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for country?" He later asked people to consider what together we could all do to advance the cause of freedom. Clearly, President Kennedy understood the difference between a value- based goal, and just aiming for success.

Surely, most people would prefer being successful to failing. However, it is quite important to understands and to realize that the success will come as a result of the value and importance of the goal and the mission, and not merely as the primary goal. Leaders must focus on their vision, and assure that it creates value to their organization.

Richard Brody has over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience. He has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. Richard has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. Richard is a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate. Richard Brody has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. Richard has a Consulting Website ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbcons ); a blog ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbstake ); and can be followed on Twitter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Brody

Being persistent hardwires your brain. Having the same thoughts, saying the same words all the time, and doing the same things often creates a sort of fixed hardwired electrical channel, like an electrical cord that your energy will constantly flow along. Energy always seeks the path of least resistance. To know and understand that is very important because this is how your habits are created.

So, it is very helpful to understand how energy flows, and how it works for you, or against you. Energy never really works against you, but unchecked it can take you to a place that you did not expect to be in. Like a bad habit and a good example would be smoking!

Being persistent can be both creative and destructive. An analysis of your habits will help you understand that being persistent about the things in your life that you care most about is part of what you value most.

Our habits govern our unconscious behaviour. By that I mean, if you are not aware of what you are thinking and why, and you have little control over your thoughts, then it is your habits that will persist to govern your outcomes.

Practice establishing new habits as it is easier to do this than delete old habits that don't serve you. Use the habits that serve us and ignore the habits that take us away from our clear vision of where you desire to be in the future. A good example of a bad habit that takes away our time opportunity might be regular smoking breaks, or too many regular coffee breaks.

Not having good self discipline will always play a significant part in keeping our goals elusive from us achieving them.

Here is three tips to being more persistent.

Tip 1 - Analyse your habits first. If you are doing something that is not in alignment with your intention to achieve something, then you are blocking the necessary smooth energy flow that helps you. Your thoughts are out of alignment, hence your actions that follow are also out of alignment.

Tip 2 - Ensure that you have clear reasons why you are persisting towards this thing that you are wanting. It is the reasons that support your beliefs in what you are trying to do.

Tip 3 - Be able to persist regularly at the same time each day to create a routine that you enjoy.

Bonus Tip You will need to do this for at least 60 days before it becomes a habit. If you can't do that then you are not serious about enjoying the life that you think you do in your vision.

If you are in doubt, it is better go back to the drawing board and start by asking questions about what it is that you are wanting. Choose the things that you like most.

By the way, do you want to learn more about achieiving the things you want?

If so, download my new ebook summary Rich Life Poor Life You Choose here: http://www.richlifepoorlifeyouchoose.com/landingpage

Anthony is the estrategist. He uses the world's best success strategies to help clients solve their problems. He has been doing it off-line for many years, including many years as a Lawyer, and has just launched on-line coaching programs to help clients get better skilled learning in their own time. The foundation of his coaching programs is teaching the world's best success principles, and how anyone can use them to achieve better solutions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Podosky

Maintaining personal productivity is crucial for anybody who works online since in most cases you will be working alone! Making an online business successful involves very many tasks all of which must be completed successfully to allow for the growth you need! This can result in mounting pressure on anyone trying to keep up with the daily demands of growing a business on the internet. Our focus here is how a hard working entrepreneur can remain productive even during those times they may not be at their best.

Following you will find 3 suggestions you can use to maintain a consistent level of progress even during your 'off' times when growing a business online!

Hit a Snag, Move On

It is inevitable that during the course of any given day that you will come across a 'snag' that may take time and thought to figure out! When this occurs move on to something else if you do not seem to be making progress. Anybody who works online ALWAYS has a long list of tasks awaiting completion so choose something else to do and get it done. In this way you have still made progress and your mind will be refreshed when you return to take on your 'unsolved' snag!

Bunch Your Tasks

When marketing on the internet many of your duties may be located in the same folder, software or even internet site. When this occurs try to bunch together these tasks for completion while you are at that location. This saves you the time and energy 'bouncing' around needlessly from one location to the next! Now you do not have to repeatedly log-in or out of sites, open and close software or even go rummaging through your files to access something you had opened earlier! While you are at any given area of your business get what you have to get there and move on!

Save the Mundane for Later

Certain chores and duties of any online business require more focus and energy while ranking a little higher in your list of priorities. It is these tasks that you should complete when you are at your best and allow yourself tackle the more mundane and less challenging ones later. This decreases the instances of mistakes and if they do occur it will likely be something that is not as significant. The key to growing a business online is to minimize mistakes in key areas and devoting your time and energy while you are at your best to these areas will help accomplish this.

Your personal productivity is very important for growing a business since it supplies much needed momentum and motivation! Most anybody who works online is going it alone therefore their every effort is crucial. Making an online business function smoothly and successfully involves the completion of many tasks to make this happen. Considering that nobody can be at their best all the time the 3 suggestions offered above serve to help you use your time and skills wisely and efficiently. Following these suggestions anyone who works online can maintain a consistent and productive level of output allowing them to stay focused, motivated and always moving forward! It is this momentum that is required for making an online business a huge and profitable success!

"You must have confidence. You must believe in yourself if you expect others to believe in you."
-John Wooden

Confidence is the result of preparation. Don't believe me? Go into a meeting with your boss without knowing what the topic will be and see how you feel. I'll bet you'd feel a lot less than confident. But if you know the topic ahead of time and you're able to get some info together so that you can speak intelligently...then you'll feel confident. So we agree...preparation is key. But how do we prepare our athletes? I think confidence has got to be on three different planes: they've got to be confident in themselves, in their teammates, and in their team goals. If one of those three is missing, then success may be just out of your reach. Read on to see how you can properly prepare your athletes to be confident.

3 reasons why confidence is essential for your athletes

In themselves. As Wooden says in that opening quotation, you've got to believe in you...because if you don't, why should I? The beauty of confidence is in the preparation. Your athlete feels confident at the free throw line when the game is on the line because you've put her in that situation a million times in practice. Even when she makes a mistake in the game, that athlete understands that she will have more successes than failures during any given competition, so she's not too high when things are flowing and she's not too low when nothing is working right. She's confident that things will work out for her because she's done everything within her power to be prepared.

In their teammates. According to dictionary.com, confidence in your teammates would look like "belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person." That sounds like preparation to me! Your passers have confidence that they will each do their jobs, because they've done it time and time again. In practice, in games, in stressful situations...they've watched their teammates be tested and be successful. Therefore, they have confidence that they'll be successful in the future.

In their vision. If your team isn't confident in their goals and vision for the future, then it likely won't come to pass. Why? Because sometimes your team will not play well, sometimes they'll lose, sometimes they won't live up to their own hype. But quality preparation for their goals will help them to stay focused. Coaches can talk to their teams about the pressure of being picked to win it all, or the pressure of winning back to back, or the pressure of "must win" games. Coaches should talk about how athletes can manage their emotions, their classwork, and their expectations through it all. All of that qualifies as preparation.

As the Boy Scouts motto says: Be prepared. I firmly believe that proper preparation leads to successful performances. If we invest in our athletes through preparation, our teams will benefit in the form of winning teams.

Dawn Redd is the Head Volleyball Coach at Beloit College. Come visit Coach Dawn's community of coaching nerds and team leaders over at her blog, http://www.coachdawnwrites.com/, where she teaches how to become an excellent coach, motivate individuals, and build successful teams.

Twitter: @CoachDawnWrites

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Redd

Being EXCEPTIONAL is about being excellent.

Being EXCEPTIONAL does not need to be expensive.

If you are going to be EXCEPTIONAL (and we should all try to be) then you have to re-program yourself a little (or even a lot).

Being EXCEPTIONAL requires discipline.

Being EXCEPTIONAL requires good habits.

Being EXCEPTIONAL requires a hold on reality.

Being EXCEPTIONAL requires a sense of individuality - we all have it, we just have to find it and enact it.

Not all of us are blessed with good looks - but all of us have the ability to look good.

Not all of us are born with financial freedom - but all of us can free up our finances.

Not all of us are blessed with emotional balance - but all of us can balance our emotions.

If we decide to think outside the box...

If we are disciplined with our approach...

If we are determined in our final execution...

Then we can all be EXCEPTIONAL...

If we are not the best looking person on the planet, we can attempt to be the most stylish, or even the most outlandish.

If we are not the richest person in the world, we can still make wise decisions that give us the most options with the fewest problems.

If we are not the most zen human in the race, we can still work on seeing the truth, accepting the truth and working with the truth so we are not constantly side-swiped by reality.

- Just because your parents had 3 kids does not mean that you have to - you might want to, but ask yourself this - can you afford it financially and emotionally and physically? If not, re-think the game plan so your life is EXCEPTIONAL.

- Just because your brother got the good looks and the physical prowess, you don't have to come in second place - you can be the individual with the original looks and the interesting opinions that make you EXCEPTIONAL.

- Just because your tutor or your friend seems to be cool, calm and collected without trying, doesn't mean you can't work on being reasonable, respectful and original all the time. That's what being EXCEPTIONAL is all about.

Stand out from the crowd in your own way - be EXCEPTIONAL...

Stand against the lies and the fairy tales - be EXCEPTIONAL...

Stand up for yourself in every way - be EXCEPTIONAL...

Stand for the individual in you - be EXCEPTIONAL

Take your time.

Be the best.

Be unique.

Be EXCEPTIONAL.

Guy Blews.

Guy Blews is a Relationship Expert and Certified Life Coach who offers One-On-One Coaching. He is the author of 'Marriage & How To Avoid It', 'Realistic Relationships' and 'Less Thing$ More Love' which are all available at his website. Guy has appeared on numerous television and radio shows in the USA and the UK as either a visionary or a pariah - now it's your turn to make an opinion at http://www.realisticrelationships.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Guy_Blews

Winning has often been described as a habit by many experts and psychologists and this is a statement that is not often doubted by people. Not many people have actually asked why this statement is so true and effective, irrespective of the kind of target in question. The answer lies in the simple correlation between the concepts of faith and autosuggestion.

When a person or a team wins consistently in life or sports, they start believing that they can win all the time, regardless of the opponent or how difficult the task. It is this belief or faith which drives the individual or the team on to greater things. The reason for this is that visualizing consistent wins and successes results in what is known as autosuggestion. Autosuggestion is a concept which basically says that the more you believe in and visualize a goal, the more possible it becomes for you. While the cause for this has been described as being everything from self motivational to mystical, the fact remains that the idea of autosuggestion is one of the most effective and potent ideas known to mankind.

Another proof of faith being effective can be seen in the way that extremely passionate people end up achieving everything they wanted. In fact, if you go through the list of the most famous personalities and achievers of the last century, you will see that the majority of them were extremely stubborn and adamant people who would rarely ever take no for an answer. Examples of such people include Columbus, Napoleon, Lincoln, Ford, Alexander and virtually all other conquerors, nation builders, inventors and explorers.

Furthermore, religiously strong people have also been known to be very stout and successful in their fields.

From this stems the idea that if you can make yourself believe that you are destined for something great and special in life with regard to your specific goals, then you can make the task easier for yourself. However, as is the case with faith, this belief needs to be strong enough to tide you over all the difficult periods. Once you believe in yourself i.e. your abilities and your future, then you will see an immediate improvement in your performance in life, irrespective of which field or position you are in. There have been tramps who have started with no money but still ended up achieving great things. An example of this is Edwin Barnes, who ended up becoming a business partner of Edison, the great inventor.

It is worth noting that you can develop such faith in yourself by simply repeating certain well formulated sentences to yourself. Moreover, after a certain amount of time, such devout belief tends to fuel itself because the more you succeed the more faith you have and the more faith you have the more success you garner.

We all know people who always want more. They wonder why they didn't get the promotion. They wonder why they didn't get special recognition. They wonder why they don't have the bigger house, the better cars, and the best of everything.

It is so easy to think of all the things we don't have. With technology, it is so easy to see all the things we don't have and all the things others have. If we are not careful, we can begin to covet what others have and become so obsessed that we lose focus on what we do have.

If we stop and think about it, God gives us just what we need when we need it. We get just the right amount at the time it is needed. God doesn't give it to us too early or too late. He doesn't give us too much or too little. He knows what we can handle and allows us what we need.