Law Of Success: Part III

Welcome to the conclusion of this special three part series commemorating the 21st Century Edition of Napoleon Hill's landmark work on success, "Law of Success," which reveals the 17 Principles of Success that can help take your life to the next level. These are proven principles based on  25 years of research and personal studies into the lives of over 500 of the world’s greatest achievers.

 

Law of Success Part I and Part II covered the first 11 of these principles. (To read Part I and Part II, visit the blog archives). Law of Success Part III will now conclude with the remaining 6 of these valuable, time-tested principles, which can help you, succeed in all areas of your life.

 

Principle # 12: Concentration

 

“Concentration is the act of focusing the mind on a given desire until ways and means for its realization have been worked out and successfully put into operation.” – Napoleon Hill

 

In this age of mass communications, we are beginning to face a global epidemic of mass distraction that is becoming dangerous – and in some cases lethal. (The rising pedestrian and motor vehicle driver deaths due to the host of electronic distractions are just one sad example).

 

PSA: Don’t text while driving. A text isn’t worth your life, or worse, the life of someone who had nothing to do with your conversation.

 

The Weapons of Mass Distraction available to us are just overwhelming: email, cell phones, pagers, text messaging, video games, GPS navigational systems, video games, DVD players, TV, web cams, blackberries, faxes, ipods, and the explosion of social networking sites, just to name a few. (When used intelligently these tools can be powerful, but when used ineffectively, they become what I call, “Weapons of Mass Distraction!”

 

For concentration to be effective, Hill states that it is vitally important to keep your mind focused on ONE subject until you’ve mastered it; to focus on ONE given problem until you’ve solved that problem.

 

What I find helps is starting a task with a burst of energy and enthusiasm which will provide the momentum to complete the task successfully, in this age of sensory overload, some sensory deprivation might be in order.

 

Hill recommends that you set some time everyday where you can enter a quiet place, close your eyes, and put your fingers in your ears, blocking all light and sound, and just repeat your chief goal and see yourself in full possession of the goal that you are trying to reach.

 

I would go as far as to say that you need to take at least one day, or even a weekend per month to distress.

 

Principle # 13: Cooperation

 

“Cooperation is the foundation of all successful leadership.” – Napoleon Hill

 

According to Napoleon Hill, there are two forms of cooperation: 1). The cooperation between a group alliance, such as a mastermind group (which was covered in my Law of Success Part I overview) to achieve a desired end, and 2). The cooperation between the conscious and subconscious minds to draw upon creative intelligence (a theme that continues throughout this overview as well as his book).

 

Power is developed through organized effort and, as they say, two heads are better than one. So for any organized effort to be successful, the harmonious cooperation of people focused on a singular purpose or goal is required.

 

Harmony is the key. And it would serve you well to study the main personality types of people before forming a team so you can bring together people who compliment each other rather than compete with each other. (“What Type Am I” by Renee Baron is a good first book to understanding personality types. I also previously mentioned Social Triggers).

 

One thing in the “Law of Success” that really struck me as powerful was an important observation Napoleon Hill had made: “A great leader is one who understands how to create a “motivating objective” that will be accepted with enthusiasm by every member of [the] group...Most people will work harder for the attainment of an ideal than they will for money.”

 

What is your company or team’s “motivating objective” or ideal? In today’s terminology (thanks to Jerry McGuire), this would be your mission statement.

 

Principle # 14: Profiting by Failure

 

"If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate." -Thomas Watson, Sr. Founder of IBM

 

Profiting from failure is a topic that has been beat to death by personal development gurus so I won’t spend too much time on this principle. It’s overdone for the very same reason that there’s truth in the idea of people reaching higher levels of success by persevering and learning from failure instead of quitting.

 

It’s no accident that John D. Rockefeller felt that perseverance is the single most important quality to achieving success.

 

I’ve personally seen through the years, that success comes to leaders in almost direct proportion to the amount of adversity and failures they’ve overcome and learned from in life.

 

That old cliché, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ applies here. Of course, I’m not saying you necessarily keep on doing the same thing expecting the same results (another definition for insanity), but what I am saying is that the only true failure out there that will hurt you is the failure to get back up and try again.

 

I don’t know how many times that I have personally thought about throwing in the towel. In fact, when we were at our lowest, I had actually worked it out in detail how to commit suicide so that it looked like an accident in order for my wife to collect the insurance…the only problem with that was we didn’t pay our policy, so it wouldn’t have paid out anyway.

 

Don’t ever give up. Failure is a learning experience similar to on-the-job training vs. schooling; on-the-job training may take longer, but you gain knowledge and real-world experience, so think of failure as on-the-life training.

 

Seek counselors and mentors that you can trust to help evaluate the effectiveness of your plans. Explore what is limiting your success by asking them how they see you limiting yourself.

 

If your first plan to achieving your goal in life does not succeed, then change the plan. Keep on changing it until you’ve reached your target, just as an ocean liner makes thousands of adjustments and coarse corrections before reaching its destination, you too should constantly re-evaluate your plan to make sure that you are still on the coarse that you want to be on.

 

Principle # 15: Tolerance

 

“Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open.” – Lord Thomas Dewar

 

If we adopt a closed mind we stop acquiring knowledge. And natural law states that we are either growing or dying.

 

I don’t like the word ‘tolerance.’ I much rather prefer the term “embrace new ideas” and have an insatiable curiosity for learning other people’s customs, belief systems, and unique perspectives. I look at it as an adventure in someone else’s life.

 

In today’s society, the word tolerance has been distorted to pass off someone’s bigotry and intolerance as a justified action. For example, a white comedian lets the “N” word slip in his act, he is a racist, but the leader of the new black panthers makes the comment about killing all white cracker babies and that is freedom of speech. Tolerance is a two way street and cannot be used to justify the actions of some while condemning the actions of others.

 

Finding ways to harness cultural differences within team dynamics and organizations will be the new currency in an increasingly globalized economy.

 

Principle # 16: The Golden Rule

 

Napoleon Hill recognized that the frivolous use of power from the knowledge that is being shared with you would only backfire and be destructive to self and others. Selfish pursuit of your goal without regard for others will eventually come back to bite you.

 

We reap what we sow. What goes around comes around. Therefore, the Golden Rule is: “do unto others as you’d have done unto you”. Before doing anything, ask yourself if it will benefit or hurt the person or persons involved.

 

It’s easy to be self-centered. To transcend self, think more of what the other person wants and feels before acting, that is what Zig Ziglar is talking about when he saying “You’ll get everything out of life that you want if you help enough people get what they want.”

 

See the good in others. Catch people doing things right instead of always looking for the wrong. Kindness and justice toward others goes a long way in establishing successful business and personal relationships. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great.” To help with this, I suggest a short read called The One Minute Manager.

 

Hill takes us deeper with the Golden Rule philosophy when he said, “think of others as you’d wish them to think of you.” Live this philosophy and your life will be enriched in many unforeseen ways.

 

Principle # 17: The Universal Law of Cosmic Habit-force

 

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle

 

This is one of my favorite quotes on habit. The Universal Law of Cosmic Habit-force is that intangible, unseen force which is made tangible and visible in nature. Just observe nature and you will experience Cosmic Habit-force in action.

 

When you fix in your mind a purpose consciousness focused on your chief aim in life through repetition of thoughts and deeds, Cosmic Habit-force will take over and carry it to its logical conclusion, just as an apple seed will always produce an apple tree through proper care and nurturing.

 

It takes constant vigilance, determination, and willpower to maintain that purpose consciousness, but eventually Cosmic Habit-force will always bear fruit and your life will be richly rewarded.

 

In closing this series, I’d like to point out that at the beginning of every chapter in Napoleon Hill’s “Law of Success” are the words: “You can do it if you believe you can!”

 

It’s that simple. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it really is that simple. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.” Jim Rohn said, make a goal to become a millionaire. Not for the sake of becoming a millionaire, but for what you must become to be a millionaire.” Replace bad habits with good disciplines and watch things start to change in your life.

 

Believe in yourself! Believe you can do it and move forward this day with faith and confidence.

 

I hope that you’ve benefited from this series and I’d like to encourage you to share these important principles with your friends, family, and associates. I’d also like to highly recommend getting a copy of Napoleon Hill’s “Law of Success: 21st Century Edition” to add to your personal library.

 

It’s a life-changing book, and I mean that as no exaggeration. To get your copy, visit here. 

 

 

Law Of Success: Part II

 

Welcome to the second part of this special three part series commemorating the 21st Century Edition of Napoleon Hill's landmark work, “Law of Success,” in which he reveals the 17 Principles of Success based on his 25 years of research studying the lives of over 500 of the world’s greatest achievers. (To read the first part, look in the archives for "Law of Success: Part I").

 

Principle # 6: Imagination

 

“Imagination is the workshop of the human mind and creative power of the soul,” as Mr. Hill states. “First comes thought; then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

 

In his book, Hill explains that there are two types of imagination: synthetic imagination and creative imagination. Synthetic imagination involves rearranging old ideas into new combinations that produce new solutions. Stimulating creative imagination involves a repetition of highly emotionalized thoughts that can be combined with visualization, meditation, and prayer focused on a main goal or purpose or the solving a difficult problem, and then surrendering the thoughts to infinite intelligence to come up with new ideas, combinations, and plans.

 

Artists, inventors, and even entrepreneurs frequently use some combination of both types of imagination.

 

For example, writers will often intentionally stop writing in the middle of an uncompleted paragraph at a particularly challenging point in the plot and “sleep on it.” During the rest of the night their subconscious mind, through the powers of creative intelligence, will work on the solution, and by “sleeping on it,” the writer will come up with a better story than if he or she merely hammered at the keys until it was finished.

 

Artists will often times, leave a work in progress for a few hours or even days to come back and look at it with “a new set of eyes” or a new perspective, in other words.

 

Entrepreneurs will often brainstorm and write down all the ideas, challenges, and available solutions and resources concerning a challenge or problem and then “forget about it.” They might go on vacation for an extended period of time. On returning, or even while they’re on vacation, new ideas spring up that help solve the problem.

 

Note: I will break routine and go for a long hike or camping.

 

To further develop your imagination, study yourself; find out you personal motivations that drive you forward on certain tasks while avoiding other tasks like the plague. Study other people and their behaviors as well. If you want to know what the other person will do (whether a customer, boss, employee, partner, or competitor), use your imagination to put yourself in their shoes.

 

What would you do if you were that person? By being able to look from another’s perspective, you not only help build your imagination muscles, you also help build bridges.

 

Tip: Something that has helped me with getting into other people’s shoes is by understanding SocialTriggers. This guy knows his stuff. Derek has helped me figure out a lot about how people tick.

 

Principle # 7: Enthusiasm

 

Enthusiasm comes from the Greek root “entheos” which literally means God within. Enthusiasm is the vital force that impels action. Great leaders not only act, they inspire others to action from their own enthusiasm, which becomes highly contagious.

 

“It’s not so much what you say as it is the tone and manner in which you say it that makes a lasting impression,” Hill adds.

 

I can remember a few years ago (more than I care to mention), while living in Arizona, I worked two jobs. Job 1 was for a hotel, while job 2 was for an athletic club. The level of work that I did was about the same at both. I went above and beyond in both.

 

The difference was, that in the hotel job, I had issues because I had worked years prior in landscaping and there was a situation where late one night there was a sprinkler head that had popped off. Rather than just report it to the grounds keeper and allow it to just keep running, I fixed it; a 10-minute fix versus hundreds of gallons of water in the street.

 

Anyway, grounds keeping manager expressed that he felt I was trying to take his job and began a campaign to get me terminated from my position, which HR couldn’t actually find anything to get rid of me on because I was a good employee, but following the perspective of the manager instead of viewing the whole situation, they began working toward forcing me to resign.

 

Now, job 2, working at the same time as job 1, I used the same work ethic. In this job, I saw a problem that I could fix; I fixed it and reported on the problem and what I did, just as I did in job 1.

 

The difference is that in job 2 I received employee of the year after only working there 4 months, $500 bonus, an award, and public recognition at the company party in front of 300+ employees and managers.

 

What is the take away here? Job 1 saw employees as an ‘expense’ and therefore a liability when a manager felt his job was on the line, while with job 2 all of the management saw their employees as ‘investments’ and worked to keep them happy, knowing that it would reflect through the employee to other employees and customers.

 

Like I always say, your customers should be your second biggest raving fans, your employees should be your first.

 

The companies that will turn out to be champions in this new information based economy are the ones that treat their customer service and sales staff as VPs of Customer Relations.

 

These organizations will have a HUGE competitive advantage by investing just a fraction of the money (money that would normally be lost to poor service) towards paying above industry average rates to retain quality customer service professionals, investing in their professional development, teaching basic human relations skills, and helping to create a better work environment and see employees who go above and beyond as investments and not threats.

 

Principle # 8: Self-Control

 

Staying on this vein, Hill points out that self-control directs your enthusiasm. A wise businessman will keep cool when others are hot. As Hill says, “Those who control themselves usually boss the job” or, in other words, Self-Control = Leadership.

 

It’s amazing how much more business one can drum up and how many more happy customers one can get by simply counting to ten, taking a couple of deep breaths, and thinking of something pleasant for a few seconds before making or taking an important call or going into a meeting.

 

Never retaliate against those who offend you. Be a leader by being a person of poise and self-control.

 

Principle # 9: The Habit of Doing More Than Paid For

 

“Giving people a little more than what they expect is a good way to get back more than you’d expect” - Robert Half

 

Again, going above and beyond. We get back in life what we give. By getting into the habit of always doing more than you’re paid for, you will meet with opportunities for expansion, advancement, and promotion at every turn of the corner. (You might not get these opportunities immediately with your current employer; but eventually competitors could take notice and will gladly provide you with plenty of opportunity if your employer will not).

 

Napoleon Hill offers numerous real-life examples of ordinary people reaching extraordinary heights of achievement and success using this one principle alone in his book on success, “Law of Success: The 21st-Century Edition.”

 

Principle # 10: A Pleasing Personality

 

Mr. Hill says that a pleasing personality is a person that attracts. It’s all about your character and how you carry yourself. Are you dressed for success as it relates to your field? Do you speak with self-confidence? Are you someone that genuinely likes to be friendly to everyone around you?

 

Do you offer a firm handshake and a warm smile, or a limp, ‘dead fish’ handshake with a rigid, forced smile? Or have problems looking someone in the eye when speaking to them?

 

The best way to develop a pleasing personality is to show a real interest in other people.

It’s so much more FUN and PROFITABLE to have a pleasing personality!

 

Principle # 11: Accurate Thinking

 

“The facts, just the facts, ma’am” – Sgt. Friday in Dragnet (if you are old enough to remember that show)

 

Don’t believe everything you read in the news. Much of it today is propaganda and agenda-based partial truths. It doesn’t matter which political side you are backing, or anything like that, it’s just that the news used to be about facts and now it is interlaced with editorials projected as news.

 

Get into the habit of basing your decisions on factual information and avoiding gossip, rumors, hyperbole and conjecture. Always remember that partial truth means that some of it isn’t true. Make sure that you get all of the facts before making decisions based on the information, or worse yet, passing the information on to someone else.

 

Even common day practices that are widely accepted can be based on wrong assumptions. For example, in the middle ages, bloodletting was a common practice that was believed to help cure a variety of illnesses. It was a common belief among doctors that bad blood caused disease and so they bled patients for every imaginable ailment under the sun. This crude and ineffective medical ritual continued for 2,500 years until it was discovered that germs, not bad blood, were responsible for disease.

 

Imagine people willingly allowing someone to put leeches on them to remove their blood, that is disgustingly gross and the thing that nightmares are made of.

 

I think we need a new name for 21st Century bloodletting. I think we need to add the term moneyletting to the dictionary.

 

If someone makes a sweeping statement that raises doubts, you can ask this person the question that Napoleon Hill likes asking: “How do you know?”

 

We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of accurate thinking. But to get to the heart of Hill’s main idea, accurate thinking is about separating the important facts from the unimportant ones and I would add to that and say that, whenever possible, emotion should be removed from the equation.

 

In politics, campaigns get to illicit negative emotional responses from people to turn them against their competition. The same concept is used in advertising; ads trying to make someone think that they will be better, healthier, stronger or happier with their product.

 

I hope you enjoyed Part II of this “Law of Success” series. Part III is just around the corner, keep an eye out for it. 

 

In the meantime, share these principles with your peers, discuss the concepts and teach other people what you’ve learned. There’s no better way to learn than by teaching others.

 

If you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend getting a copy of Napoleon Hill’s classic bestseller: “Law of Success: The 21st-Century Edition.” It really is a great read and I rank it in my personal top 10 list.

 

To get your copy just visit here or visit your local library.

 

 

Law Of Success: Part I

 

The last few months, I have been immersing myself in the teachings of Napoleon Hill and would like to share with you a summary of the main principles that I have learned from his book, “Law of Success: The 21st-Century Edition.”

 

Unless you are new to learning success strategies, then you know the name Napoleon Hill. But for the benefit of those who are new to this and just now starting to purposefully work on making their lives more successful and don’t know the name; Mr. Hill is quite arguably the author of the world’s first practical philosophy of human achievement. Many NLP theories came from him before there was even a name for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. 

 

Commissioned back in 1908 by the great steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie, Hill spent well over 25 years researching the lives of over 500 of the most successful people on the planet to find out what actually made them so successful.

 

What makes his findings so amazing is that most of Hill’s work didn’t come from second-hand research but first-hand knowledge from personal, direct contact with some of the greatest names of the day including people like Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, and US Presidents Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt.

 

While “Think and Grow Rich” is certainly Hill’s most popular book based on the results of his exhaustive research and I would suggest that it be in the personal library of anyone who wants to learn about success, the “Law of Success” (which was first published in a set of eight volumes) is Hill’s most comprehensive work of achievement, I’d almost say that it is the world’s first and foremost encyclopedia of success.

 

I would rank Napoleon Hill’s “Law of Success: The21st-Century Edition” as the foundational book for developing a practical success philosophy that anyone can easily apply to their lives. The fully revised and updated 21st-Century Edition comes in at 1035 pages containing Hill’s deep analysis of the 17 proven principles of success, many personal examples and stories from his own life experiences, and new commentary from the editors providing modern parallels with contemporary events and the latest management theories.

 

In this special three part series, I will attempt to give you a brief summary of each of Napoleon Hill’s 17 Principles from his classic bestseller; master these principles and you will master your destiny!

 

Principle # 1: The Master Mind

 

The mastermind is basically a friendly alliance of two or more people working together in full cooperation towards achieving one goal. It’s used for creative problem solving, the mastermind group is created from a combined group’s spirit, which can accomplish far more than any individual member could possibly hope to achieve independently.

 

The way Mr. Hill recommends forming a workable mastermind group is with ideally six to twelve like-minded individuals who will support the chief aim of the group, who are generally like-minded, and who are willing to meet with you regularly to help you accomplish the aim of the group by everyone helping each other and holding each other accountable. You must offer each group member something in return that will reward his or her participation in your mastermind group.

 

Whether you choose to develop a formal alliance or not, the Master Mind principle will still have a powerful influence over your life – for better or worse. It is said you are the average sum total of the people you spend the most time with which will either help or hinder you. Choose your friends and associates carefully.

 

Principle # 2: A Definite Aim

 

Without a definite purpose backed by a definite plan, it could be said, is like a rudderless ship in the middle of the Atlantic. Good intentions and hard work are not enough. You need a purpose, you need a plan, and you need a whole lot of perseverance backed with a burning desire to achieve your goals in life.

 

To realize your direction and main goals, Hill suggests writing out your WWWH and reviewing it daily: “know what you want, when you want it, why you want it, and how you intend to get it.” Also include what you plan to give in return for reaching your dream.

 

Note: I have found that the what, when and how are important, but the most important is the why. If your why is big enough, all of the other answers will come.

 

By reviewing this manifesto (if you want to call it that) on a daily basis (I suggest first thing every morning), with intense feeling, you will begin attracting the people and circumstances in your life to make your wildest dreams come true.

 

It may sound a little “woo-woo” but you do find that you attract that which you spend most of your time concentrating on. Try it for a week.

 

Principle # 3: Self-Confidence

 

To be self-confidant you must know yourself and know your business. Know your strengths and weaknesses, your greatest fears and deepest desires. Those who do not know live in constant fear and anxiety. A leader must know.

 

Keep a log of all your accomplishments and all the praise you receive and review it frequently. Tell yourself daily about how successful you are becoming.

 

Fill your mind with positive, inspiring thoughts. Surround yourself with people who will empower you. Have faith in others and see the good in people because how you view others is a reflection of yourself.

 

Principle # 4: The Habit of Saving

 

Pay yourself first by developing the habit of consistently saving a portion of your income. Hill and many others suggest saving at least 10% of your earnings.

 

Tip: if you’ve accumulated high-interest debts such as credit card debt, student loans, etc. it’s a good idea to use the 80/20 rule and allocate 80% of your savings to paying down the debt in order to avoid that debt from growing faster than the rate of return you’re getting on your savings.

 

Note: After my wife and I lost our house, one car, facing bankruptcy and about to lose our other vehicle, we found ourselves over $100,000 in debt and used Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University to start getting back on track.

 

Those who have will be given more. Having even a modest savings account will increase your self-confidence and will attract many opportunities that would normally not come your way without that extra cushion.

 

Successful people will be more willing to back your idea or promote you within their enterprise if they see that you yourself have developed the self-discipline of saving.

 

Hill recounts several instances in his book where people who had built up a little savings account were able to invest in new business opportunities, attract financing for their ideas, or enter into partnerships that would later result into untold millions.

 

Principle # 5: Initiative and Leadership

 

“Do the thing and you shall have the power.” – Emerson

 

According to Hill, leadership is “doing the right thing without being told.” Leadership is ultimately about taking initiative and getting things done. Bottom line is that successful leaders get paid for results not warming an office chair.

 

By always providing additional service without any expectation for pay, you will build your initiative muscles. Make it a point to go above and beyond.

 

Leadership requires self-sacrifice. Leaders are givers. Inspire and help others and you will be rewarded in direct proportion to your efforts. Zig Ziglar, likes to say, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

 

I hope you enjoyed Part I of this “Law of Success” series. For Law of Success Part II, it will be posted shortly.

 

In the meantime, take this week to follow these 5 principles, share these principles with your peers, discuss the concepts and teach other people what you’ve learned. There’s no better way to learn than by teaching others.

 

To get your copy of Napoleon Hill’s “Law of Success: The 21st Century Edition” Click here. It's worth the investment.

 

 

Make Every Day Count

Have you ever caught yourself saying that you had way too much time on your hands? Probably not, and if so, it was probably more like something you heard from your parents when you were caught doing something that you shouldn’t have been doing.

The truth is that most of us just can’t fit it all in.  A day could be 27 hours and there still would not be enough time to fit everything all in. The number 1 most common mistake that many people make is attempting to find the extra time instead of creating it!

Question on your mind now is: How do I create time?

FIRST: Specify and define your most important goals and objectives that need to be accomplished:

Having a desire to reach specific goals will motivate you to make time for the actions it will take to accomplish the objective.

Know how you are going to spend the extra time created. Write it down as specifically as you can.

Answer the what, when, who and how questions and this will give you that extra push that you need to achieve your goal of creating more time.

SECOND, Every goal and objective is like a journey, by mapping it out ahead of time, you stay on course.

Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar as well as many others recommend setting up a day’s schedule the night before then, first thing in the morning, review your schedule and make any modifications that need to be made.

In creating time, it isn’t about the hour, but about the minute. Most of us waste our time in the minute, which then quickly adds up to the hour that we can never get back. The best way that I have heard this point made is with the hole in the bucket analogy; picture two buckets, one with a hole in it and one without a hole in it.

No matter how often you fill the one with a hole in it, it will eventually become empty, while the one without the hole will fill easier and create less work for you.

THIRD, to keep with the analogy; plug the leaks.

Start assuming that every minute you do not have working for you, is, in fact, a minute working against you.

In order to make the most of every minute, try to incorporate these time savers into your daily schedule.

► Take a look at all of your most common daily interruptions. Try to make a game of it to see how many you can eliminate, filter or outsource. Set up your schedule in similar blocks whenever possible; have a specific time for phoning people, move to checking emails, etc.

Should you be out visiting a prospect, use this time to check the mail, or other errands that would require you be out and about, as opposed to leaving multiple times for multiple tasks. Now these designated time blocks do not always work; the unexpected will happen, Murphy is alive and well, so you can allow for some flexibility. When you have a plan, however, for organizing, investing and implementing your time, it won’t be long before you find yourself with extra time to be more flexible with.

► Know when your battery is fully charged. Determine when you are at your best both physically and mentally. Schedule your more challenging objectives during those times that you are most alert and attentive and you will accomplish more in less time. An example would be to save the emails for the end of the day or during a time of the day when nothing else is going on to distract you.

► Time is money. Just like with money, the more wisely you invest it, the greater the pay out. Before investing your time in any activity, ask yourself this important question, "Is there something more important or productive that I could be doing with my time right now?"

Remember that, unlike money, time can never be recovered.

You can make the most of your life by making every minute count, every hour of every day and the compound interest received will be immeasurable!!

2 Steps To Stay On Track

 

Are your goals set? Have you established some ways to support your goals? What will ensure that you actually stay on your desired path? This is July and 2015 is half over with. If you are finding yourself struggling to keep the resolutions that you made in January, if you are confused about the next step, if you are having trouble with focus, don’t worry. You are not alone. It’s called the mid year blues and we all have struggled with them at one time or another.

 

It is easy to get off path. It is easy to get all wrapped in the stuff of everyday life. You know what I mean? I know, I have been off track with my goals. When you do set goals and establish ways to get where you want to go, how do you stay on track?

 

When you have clear goals that you want to achieve, it is easier to set the steps to achieve them. It sounds easy. The fact is you will only take control of your goal when you "stop doing things” that you are doing. Look at your life right now? What does it look like? Did you get the steps done today to reach your goal? What you did today will show up later? How then do you stay on track? Here are 2 steps to stay on track towards your goals:

 

1. Hire a coach or mentor. This is one effective way to stay on track towards what you desire in life. The coach can guide you in the right path. They can tweak your game. There are all types of coaches for any goal from weight loses to relationships to business. Find the right one for you. If you can’t afford one report to someone that you trust. Have a significant other person serve as a coach. This will help ensure that you do what you are supposed to be doing to reach that goal. Most successful people have coaches. They have a coach that tweaks their game. I heard at one time that Oprah Winfrey had 7 coaches. Look how successful she is in her life. I don’t know all I know is that every millionaire I have meet had a coach.

 

2. Join people that have a goal similar towards yours. There are many organizations out in your own community. If you can’t find one in your area. Check online, there are all types. By surrounding your self with like-minded people can accelerate your steps towards your desire goal. This helps surround yourself with reinforcement on your goal. It holds you accountable.

 

Most people get off track on their goals at some point. When you find yourself off the track, ask yourself what I am doing right now? Is it towards or away from my desired goal? Once you start to take action on your top priorities, you will gain more confidence. You will have more time power. You will feel like you are walking on water.

4th of July games

 

Ok, kind of veering off a little here, but I am a big 4^th of July nut, so thought I would take an opportunity here to share some fun with you.

 

If you find yourself hosting a 4th of July party, there are hours and hours to fill before the highlight events of the day begin - the fireworks. You'll want to have plenty of activities and games planned to keep everyone busy and entertained.

 

There are a variety of games you can plan that have a patriotic theme. Depending on the age groups that will be involved, these may change, but I have always seen the 4^th as a family holiday, so here are a few that work at every level.

 

Balloon pass - This game involves relaying a balloon down a line of people. Use balloons that are red, white and blue and tell the participants they will be using their hands and their legs to pass the balloon down the line. Create two teams of people, and line them up in straight lines. Give the first person a balloon and tell them to put it between their legs, passing the balloon to the next person in line with their legs only. That person will take the balloon and pass it to the next person by putting it over their head. That third person will put the balloon between their legs and pass to the next person like that. The game continues until the balloon has passed all the way down the line. If you have a small group, require that the balloon get passed down the line and back again before declaring a winner.

 

Chalk it up - Pick a panel of judges (the oldest members of the family are the obvious picks) and have them become the official judges for a chalk contest. Break your guests into two teams (or more, depending on how many people are at the party) and give them each one or two containers of sidewalk chalk. Tell them to create a sidewalk picture that shows something patriotic, and tell them the flag must be included in the picture. Give them a time limit (depending on your group, this time limit might range from 10 minutes to 45 minutes) and then have the judges declare a winner after they have carefully examined all the artwork. You could have art-themed prizes for the winners.

 

Parade - One fun 4th of July activity that just screams "4th of July!" is a parade with decorated bikes, scooters and the like. Ask everyone who comes to the party to decorate their bike or scooter or other item in patriotic garb. You can have people bring them to the party already decorated and have a contest for "best bike", etc., but also fun is to have a decorating party within the party. Have all the items on hand to decorate the bikes and scooters and skateboards. You might have streamers, banners, flags, and ribbons. The children and adults can decorate their bikes and scooters as a party activity.

 

Guessing Game - These games are always popular for just about any occasion. Fill a large jar with peppermint candy (the red and white striped kind) and decorate it with blue and red ribbon. Have people guess how many candies are in the jar (which of course means you count as you place the candies in the jar). The winner, or the person who comes closest to the number without going over, gets the jar of candy.

 

Fireworks - If you're having fireworks at your home, you might have a big box of assorted fireworks. Everyone has their personal favorites and people might have clear ideas of what they want to see and hear. You can play a game to determine who gets to pick the next firework to go off next. You might ask trivia questions (why are there 13 stars on the flag?). Or you can have a dance off. While music plays in the background, each person who really wants to pick the next firework to go off has to dance the craziest, silliest dance they can come up with. Someone who's been designated a judge will decide who won the dance off and that person gets to pick the next fireworks item. Unless there are more fireworks than people, each person only gets to pick once.

 

Seriously, this is the day that we celebrate our independence and freedom. The freedom to create the life that we want to live and not that which was passed on us by some bureaucrat that only has his best interest in mind.

 

If you haven’t seriously started working on creating the life that you want, the success that you desire and the legacy that you want to leave to your children and children’s children, then what are you waiting for?

 

Start now…wait, have fun now, but after the fireworks, get started creating your life, not the life someone else wants for you.

 

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…aka building your successful legacy.

More on Blogging

Addendum to a previous post:

"Blogging and Your Business" posted on the 13th of June.

 I just wasn't satisfied with it and thought I would add just a little more info on blogging, so here it is.

A quick guide to getting started with blogging that you can print off and keep somewhere near when writing. Hope that I haven’t missed any, if you know of any that I have missed, let me know and I will revise my list. Thanks.

The Basics

1.      Brevity rules. Can you say it briefly? If you can say it in two sentences, don’t waste time with drawing out to five.

2.      Start at the main point, and then work the story up. (Try to make the main point in the first paragraph whenever possible.)

3.      Use small words. Don’t speak down to your audience, but you don’t have to impress people either. It’s about being clear, not impressive.

4.      Analogies help people understand things better, so do stories.

5.      You don’t have to write complete sentences, even though your teacher taught you to do that. But treat it sparingly. Like this. Like a condiment.

6.      Keep paragraphs small, if possible. Large blocks of text tend to make people skim as opposed to read the entire entry.

7.      Make your point from the reader’s side of the fence. Think about who your audience is and write it as if you were having a direct conversation with them.

8.      Depending on your writing style, go back and see if you can cut out any fluff. Reduce. Reduce. Reduce. Remember that you are having a conversation and not trying to impress anyone with over the top jargon and repetition.

9.      Use the words you’re thinking about, not a fancier, or more polite word. In a real conversation, you will speak with your voice, portray your voice in your blog and make it yours.

Concepts and the Bigger Picture

10.  Set up series of posts, even if you don’t call them a series. Make a post that brings up follow-on points from a previous post, and link back to that post to reinforce the original content.

11.  Get your inspiration from reading; not just other blogs, but from any resource on any topic that interests you, especially topics that aren’t necessarily in the space that you blog about. Ideas come from everywhere.

12.  Think strategically, if this is for business or a cause. Ask yourself what you want your reader to do next. Try to write from that point of view.

13.  Theme-wise, writing very helpful things that people can use is way better than writing thoughtful things that make people think and just walk away. You can have thoughtful but not helpful, but you’re striving for helpful and thoughtful in the same piece.

14.  Never write the me-too blog. Look to be ahead of the wave and feeding backwards, not behind the wave and eating someone’s wake.

15.  Look for ways to think forward, but that tie to your business interests. When I write about the future, I’m also inviting someone to make that future with me.

16.  Mix it up. Keep an editorial calendar and note what kinds of posts you’ve written lately. Thought posts? Lists? Interviews? Make sure you’re mixing up the type of post you’ve written lately.

17.  Consider the occasional dip into Google Trends to write a story that might draw new audience to your conversation. Don’t do this all the time, because the gimmick can wear off quick. Again, think condiments, not meals.

18.  If you don’t have anything interesting to blog, skip a day. Don’t skip many days.

19.  And never never never (raise your hand and repeat this with me) “I” (state your name) “solemnly swear never never never never ever to post another ‘I’m sorry I haven’t blogged lately’ posts ever again. Ever.”

Overdrive

20.  Consider your audience but write from your passion.

21.  Don’t mince words. If it’s a “pissing match,” it’s not a disagreement.

22.  Ask questions. Blogs are conversations starting and flowing. Ask. Questions.

23.  Link to people. If you write about Steve Garfield, link to Steve Garfield.

24.  It’s not all about your blog. Get out and comment on other people’s blogs. Often.

25.  Leave a few ideas unfinished. Ask for input. It always improves a piece. Blogs are great for that.

26.  Use tags. Lots of tags. Make sure you claim your blog with Technorati, and submit it with Alltop.

27.  Make sure your blog’s URL is everywhere: in your email signature, in Facebook, in Flickr, in Twitter, in every outpost you can think about.

28.  Don’t email, DM, and otherwise push every blog post you write to other people. Share the best ones. Let the others be found on their own merits.

29.  Always know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Question yourself often. Look for ways to improve the game.

Encore

30.  Comment back to the people who have left comments.

31.  Follow those people’s links sometimes and go explore their blog.

32.  Look for ways to empower the community you inspire.

33.  If you haven’t found your community yet, keep looking, searching, and connecting.

34.  Learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). It’s no longer okay not to know even the most basic things.

35.  Find great Creative Commons photos and use them for your post (with attribution).

36.  Deconstruct what your favorite writers do, and try it your own way.

37.  Occasionally, try something completely different.

38.  Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid of not being interesting enough.

39.  Write as if someone believes in you, because someone does. (me!)

40.  When writing a series topic, write multiple at a time, when you are “in the zone” so that they are more cohesive and also, so it frees up more time.

This post is a little short, I know, but I just wanted to make sure that I got this in the right hands of those who have contacted me about giving more of a checklist on blogging strategies. Trust me, once you get started, the first one is the most difficult.

  To Your Success,

Leave a comment and let me know if this blog post has helped you and pass it on to someone else who may need this information to jumpstart their success.