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Making Tough Decisions
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Let me start by saying, the right thing to do usually isn’t the easy thing to do. The easy thing would be to not change because the near future is all you see in front of you. It all seems ok and there is no pain. You may not like it, but you say things like, “I can live with that” or “it’s not that bad”. That’s the beginning of compromising your life and your happiness. It’s a rare person that sees three months, six months or one year into the future. They have a certain capability to see the future and opportunity set before them and others as well. Most successful people in the world have the ability to see the change before it happens. There is an art to making tough decisions. First you have to commit to a time frame to make the decision. If you don’t you will live in a state of uncertainty and turmoil. You must say to yourself something like, “in two months I will have a decision made.” Second, look at all your options for today and for the future. This is important because our nature is that we don’t want to let people down or worry about what people will think of us if we make the wrong decision. If you don’t take a chance and make the hard decisions you will continue to be in the same place, the same job, doing the same thing, living life with the question, what if. Third, you have to commit to your decision. You can’t go into life changing decisions trying it out. After you look at all the pros and cons and you’ve made your decision you have to commit to it. If not you will always just be trying new stuff and never giving 100 percent. You will just give enough to tell yourself you gave it a shot.
Harry S. Truman once said, “All my life, whenever it comes time to making a decision, I make it and forget about it.”
Let’s face it; most people don’t like being decision makers. We all like the plan to be laid out for us so that we call follow. That’s why there are managers and leaders. But there will come a day if hasn’t already that you will have to be the manager and eventually the leader to yourself! If not you will continue to follow until the day someone is standing at podium talking about what a great person you where! Life is short. There are times you really have to make decisions for yourself and the people closest to you. Stop avoiding the confrontation of decision making and follow these three easy steps to your happiness. Life is too short not to be happy!
The Hard Way
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Imagine yourself floating down a river. You’re sipping a drink, the sun’s on your face, and life couldn’t be better. As a matter of fact, the birds are chirping and you’re thinking, “This is Utopia. I hope it never ends! This is what I dreamed my life would be.” And then, in an instant, the weather changes, a storm moves in, and the previously calm water has turned to raging rapids. Isn’t that like life? Just when you feel like everything’s in place and going just right, things change in an instant.We’ve all been there, and we’ll be there again. You can’t ever shield yourself completely from adversity. It’s going to happen.
So the question becomes: How will you respond?
I can tell you that in my years of coaching and talking to large numbers of people about the adversity they’re facing, most people first play the blame game. So if you are floating down the river in that raft, most people start thinking, “It’s their fault I’m here. They told me this river was safe. They told me I’d be fine floating here. It’s their fault.” Blame quickly turns to anger: “I knew I should never have gone into this water. Everyone told me it could be dangerous.” By the time you reach the rapids, you’re complaining the whole way, holding on for dear life and wishing you’d just stayed in bed. Your mind races with thoughts like, “This is crazy. I’m gonna crash and burn. This is the worst situation ever!”
Just when you’re sure you’ll never survive, the sun begins to peek through the clouds and the waters calm. Before you know it, you’re thinking, “Hey, that wasn’t so bad! even be able to do that again. As of fact, I’m such an expert now that I bet I could tell other people about riding the rapids and offer advice.”
The moral of the story: Have a plan. Adversity will come into your life. You can’t stop it, so you might as well plan for it. Things that seem overwhelming in your life right now, will seem much more manageable with a plan in place.
The Value Of ‘THANK YOU’
[tweetmeme]There are certain times of the year when thankfulness seems more plentiful. Thanksgiving Day is a natural time to pause and count our blessings, while the Christmas holiday is a natural time to be thankful for the family, friends and celebrations that add meaning to our lives. The rest of the year, most of us don’t say ‘thank you’ nearly enough. I know the importance of those two little words, though.That’s why Imake sure to say ‘thank you’ to all those who help me do what I do:
• Thank you for working alongside me.
• Thank you for your loyalty and belief in me.
• Thank you for your strength to get through the frustration and the tears.
• Thank you for your drive to work hard and be the best you can be.
• Thank you for your part in helping us grow by leaps and bounds.
Taking time out to let those around you know they are appreciated, that the work they do is noticed and valued, goes a long way. It can turn a promising newcomer into a top producer. It can make a committed teammember really shine. It canmake the people around you not just willing but eager to help you look your best. Do you want to reach the top?Don’t forget to say ‘thank you’ along the way to those who are helping you achieve that goal. Who can you thank today and for what? Don’t wait. Do it now.
Tip Of The Week: How To Live In Today And See Your Tomorrow!
CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTION, CHANGE YOUR LIFE
We’ve all heard it said that ‘perception is reality,’ but have you thought about the fact that a lot of the adversity we face in our lives is rooted in our perception?
So,what is perception?Perception, defined, is ‘the process of using the senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation.’ It is also an impression, an attitude or understanding based on what is observed through your thoughts. So, what is your perception of your career, your life, your finances? Is your
perception part of the problem or part of the solution? If your perception of the economy right now and anything that is happening in the world is that it’s all on the skids and that buying and investing in anything at this time is ludicrous, that is your reality.There is nothing I could say, no evidence I could present to change your perception or the resulting reality.
We’ve all heard it said that ‘perception is reality,’ but have you thought about thefact that a lot of the adversity we face in our lives is rooted in our perception?So,what is perception?Perception, defined, is ‘the process of using the senses to acquireinformation about the surrounding environment or situation.’ It is also an impression,an attitude or understanding based on what is observed through your thoughts.So, what is your perception of your career, your life, your finances? Is yourperception part of the problem or part of the solution?If your perception of the economy right now and anything that is happening inthe world is that it’s all on the skids and that buying and investing in anything atthis time is ludicrous, that is your reality.There is nothing I could say, no evidenceI could present to change your perception or the resulting reality.
– excerpt from WAKE UP! Jumpstart The Life You’ve Always Had In Mind.
How Do You Plan?
More on Goals from a friend
“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting” – Steven Covey
Less than 3 percent of Americans have written goals, and less than one percent review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis. The payoff for setting goals and making plans to be able to choose the kind of life you desire is well documented and undisputed. So why do so few people set goals? According to Brian Tracy, there are 4 reasons why people don’t set goals.
1) They are simple not serious
2) They don’t understand the importance of goals
3) Fear of rejection caused by destructive criticism of those close to them
4) Fear of failure
So if you have not sat down yet and set your goals for 2010, what is the reason. Are you not serious? Do you understand the importance of setting goals? Are you afraid of being criticized by family or friends? Are you afraid of failure? Sometimes the only difference between a successful person and a failure is that the successful person has the courage to get started.
I encourage you to use these last few days of 2009 to set your goals for the new year. Take charge and accept responsibility for your results.
-Chuck DeMarti
A Lost Art
With e-mail the main method of contacting your business partners, the importance of a handwritten Thank You card is almost a lost art. A Thank You card is still a professional way of letting your clients know that you appreciate them and value their business. Don’t underestimate the value of a handwritten Thank You card. Some easy tips to remember are:
1) Write Thank You cards as soon as possible. Ideally at the end of each day
2) Handwritten cards are more personal in nature
3) Make them short
4) Check your spelling
5) Write slowly. This will help make your handwriting more legible
Thank You cards are an important part in building and maintaining your business relationships. You will be more than compensated for the time it takes and your clients will be more inclined to doing business with you because of your show of appreciation.
Your 2010 Goals
If you are like many, you’re constantly creating goals. Being a new year, here is an idea on a new way to achieve your goals in 2010.
It’s All In Your Head
The following is an excerpt from the book WAKE UP!
When I try to think ‘big picture’ about what makes people successful in business or in life, the first and most obvious part of the ‘big picture’ to me is this: It’s all in your head!
Meaning, it’s what’s in your head that sabotages you. Our minds are powerful tools that can be used to both imprison and free us. To be successful, we have to be mentally strong enough to respond to whatever happens in a positive, pro-active way. Mental toughness is a process. It just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s like any kind of strength training. You start out slowly, with smaller weights. You learn to pick and choose the options that work best for you, where you are.
When something terrible or unexpected happens, you may be prone to thinking, “You know, that’s just my luck. Stuff like this always happens to me.” Or, even when things are rolling along smoothly, you may be one of those worriers—that person who always assumes the worst will happen in any given situation. Self-image is a tough thing for all of us. We all have our own insecurities, our own sense of inadequacy, even failure. And if you really just want to try to hold on to what you have, that negative self-image will always speak louder in your head than anything else. People with half your ability will accomplish more in life only because they believe better things about themselves. Their perception makes for a more successful reality.
The beginning of mental conditioning is training yourself to recognize and acknowledge the strengths you already have. Everyone says, ‘If I could just live up to my potential,’ but to be honest, I don’t buy that. We’re always looking for abilities we wish we had, rather than recognizing the gifts and skills we already have. Why do you suppose that is?
Everybody’s afraid of what others think. When you close your eyes, that person is in your head, saying what you think they think about you (and it’s never good). We’re always afraid that someone’s going to pull the curtain back and find out we don’t know as much as we think we know. That somehow we’re not as accomplished, smart or successful as they are.
Even when all the talent and know-how and drive and determination is already there to succeed, just a whiff of fear will kill it before it even begins. That’s why it’s essential to ‘retrain’ your mind to work FOR you, not against you. Train it to take the time to gain perspective, to respond, not to react. To think: ‘What are my options here?’
Whatever the situation—whether it’s personal relationship trouble or challenges in business—you always have options. Mentally, you lay it all out: What do I really want to do? What is the best way to respond to get what I want? What will be the best scenario short-term? Long term? Each option comes with a given consequence, so you train yourself to think through those as well. Some of the consequences automatically rule out the option. Once you narrow down the options, keeping ‘mind over matter’ means you learn to play to your best strength and go with the option you know you’ll be best at, the response that will work best for you.
If you see yourself as a person who already has the talent and skill and drive and determination to get things done…If underneath all that is a fundamental belief that you deserve to succeed in everything you work hard at…How and where and who you envision yourself to be is how and where and who you are…and will be.
Always…
be willing to try…
be actively learning…
lead by example…
believe you add value to whatever you do…
be open…
be contagious…
Is this you? If not, begin each day retraining yourself to think, speak and act in affirming, intentional and positive ways. To change your perspective is to change your life.
What are the voices in your head saying? And how do you need to change them?
Purchase WAKE UP! at http://www.manginelligroup.com/wakeup/
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