Keys to Success

Keys to Success. Treating people with respect wins trust and develops lasting relationships. Here’s what to do.

1) Be on time. In fact, arrive early for appointments and meetings. Plan time milestones in your daily schedule that tell you when to begin transferring to an appointment. That is, note when you will stop working on a task, begin collecting resource materials, and start traveling. Allow time for delays in travel, especially if driving. Consider: The fastest way to destroy people’s trust in you is to waste their time.

2) Communicate with others. Answer your phone and return phone calls. Listen carefully and completely when people talk to you. Show an interest in others before telling about yourself. When making phone calls devote all of your attention to what the other person is saying (instead of time sharing with other tasks, such as checking e-mail or playing computer games). Phone others only when you can devote full attention to what the other person is saying. Consider: ignoring people is rude and unprofessional.

3) Plan projects. For example, always prepare an agenda for meetings. Contact key participants before the meeting to hear their views, solicit suggestions for agenda items, and coach them on how to prepare for the meeting. Send agendas far enough before the meeting so that people have time to prepare. Consider: Bad meetings demonstrate an inability to provide leadership.

4) Be courteous. Find the good in everyone. Compliment others. Avoid starting or listening to gossip. Never ridicule, insult, or make fun of other people. Use positive words, always speaking about what you want and how you want things to be. Avoid suggesting motives or assigning judgments for other people’s actions and views. Consider: Discourtesy damages all relationships.

5) Help others. Be a mentor for newcomers. Share ideas. Teach people skills that will help them excel. Work with a spirit of abundance. Seek win/win results. Let others speak first, even on issues where you are an expert. Give first without attaching a receipt for return favors. Consider: Selfish people end up working harder. Keys to Success

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Reasons why Smiling makes us More Successful

Reasons why Smiling makes us More Successful. When you realise the true benefits that everyone gains from a smile it is surprising that more people don’t spend more of their time sharing them!

First: Our smile shows others people that we are friendly.
If a stranger approached you and gained eye contact with you and then treated you to a broad smile you will have a fairly good idea that they are being friendly and certainly mean you no harm.

By contrast we would find it far more difficult to offer trust to the stranger that wears a scowl or unfriendly face features.

Second: A smile can make people happy.
When someone treats you to a smile, even a stranger, you usually smile back. For that moment you enjoy a flash of positive communication without saying a word. As you walk through a crowed area such as a main street you can do this hundreds times in a very short period of time.

When you smile at someone who is not already smiling and they smile back you have brought a moment of happiness into their lives which, who knows, could last all day.

Third: Smiling is infectious.
When you spend a lot in the company of someone who smiles a lot you will soon discover that their smile starts to wear off on you. It is hard not to return a smile; most of us do it at a subliminal level without thinking.

Fourth: Smiling can make you popular.
Which type of people do you prefer? A person that has a tired and listless face. An expression that may reflect their inner thoughts of boredom and worry? Or, would you prefer someone who is always smiling and shows that they have an enthusiastic passion for life.

I think for the majority of us the choice would be obvious!

Fifth: Smiling can help you to make new friends
In the same way few of us would choice a miserable person for a friend. Lets face it we all want someone who is going to be bubbly and a happy and positive.

Sixth: A smile is usually returned
When someone smiles back at you it make you feel good inside. You have just made a short but very positive communication and possibly the first step in the process of getting to know or making friends with someone new.

Seventh: Smiling makes you positive and happy inside.
When you smile it is hard to feel unhappy, negative or sad in anyway. Smiling gives you enthusiasm and drive, it is also habit forming.

Eight: A smile makes you look far more attractive.
You don’t see many celebrities or media personalities that are not smiling because if you did it is fairly certain that their popularity would quickly start to drop!

Ninth: Smiling also helps make you memorable to others!
Have you noticed that smiling people are usually far more memorable than those that are not? It is fact that you are 3 time more likely to remember the person that is smiling over the one that is wearing a negative or neutral features.

Tenth: Most importantly, smiling is good for your health!!!
When you are smiling you find whatever you are doing far easier. It releases stress, worry and tension that you may have built up throughout the day. Long term, developing the smiling habit will be one of the smartest things that you can do to improve most aspects of your life.

Eleventh: The effects of smiling can last for hours
Whatever problems and challenges you have in your life, smiling temporary puts them and hold. For a while you forget the problems and become positive, and while you are in a positive state you have far more potential and power to advance and improve your life.

Lastly: Smiling is FREE!
You are never going to run short of smiles and will always have enough to go around. When you weigh up the positive points of smiling it is a no brainer decision to do far more smiling and share them with as many people as possible. Reasons why Smiling makes us More Successful. Keep smiling.

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Success Steps by steps For Your Personal Bussiness

Success Steps by steps For Your Personal Busisness . Fact: Success is something of which we all want more.

Fact: Most people believe that success is difficult.

Fact: They’re wrong - it’s not!

Success isn’t really that difficult. There is a significant portion of the population here in North America, that actually want and need success to be hard! Why? So they then have a built-in excuse when things don’t go their way! Pretty sad situation, to say the least.

For those of you who are serious about having more, doing more, giving more and being more, success is achievable with some understanding of what to do, some discipline around planning and execution of those plans and belief that you can achieve your desires.

The Truth About Success

The first thing to remember about success is that it is a process – nothing more, nothing less. There is really no magic to it and it’s not reserved only for a select few people. As such, success really has nothing to do with luck, coincidence or fate. It really comes down to understanding the steps in the process and then executing on those steps.

There are basically six key areas to higher achievement. Some people will tell you there are four while others may tell you there are eight. One thing for certain though, is that irrespective of the number of steps the experts talk about, they all originate from the same roots.

From my perspective then, here are the six key steps:

1. Making the decision

2. Clarity - developing the Vision

3. Focus – having a plan

4. Commitment – understanding the price and having the willingness to pay that price

5. Belief – believing in yourself and those around you

6. Taking action – practice Ready, Fire, Aim…

Making the Decision

If success is a process with a number of defined steps, then it is just like any other process. So, what is the first step in any process?

Making a decision to do something – this is the first step. We all know that nothing moves until someone makes a decision. The first action is always in making the decision to proceed. This is a fundamental step, which most people overlook.

So, make the decision to move forward. Commit your decision to paper, just to bring it into focus. Then, go for it!

Clarity

Having clarity of purpose and a clear picture of what you desire, is probably the single most important factor in achievement. Why is Clarity so important?

Without clarity, you send a very garbled message out to the Universe. We know that the Law of Attraction says that we will attract what we focus on, so if we don’t have clarity, we will attract confusion.

Consider the following analogy:

You are going on a cruise, but when the ship sets sail, you discover it has no rudder. What happens? One of 3 things will occur:

1. You will sail along until you collide with an immovable object, after which you will sink to the bottom

2. You will run aground and become hopelessly stuck in the mud

3. You will drift aimlessly until you arrive back at the original dock

Trying to go through life without clarity is similar to sailing a rudder-less ship – no good thing can or will happen!

The sad thing is the majority of people have no clue about what they truly want. They have no clarity. When asked the question, responses will be superficial at best, and at worst, will be what someone else wants for them.

So how do we get clarity? Simply by asking ourselves lots of questions: What do I really want? What does success look like to me? Why do I want a particular thing? How will this achievement change my life? How can I use this success to make a difference for others?

Introspection is the trick. Understand what you want, why you want it and what it will do for you. This is a critical factor, and as such, is probably the most difficult step. For this reason, most people never complete this aspect – then wonder why life is so difficult!

Once you have a clear understanding of what you want, it is critical that you engage in goal setting – specifically setting SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Sensitive - S-M-A-R-T. Knowing what you want and setting SMART goals as mileposts on your quest cannot help but give you clarity!

Focus

Focus is having the unwavering attention to complete what you set out to do. There are a million distractions in every facet of our lives. Telephones and e-mail, clients and managers, spouses and kids, TV, newspapers and radio – the distractions are everywhere and endless. Everyone wants a piece of us and the result can be totally overwhelming.

So, how can we stay on course with all the distractions in our lives? Willpower is a good start, but it’s very difficult to stay on track simply through willpower.

The best way is to develop and follow a plan. Start with your goals in mind and then work backwards to develop the plan. What steps are required to get you to the goals? Make the plan as detailed as possible. Try to visualize and then plan for, every possible setback. Commit the plan to paper and then keep it with you at all times. Review it regularly and ensure that every step takes you closer to your Vision and Goals. If the plan doesn’t support the vision then change it!

Along with your plans, you should consider developing an action orientation that will keep you motivated to move forward at all times. This requires a little self-discipline, but is a crucial component to achievement of any kind. Before starting any new activity, ask yourself if that activity will move you closer to your goals. If the answer is no, you may want to reconsider doing it at that time.

I coach my clients to practice the 3 D’s – Defer, Delegate or Delete. Can the particular activity be done later? Defer it! Can it be done by someone else? Delegate it! Does it need to be done at all? If not, consider deleting it! Posing these questions will help to keep you focused on what is truly important!

Commitment

Commitment is something that comes from understanding that everything has its price and then having the willingness to pay that price. This is important because nobody wants to put significant effort into something, only to find out after the fact that the price was too high.

The price is something not necessarily defined as financial. It could be time, effort, sacrifice, money or perhaps, something else. The point is that we must be fully aware of the price and be willing to pay it, if we want to have success.

Belief

This is perhaps the single biggest obstacle that all of us must overcome in order to be successful.

We all carry a lot of baggage, thanks to our upbringing. The majority of people carry with them, an entire series of self-limiting beliefs that will absolutely stop, and hold them back from, success. Things like “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not smart enough”, “I’m not lucky enough”, and the worst, “I’m not worthy” are but a few of the self-limiting beliefs I have encountered. We carry them with us like rocks in a knapsack, and then use them to sabotage our success. So, how twisted is that?!?!

The old expression is absolutely true – whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right!

One of the main areas that I work on with my clients is shedding these non-supportive beliefs and replacing them with beliefs that will help them to accomplish their desires.

It is truly amazing the damage that we, as parents, can inflict on our children. So why do we do it? For the most part, we don’t do it intentionally or with malice. In the majority of cases, the cause is a well-meaning but unskilled or un-thinking parent, who says the wrong thing at the wrong time, and the message sticks – as simple as that!

And it's not just parents that are the cause - teachers, friends, clergy members or anyone else that has influence in a child's life can be a contributor to these self-limiting beliefs!

The bottom line is that we must shed the bad and replace with good beliefs.

Taking Action

“Nothing changes until something moves” – this is the battle cry of author and journalist Robert Ringer. And he is absolutely correct. Not all of the decision-making, clarity, planning, focus and belief in the world, will get you to where you want to be, without taking action!

Action – putting your plans into play – that is what will get you to the destination. Don’t get caught in the paralysis of analysis, or in the conundrum of Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim…

Get the oars in the water and start rowing. Execution is the single biggest factor in achievement, so the faster and better your execution, the quicker you will get to the goals!

Conclusion

So, there you have it; the six steps that will help you to the fabled land of achievement and success! You now have the opportunity to push ahead and reach your potential. No more excuses - make the commitment to take action TODAY!

Figure out what you want, put a plan together to achieve it, understand the cost, believe in yourself then go and get it! Success Steps by steps For Your Personal Business

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Get Whatever You Want

"If only I had more money." A thought people have all too often is what it comes down to. I should know. So many times we get caught up in what we don't have; the money, the time, the skills, the education, the support, the tools, etc. If you jammed all of those "I don't haves" into one group, you would have what you call, excuses. That's all they are. Think about it for a moment. Think about what has ever in your life stopped you from doing something that you wanted to do? It will always be an excuse not to get what you want. We often get stopped right in our tracks too easily due to excuses. These are the excuses that either we've adapted from our surroundings growing up, or from ourselves and lack of knowledge. That is just how society has conformed us to program. When we reach a roadblock or a difficulty, we immediately point the blame towards someone or something. Most times, amazingly, we put the blame on ourselves. One negative thought will even lead to another!

For example, let's say you wanted to start a business, or dreamed of having your own. Even many business owners will admit that they had struggles getting to where they are. Typically, if you don't have the tools, the skills, the support, the money, or the time, then the thought of you starting and owning your own business will fleet just as fast as it came. Why? Simply because all of the things you knew you needed in order to even plan for it to be a reality, you did not have. Therefore, you immediately were convinced that you weren't capable. You might go from thinking you don't have the time. Then you think about making the time, and possibly cutting your hours at work. Fearfully, then you realize you don't have enough money to do such a thing.

Just as easy as the invigorating thought of owning your own business came into your mind, within five minutes you've thought of a million and one ways (excuses) for why you couldn't do it. You even convince yourself further, as if the excuses weren't enough, and rationalize why a business isn't for you by looking at how others have failed. How ridiculous is it for anyone to look at someone else's failure and determine it to be their own? Very. However, this is the type of thinking that goes on in our own minds, not to mention the minds of others around us. These are often the type of responses that people give themselves too quickly. Even when they are dreamy enough to support themselves and their dreams in the beginning, they quickly allow themselves to fall to the norm because of what others may think or tell them. How will you ever know the fruits of your own potential if you never take the action to plant the seeds?

"If only...." All to often we get to a place where we repeat this in our lives over and over until, "If only..." becomes the story of our lives and our lives are full of excuses. That is not the way you will live a fulfilled life. On the other hand, it's how you will look up one day and find your life to be full of regrets and stubborn desires that you never let loose. Why is it that others succeed at something that you "would like" to do, but you can't? My assumption is that it's not because they didn't have to say "If only..." due to having everything to begin with, but rather they chose not to say it. Instead, they created their own story...you know...the one that makes them happy. They are the people who decide what they want and make that the end of the story (that they get what they want). So instead of saying, "If only I had more money" or "If only I had more support", they might say, "how can I get more money" or "where can I get more support" and proceed to find it. Then as they climb the ladder of their plans, they simply get what they planned for! Lucky? I think not.

Not to say that every venture will only take you a day to complete it or that it's that easy. Depending on what you want and where you are starting from, it could take you a day or years to find accomplishment. The point is that you find what you want out of life and know that your chances of getting it are only possible without excuses. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "No one ever said life would be easy." No one ever said life had to be all dissatisfaction either. Fix your mind to bend from what society has conditioned you to believe and start believing what makes you feel treasured and satisfied. You might find that there are things you want out of life that would give you great satisfaction if you just got rid of some common-folk excuses and made plans to own them. Letting go and avoiding excuses is part of the formula for getting whatever you want.

Next time you start to say, "If only...", instead think of a "What if..." What if you went for what you wanted regardless of how much time it would take? What if it came out to be easier than you thought? What if you could end up changing the world? What if you could just end up changing your family and generations to come? What if you felt, looked, and acted better because of it?.....Better yet..... What IF there was no one going after their dreams? What kind of world would this be? What if there were no Oprahs, Donald Trumps, Joel Osteens, FloJos, Mark Zuckerbergs, or Barack Obamas? What if there were no charitable organizations? What if there were no gas station, coffee shop, fashion store, or grocery store owners? What if there were no writers or radio show hosts. What if there were no good cooks? Think about the people that inspire you and the things you love to do. Chances are, there's a person behind it all who didn't make excuses for what they wanted to do. I'd rather fail a hundred times and win once than to wonder, "What if..."
Go for getting whatever you want regardless of what your past negative thoughts have told you. Go for what you want regardless of what others think or say. Go for what you want because you only live one life (for all we know!). Go for what you want for the extraordinarily simple fact that if you don't, then you will never get it.

Portia has been writing for many years with a passion to help others, particularly in the areas of self-help, finances, and the home-business network. You can view more at http://amindofwealth.blogspot.com/

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Sure Things in Life - Beyond Death and Taxes

Stuff I'm Sure About
Benjamin Franklin once famously remarked "In this life nothing can be said to be certain but death and taxes."
Most of us, I suspect, will agree with old Ben. The times we live in are awash in uncertainties. We find ourselves in the eye of a technology revolution that is changing the world around us at dizzying speed. How do we stay grounded when everything around us is in flux?

The very institutions that used to provide stability to our lives, family, and church are in the throes of change. Added to our woes is an economy in crisis, high unemployment, yada,yada,yada. Man! I can't stand it.
Ben Franklin's way of coping with change in his day was a wry sense of humor and a quote that has endeared him to us even to today. Yea, Ben, your are right. There are few things certain in life but, with due respect, there are more than two items on the short list, items that we can hold on to and provide a sense of equanimity to our frazzled hearts and minds.
Here's my top six, my sure things in life. And first on the list is

LOVE
I am sure that there is no force more powerful in the world than the power of love. The love of a mom for her baby, a soldier for his country, the love of a saint for her God, the committed love of a spouse for her mate. Yes, I am sure that this kind of love, not only exists, but rules the world.

CONNECTIDNES
I am sure that every living thing is connected. What one person does affects every thing else. The butterfly effect, so called because the smallest of actions can cause major effects, is for me one of the certainties on which I base my life.

THE PRESENT MOMENT
What we have is today. Nobody can take that from us. The past is a memory; the future a guess. But, by gosh, we do have today.

THE PRESENCE OF CHILDREN
I am sure that there is nothing more beautiful in the world than a baby's smile or the innocent laughter of children.

COMPASSION
I am sure that no person is so far gone that he can't be redeemed by our compassion and forgiveness.

A REASON TO LIVE
Finally, I am certain that each one of us has a purpose, a role to play in life that we alone can play.
Those are my top six. May I suggest that you take it upon yourself to expand on old Ben's tongue in cheek list. Make your own list of stuff you can be certain about, things and values that make life worth celebrating. I guarantee that your list will beat the hell our of death and taxes.

The author, Hank Mattimore, is the author of "Grandpa To a Children's Village." He is a surrogate grandpa to twenty-four abused or neglected foster children living at The Children's Village in California.

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Happiness Stems From Within

To see or not to see that is the simple answer of how to be happy. So what do you see?
What do you see when you look out of the window to the world around you?
What do you see when you take a walk down your local street and neighbourhood?
I wonder if you see the joy, the love, the bright fresh colours and the magic of creation of mother earth. People bustling happy and peaceful focussed on the things they want to do today. Light souls learning and experiencing, absorbing all there is to absorb.
Or do you see a mass of stressed out, frustrated, angry and rushed people moving about erratically minding their own businesses closed to the fact that they are connected to all they see, hear and feel.

When it rains do you see a grey sky, coldness in the air, the sound of water falling heavily on the ground? Do you feel a sense of regret and loss for the previous day's sunshine or do you see the freshness of the green plants and trees as they become bathed in this cooling, nourishing, life-giving liquid? Do you feel cleansed and blessed when the raindrops settle on you, or rather do you feel irritated at the inconvenience of the weather, and focus on all that you cannot do? Do you taste the wetness of rain on your skin and smell the air awash with cleanness?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could choose to hear, feel and see only the beauty and the love that is in and surrounds each and every one of us all of the time?
Well you can
In our brain we have a cluster of nerve cells known as the Reticular Activating System (RAS.) These cells act like filters for what we choose to perceive about our world around us. As individuals we all have our own unique way of filtering for information that is in our reality of the world.

You have the power to choose whether you want to filter out the negative unhappiness you sometimes experience and only notice the positives beauty and love in people and yourself, wonderful opportunities and the amazing qualities that make up life. Or whether you choose to hear, feel and see only problems and negativity around you.
Your choice is not set in stone and you can change it whenever you choose. By making an intention to look for the good and love in all you see, feel and hear, you will find it and this will in turn attract more happiness to you. The famous quote 'Seek and you shall find,' in my opinion, relates exactly to this.
What would be a better way of looking at everything, everyone and particularly yourself to bring more love, joy and happiness into your world today?

There is much love in and around all of us, maybe it is time to remove your blinkers and acknowledge it within you. After all the choice is yours...
So what do you see, feel or hear now as you once again look out of your window?
Julie-Ann Blackmore is based in Bath, UK and runs her own business called How To Be You specializing in bringing improvements in health, wealth and happiness to her clients and customers. She combines years of experience, training and modern day practice with her innate psychic intuition and creativity to offer tailor made products and services. For further information on products and services available such as self help e books, abstract art, inspirational cards, women's fashion, intuitive guidance, inspirational and healing talks please visit her temporary website http://www.howtobeyou.wordpress.com/ To contact her via email howtobeyou@hotmail.com for requests of help

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3 Keys to How You Can Be Happy and Successful

Happiness is a lifelong pursuit. It's something we all strive for and yet to achieve full and lasting happiness seems elusive even for the most successful people among us.
Some people have even suggested that to become successful you need to first be unhappy, after all if you were happy where you were why would you try to get more? There is some truth to that, but I take a different view.
I say that if you can be happy in the pursuit of success then you can have both happiness and success.
How can this be accomplished? How can you be both happy and successful? Here are 3 key things you must do:
1. Try to find success in something you love
In order to be happy in the pursuit of success then its vitally important that whatever it is you try to be successful at be something you love to do. The reason is that if you love to do it you'll be able to work longer and harder at it, and you'll be happy while your doing it. Gaining success from it is just a bonus. Some people have called this follow your bliss or follow your heart.
2. Celebrate each step
Take time to celebrate all of the little victories. Just made your first dollar? Celebrate. Just got your 100th client? Celebrate. Celebrating mini-milestones is key to being both happy and successful. This is because of course celebrating is fun in and of itself and because it is an important psychological tool which lets your subconscious know you're making it. Its also important because it shows you progress is being made towards your goals. It lets you reflect on where you've came from and where you are now.
3. Laugh at and embrace failure
Everyone who has ever succeeded at anything has failed countless times before their success finally came. Once you accept and embrace that fact then failure becomes something entirely different. Failure is simply Gods way of telling you that your on the wrong track. So when you fail laugh at Gods humor and make sure to learn the lesson that the universe is trying to teach you. Then move on, adapt and overcome. You will fail again, but you will learn something again. Eventually, if everything works out then your eventual reward will be the achievement of your goal.
I know you can do it... now get started!
Brian is the creator of the site. Check out his site and especially his research on happiness and success.
http://thegoodlife.org/how-to-be-happy
http://thegoodlife.org/how-to-be-a-success

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