Are You Selling Yourself Short?

"The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short."~ Abraham Maslow

I see this every day. People dragging themselves to jobs they hate because they sell themselves short as to what they really could do. They are stuck in life and afraid to break out. They sell themselves short as to what they could do or accomplish if they only decided to. How many people do you know that are selling themselves short...way too many!

It's said that 80% of people hate their jobs. Is this you? Why are you still there? Do something about it, either change how you feel about your job or get a new one!

Dr. Seuss said “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” Don't ever let anyone make you believe that you cannot do anything you want to. You can steer yourself in any direction YOU CHOOSE! It's YOUR choice, no one elses.

Stop selling yourself short...NOW! It's YOUR choice!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference

"The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short."

The Time Will Never Be "Just Right"

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." ~Napoleon Hill

Are you waiting? If you are, what are you waiting for? Why? "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life! But there was always some obstacle, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business." Are you dealing with the obstacles and not allowing life to begin? It's real easy for us to do and we get caught up in dealing with things that before you know it, another year has passed.

What is getting in the way for you? Do you need to make a change? Don't allow those things to keep you from living the life that you want.

Start now with whatever you have. Stop waiting for whatever you think you need and just do it. Better tools will come along the way. START NOW! As Goethe said there is boldness in beginning!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

Inside You is Good News!

"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” ~Anne Frank

YES. Inside you, right now is good news. You don't realize how great you can be, what you can accomplish, what your potential is! You are the Undiscovered Country! Don't fear it, find it! Create it! Be it! The only thing holding your greatness back is YOU. Do you realize that? Sure you say, but I've got to do this and that, the economy sucks and the boss hates me. SO WHAT? You are the one in charge of you, no one else is. You get to decide what to do and who to become, only you!

Marjorie Brody said "Never allow others to define your potential." Too many of us have allowed others to define our potential...our teachers, parents, friends, whoever. Don't let them, only you can define your potential and what you can become. And it's never too late to become who you were meant to be. So start right now!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”

Are You Grateful?

"Gratitude is not only the greatest virtue, but parent of all other virtues" ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

Are you grateful and thankful? Why?? or Why not? How often are you thankful?

We forget in our "microwave society" to be grateful and thankful because we are so busy. Then the holidays come around and we put our 'gratefulness' mask on and we remember that this is the way we should always be. Or maybe we really are grateful and it's not just a mask, but after the holidays, we slip back into our regular thought patterns...

Cicero, 2200 years ago laid it out for us. Not only "the greatest virtue, but parent of all others!" Do your other virtues grow from gratefulness? They should. He is saying that we can have no other virtues unless we first have thankfulness.

For those of us who live in the United States, we forget how great we have it here. We are in the top 3% for income and possessions. Even those who don't have a lot, or have lost a job, even the homeless and the "Occupy" crowd are better off than 97% of the rest of the world! If that isn't enough to make you grateful, you need to have your head examined...by a witch doctor in Africa!

Take some time this week and write down all the things that you are grateful for, especially those things that we take for granted...Like running water and indoor plumbing, like a roof over our heads, like transportation (even if its not a BMW or Mercedes).

"Gratefulness is not only the greatest virtue, but parent of all other virtues"

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Gratitude is not only the greatest virtue, but parent of all other virtues"

Your Life: Anticipation or Apprehension?

"The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don’t have it well designed."~Jim Rohn

Are you facing the future with apprehension? It could be because you haven't really been specific in the design of your life. You might have an idea of where you want to go but without specifics, you end up sidetracked and going down the wrong roads, chasing the wrong things.

It's important to realize that we get to choose the design of our life, no one else does. And even if they have a plan for you, it's not much of a plan.

Jim Rohn also said "If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much." It will always be that way. You have to choose what you want and then go after it.

Look to the future with anticipation and design your own life plan. It's no one else's responsibility other than yours. Do it now!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don’t have it well designed."

What's Your Extraordinary Project?

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations and your consciousness expands in every direction. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.~Patanjali

Are you inspired by some great purpose? Some extraordinary project? What is it? Or are you not really inspired at all and have no extraordinary projects to work on?? If you don't know or can't say what your great purpose is, that's ok. It's never to late to find your purpose, your extraordinary project. The key is to be searching within yourself to find it. It will not be outside of you. You already have it.

Here's what happens when you do find your great purpose...Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. Dominant forces, faculties and talents become alive! Have you ever experienced that? It's so cool when it does. The other thing that happens is that you discover yourself to be a far greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be! When you find that purpose, all that negative self-talk disappears.

Challenge yourself this week to make sure that you are inspired by your great purpose. I dare you!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations and your consciousness expands in every direction. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

There Are No Limitations!

“There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge” ~Napoleon Hill

What limitations are you accepting and acknowledging? How often do we talk ourselves out of doing the thing we want because of our supposed limitations? Too often, we are our worst critic and we constantly sabotage our efforts because we don't think that we deserve it.

Richard Bach said “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours.” How often are you arguing for your limitations? Stop doing that. Now!! Start being who you were meant to be. Stop living life at less than you were designed to live it. It's never too late to be who you were meant to be!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge”

Be A First-Rate Version of Yourself

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”~Judy Garland

Are you a first rate version of yourself or are you a second rate version of someone else? Really, think about it! My feeling is that we start out as trying to imitate someone (a second rate version) and sometimes we break away from that, but sometimes we are stuck in it because we are never able to be as good as the original. What do you think?

While it's good to have role models and people that we can follow, it's imperative that we become who we were meant to be. To bring our unique gift to the world, for the world will never see it unless we each bring it. Too many people have shrunk from who they could have been and are just living to survive or until their "ship comes in." Guess what? That ship is never coming. It's never too late to be who you were meant to be.

Terry Josephson said “Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities” That's the challenge for us today and from now on. Think in terms of YOUR possibilities! Wow, do you see how empowering that is? Your possibilities are limitless! You do realize that, don't you?

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

Afraid of Going Too Far?

“We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond.” ~Marcel Proust

Are you afraid to go too far? A lot of people are. They are not content where they are at but fear making a change that could bring them success. So they settle for what they have. Are you settling for what you have so that you can stay safe in your comfort zone? Success lies just beyond your comfort zone! Too many people in their comfort zone who don't want to be there stay there either out of fear or by settling and not taking a chance.

Max Du Pree said "In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are." Wow, "We cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are!" How powerful is that? Do you realize this? It's called GROWTH! And it takes us out of our comfort zone and allows us to become what we need to become.

If you are serious about becoming successful you will need to do two things:
1) Not be afraid of going too far, and
2) Not remaining who you are. That is your challenge for today and from now on!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond.”

Are You Unwilling to Improve?

"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound." ~James Allen

Wow, was Allen right about that!! But I would want to make a slight change to his quote. I would say that people are willing to improve themselves, but they are unwilling to do the work involved in improving themselves. In our society, we want instant answers, instant riches, instant health and most of us are unwilling to do what we KNOW we should do to get those things. Just give me a pill...

For every person who climbs the ladder of success, there are a hundred still waiting for the elevator to show up. Are you a stair climber or are you waiting for the elevator? Be a stair climber. Make things happen, take action, improve your circumstances, improve yourself.

Take a moment today to improve yourself. Then do it every day. You will be amazed at your growth and the positive change it will make for you and your business.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound."

Are You Interested or Committed?

Are you interested or committed?

Most people are interested in their business. Oh, they will say that they are committed to their business but the proof is right there in front of them. Here's the difference between being interested and being committed. If you are interested, you will do what you can do. If you are committed, you will do what you have to do. There's a huge difference between the two. Think about that...

What do you HAVE to do in your business or in your life? Do you stretch yourself to do what you have to do or do you only do what you can do? Brian Tracy said “Make a total commitment to your company, your job, your career and your life. Uncommitted people have no future.” Wow, "Uncommitted people have no future."

Realize that it's never too late to make a commitment to your business and your life. Your past does not dictate your future. It's your choice, always.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

Are you interested or committed?

Focus on the Solution

"Perceptual blindness sheds much light on why we miss obvious solutions. By focusing on one thing (a problem), we miss something else (a solution)."~Michael McMillan

Another success killer is focusing on the problem rather than the solution. It is a learned behavior to focus on the solution, because our brain just wants to focus on the problem. Yes, you need to look at the problem, but only long enough to start to come up with solutions to that problem. Once you have a few solutions to work on, focus on the solutions!

What we focus on expands and unless we work on metacognition (thinking about what we think about) our focus will not be strong enough to stay on the solutions...our minds will drift back to the problem.

A good thing to work on is when you bring problems up at your work, at home or wherever, in addition to talking about the problem. bring a solution to the discussion. By bringing a solution to the problem, it allows the mind to search for other solutions instead of going back to the problem.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Perceptual blindness sheds much light on why we miss obvious solutions. By focusing on one thing (a problem), we miss something else (a solution)."

Twin Killers: Impatience and Greed

"The twin killers of success are impatience and greed."

In our current microwave society, we have become impatient, about most everything! If the computer doesn't load fast enough, we complain. If someone ahead of us at a light doesn't go as soon as its green, we get mad. As soon as the power goes out, we are on the phone to APS, demanding to know when the power will come back on. As one of the killers of success, our impatience keeps us from being present in the moment.

We no longer appreciate delayed gratification. There was a study done with children and they told the kids that they could have a candy bar right away, but if they would wait for 10 minutes, they would get two. What do you think happened? You're right, most of the kids took the candy and didn't wait for the second one. As one of the twin killers of success, impatience has become a major problem. And it's getting worse.

Here's a suggestion. How long should you try? Until. Until. Until it is finished, until you can't go on any more, until it can no longer help you. Jim Rohn said "Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you’ve signed up for a season, see it through. You don’t have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through." See it through.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The twin killers of success are impatience and greed."

Spot the Really Important Things

“80/20 thinking requires, and with practice enables, us to spot the few really important things that are happening and ignore the mass of unimportant things. It teaches us to see the wood for the trees.”~Richard Koch

80/20 thinking. Have you ever done it? Really? For how long? A couple of minutes? Most of us are steeped in the "mass of unimportant things" and never get to 80/20 thinking. You all know Pareto's Principle, but when have you applied it to your thinking? Our challenge is to get away from the "mass of unimportant things" and start concentrating on the 20% of important things. Imagine what you could come up with if you spent time thinking about the important things. Our brain will naturally want to go to what is normal and known. It will take a while to get to that 20% but is it worth it!!

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” Too often we put the things that matter least in front of the things that matter most. Brian Tracy has a saying, he says "Eat the frog first." Think of what's most important and take care of that stuff first and the easy stuff will get done.

Action:
Spend some time thinking about the important 20% and what it means to you. Then do what matters most first! It's a winning combination.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“80/20 thinking requires, and with practice enables, us to spot the few really important things that are happening and ignore the mass of unimportant things. It teaches us to see the wood for the trees.”

Set Your Sights High

"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way."~Eileen Caddy

I know that you set your sights high, but are they set the higher the better or are they just set high enough? High enough that it will challenge you a little, but not to much. Not a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), just high enough. Do you expect wonderful things to happen RIGHT NOW??? Every expects wonderful things to happen someday. Here's the problem...someday never comes! There's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Saturday and Sunday. There's no SOMEDAY!

What are you allowing yourself to be stopped by? Only you can stop you. Anais Nin said "We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are." Whatever is holding you back is in you, not in outer circumstances. We see things as we are!

Most people don't set their sights high enough and don't expect wonderful things to happen. Don't be part of the most people crowd. Don't allow others limited perception of you to define you. Only YOU can define YOU!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way."

Limiting Your Choices

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."~Robert Fritz

Do you limit your choices to what seems possible or reasonable? Really?? When I ask people what their BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is, they usually answer with something seems possible (20% increase in business) or reasonable. That is not a BHAG! That is a compromise and most people will compromise on what they want.

Why do we do that? Our mind defaults to the negative and so it's difficult for us to create things that seem unreasonable. But reasonable men have never changed the world, only those who were unreasonable made the impossible, possible.

Jeffrey Gitomer said "Obstacles can't stop you. Problems can't stop you. Most of all, other people can't stop you. Only you can stop you." This is so true. You are the only thing that is stopping you. It's not the economy, not your spouse or friends, not anything but you...think about that.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."

Are You Giving Enough?

"If you are not GETTING what you want out of life, maybe you're not GIVING enough to it."

What do you think? Are you giving enough to get what you want out of life? What are you willing to pay to get what you want? Money, time, extra effort? Before you can get what you want, you need to determine what you are willing to pay to get it. Some people decide that they don't want to pay the price to get what they want and they settle for what they can get. I hope that's not you!

Think about your business. Are you giving it enough to get what you want? Or are you only giving enough to make ends meet, keep the boss happy, pay the bills? Think about it. Maybe you aren't giving it what you need to give it to be really successful. Here's the thing about this. You don't have to answer the question...your results have already answered the question for you! You will have results or you will have excuses.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common." Take a look at what you are giving. See the miraculous, and if you don't see the miraculous, look again until you see it. And if you don't see it then, maybe you aren't giving it enough...

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If you are not GETTING what you want out of life, maybe you're not GIVING enough to it."

Stop Settling NOW!

"It is a very funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it."~W. Somerset Maugham

Here's our challenge, we too often accept anything rather than refusing to accept anything but the best. It comes down to our choices. We have been taught to take what we can get rather than what we want. We're told that "that's the best that you can do, you better take it," and we believe those well-meaning people. So we accept things that are less than the best in our lives.

What would happen the next time you come to this choice and you say "No, I will only accept the best and I'm not settling this time!" Do you think that things might change for you? Do you think that maybe you will get the best or does you mind quickly tell you that "you're not worthy," " you shouldn't have the best" or "you don't deserve it?" DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR DOUBTING THOUGHTS!! You ARE worthy! You SHOULD have the best! You DO deserve it! We ALL do.

Action:
Stop settling NOW. A favorite quote of mine is that "The place for what you want is currently occupied by what you settled for." STOP SETTLING NOW!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"It is a very funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it."

Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie

Are you grateful? Not just because it's the day before Thanksgiving, but are you grateful for EVERYTHING that happens to you in your life? Many people aren't. Look at the quote again and all the good things that gratitude does for us...you would think we would live perpetually in gratitude...but we don't.

It takes work to be grateful. It's not our natural thought pattern. It's a challenge to our normal way of thinking. But it's worth it! Gratitude is a vibration that's one of the highest vibrations that we can have. Gratitude allows the Law of Attraction to work almost effortlessly in our lives.

William Faulkner said “Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and
discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” You can't keep gratitude bottled up, you must discharge it. It's a great cycle, produce - discharge, produce again - discharge again. The more you discharge, the more you will have to be grateful for!

Action:
Make today a gratitude day and have gratitude for EVERYTHING that happens today. Feel that vibrational high and stay there as long as you can! Produce gratitude and then discharge it, over and over.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

For Granted and With No Gratitude

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” ~ G. K. Chesterton

Do you take things for granted or with gratitude? I hate to say it, but most people take things we have here in America for granted. And then we are only grateful on holidays, for a short time and then we go back to taking things for granted.

Do you realize how lucky we have it here in America? 50% of the world's population doesn't have running water or indoor plumbing. If you live in America, no matter what your economic situation, you are part of the top 3% of wealthy people in the world. In fact, to those OCCUPY PEOPLE, YOU ARE THE 1%!!!

William Faulkner said“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” If you don't show your gratitude, it's like having a present and never taking the wrapping paper off.

Action:
Start taking things with gratitude and not for granted. Start to realize that we who were born here or have come here are the luckiest people on earth. Start showing your gratitude, produce it and discharge it!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”