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[LifetoSuccess.com Weekly E-zine]

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Table of Contents Article - The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn, Part 4 of 5 - Jim Rohn Article - Your Personal Services - Brian Tracy Article - Slaying Your Own Giants  - Chris Widener

Date: December 5, 2004 From: John Clark Subscriber, I hope you took the Brian Tracy Personality Assessment from the last Ezine and the Suggestion of the Week. If you haven't click the link below and you can do it now: http://www.performfirst.net/u/bta/b.asp?id=1862 I hope your enjoying Jim Rohn's "The Seasons of Life" series. He has wisdom that timeless. I recently attended his Leadership Weekend event. What a life changing experience that was. If your looking for a philosophy that will make lasting change in your life you should try to make it to his next Weekend Event. I don't know when the next one is but you can experience the last one via CD and/or DVD's. Follow this Link for Details: http://3day.jimrohn.com/default.asp?kbid=3646 This was a great event with great speakers. Until the Next Ezine, Here's to your LifetoSuccess.

The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn, Part 4 of 5 - Jim Rohn This week is Part Four of our five part series on The Season's of Life. In Part One of the series we discussed: a) That life is about constant, predictable patterns of change. b) For all of us, the only constant factor is our feelings and attitudes toward life. c) We as human beings have the power of attitude and that attitude determines choice, and choice determines results. In Part Two of our series we discussed: a) Life and business are like the changing seasons. b) You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. c) A major lesson in life to learn is how to handle the winters. d) Winter time allows you to get stronger, wiser, better. The winters won't change, but you can. In Part Three of our series we discussed: a) Spring is the season for entering the fertile fields of life with seed, knowledge, commitment, and a determined effort. b) It is the promise of spring that as we sow, so shall we also reap, that for every disciplined human effort we will receive a multiple reward. c) There are just a handful of springs that have been handed to each of us. Don't just let the seasons pass by. This week we will talk about the third major lesson in life to learn; how to nourish and protect your crops all summer. Sure enough, as soon as you've planted, the busy bugs and noxious weeds are out to take things over. Here is the next bit of truth: they will take it, unless you prevent it. There are two key phrases to consider with the third major lesson. The first is "all good will be attacked." Don't press me for a reason. I was not in on some of the early decisions, so I don't know why. I just know that it's true. Let reality be your best beginning. Every garden will be invaded. The second phrase is "all values must be defended." Social values, political values, friendship values, business values - all must be defended. Every garden must be tended all summer. If you don't develop this skill, you'll never wind up with anything of value. But for those who make diligent efforts to plant, protect, and preserve there are not enough birds, bugs, or other obstacles to destroy all the efforts of last spring. (Next week we will talk about fall, the time of harvesting the fruits from our springtime labor.) To Your Success, Jim Rohn Great Health, Wealth, Relationships and Overall Success! Become part of a group that has committed to a plan, a process, a blueprint and a commitment to inspect and improve their lives. The Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan (including experts Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy) will help you do just that and become the person you desire to become. Visit: www.jimrohn.com today! To read previous articles, quotes, and Q and A from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine Archives, or to get a complete listing of Jim Rohn's books, audios, videos and seminar schedule, or to place an order; please go to: www.jimrohn.com or call 800-929-0434 M-F 8:30-5:30 CST.

Your Personal Services - Brian Tracy You are the President of your own personal services corporation. You are the Chief Executive Officer of your own life. You are completely responsible for this business of your life, and for everything that happens to both it and you. You are in charge of production, distribution, marketing, quality, finance, and research and development. You determine your own salary. Everything that you are or ever will be is completely up to you. In the long run, you write your own paycheck and determine your own salary. If you are not happy with the money that you are making, you can go the nearest mirror and negotiate with your boss. We are all where we are and what we are because that is where and what we have decided to be. If we are not happy with any part of our lives, it is up to us to make whatever changes are necessary to bring about a better state of affairs. As the President of your own personal services corporation, everything that affects business in the world today affects your personal business as well. We no longer have the luxury of standing aside and looking at the rate of change, thinking that it affects some people but not us. Every innovation, discovery, and paradigm shift in modern business is as applicable to you as it is to a multi-billion dollar corporation. Every piece of information being generated by management and business thinker in some way relates to you. The men and women who will survive and thrive in the years ahead are those who are continually looking for ideas and insights that they can use to be faster, more flexible, and more effective in their work on a day-to-day basis. Like all high achievers, your goal is to be a market leader. In fact, if you are not committed to being the best in your field, you are unconsciously accepting mediocrity. If you are not getting better, you are probably getting worse. If you are not committed to being one of the top 10 percent of the people in your field, you will end up somewhere far below. One of the most important findings in the last few years is that defining core values is a vital step for successful individuals and corporations. Companies that have clear, written values and mission statements based on those values are more consistently more profitable than those that do not. Likewise, individuals who have clear core values and personal mission statements seem to be far more effective and successful than those who do not. You can dramatically improve the quality of your life by thinking through what your values are, or should be, and then committing yourself to live consistently by those values, no matter what the external circumstances may be. My wife and I sat down one day and wrote out all the values that we believed in and were committed to. We came up with a list of 163 values. We immediately recognized that this list was far too large for us to use as the basis for decision making. So we cut the list down to about five key values. We then dedicated ourselves to organizing our lives around those five key values. And it has made an enormous difference in everything that we have accomplished in the last few years. Once you have determined what your personal values are, you can work toward organizing your life around them. Values give you a foundation upon which you can make your decisions. Whenever you are confronted with a choice between alternatives, you can evaluate the alternatives based on what you most value. What are your core values? What do you believe in? What do you stand for? What will you not stand for? Here's a great exercise. Imagine that a market research firm is going to come into your community and do a study on you. The researchers are going to ask all the people who know you, your family, friends, customers, coworkers, and bosses, to give their opinions of you. They are going to ask them what kind of person you are. They are going to ask what sort of values you have and what you stand for as an individual. They are going to ask about your philosophy and beliefs, based on your words and actions. They are going to work up a complete profile on you to be broadcast on national television. Based on this scenario, consider these questions: What would the people around you say to the researchers? How would they describe you? What kind of a quality rating would you get in your personal marketplace? Most importantly, how would you like them to talk about you in the future? Successful companies almost invariably sit down and think through the answers to these questions. Dr. Theodore Leavitt of the Harvard Business School says that a company's reputation is its most valuable asset in the marketplace. Any company that can positively influence the way customers think and talk about them to others has accomplished a tremendous feat. Its products, processes, and people may all change over time, but its reputation can last for decades. It is the same with you. What kind of reputation do you have in your marketplace? And what kind of reputation would you like to have sometime in the future? Once you have determined your core values, develop them into a mission statement. A mission statement is a future-tense description of the kind of person or corporation that you would ideally like to be in three to five years. These core values and the mission statement that flows from them then become your operating principles for everything you do. You commit all your resources to living consistently with them. With your values and your mission statement clear, you can further your effort to become a market leader by engaging in the seven Rs of modern management. These seven Rs are Re-engineering, Restructuring, Reorganizing, Reinventing, Re-evaluating, Rethinking, and Refocusing. In re-engineering your personal services corporation, you stand back and look at the entire process of your work, from the first thing you do to the ultimate result that you get for your company or your customer. You analyze this process and look for ways to streamline it by reducing steps, consolidating activities, outsourcing parts of the work, and even changing the process completely so that you can achieve the same or better results with less time and fewer resources. Re-engineering is an ongoing process in which you must engage throughout your work life. In restructuring, you continually look at the specific things you do that contribute the most value to your customers. You focus more and more of your time and talent on those few things that represent the highest pay-off for everyone involved. In reorganization, you are continually moving resources around so that you operate with greater efficiency and perform your tasks with greater effectiveness. You continually look for ways to increase your output relative to your input of time and money. In reinventing, you stand back from your work and imagine starting over again. Imagine for a moment that you were going to move across the street or across the country and begin your career or your business all over. What would you do differently? Where do you want your business to be in three to five years? What changes would you have to make in reinventing your business to create the future that you desire? Re-evaluating yourself and your business is the process of standing back and looking at yourself in terms of the marketplace. Whenever you experience stress, frustration, or continual roadblocks in achieving your goals, you need to take time to re-evaluate your situation and be sure that you are on the right track. The basic rule of business is that if you cannot develop a competitive advantage, don't compete. Your problems may be caused by your not being particularly good in a critical area. And you may have no real desire to excel in that area. Sometimes, the very best thing to do in a situation like this is to change your product, your service, your market, or your desired competitive advantage so that it is More consistent with your talents, abilities, and desires. In rethinking, you take time on a regular basis to think about who you are and where you are going. Since everything is changing so rapidly around you, more options are available to you now than ever before. And because it is very likely that you are going to be doing something completely different in a few years anyway, you can begin thinking today about where you want to be in the future. You can rethink and replan your entire career. One of the best ways to do this is to determine what it is that you really enjoy doing more than anything else, and then begin figuring out how you can find or create a job doing more of those things. The final R stands for refocusing. This is really the key to the future. It is your ability to concentrate your energies single-mindedly on doing those few things that make all the difference in your life. I am convinced that people are unsuccessful because they spend too much time doing things that contribute little to their lives. They spend more and more time doing things that have less and less value. On the other hand, highly successful people do not do a lot of things, but the few things they, they do extremely well. This seems to be the secret to great success and achievement in every area of life. The advantage of practicing the seven Rs, of focusing on the disciplines that enable you to be a market leader and master the forces of change, is that they allow you to regain control over your present and future. With a sense of control comes a feeling of personal power and greater self-confidence. When your life and your future are determined by you, rather than by the unpredictable winds of change, you feel happier, healthier, and more effective in everything you do. You the president of your own personal services corporation. You are in charge of your own life. You are responsible. When you begin to see yourself as an active participant in the dynamic world around you, you take full control of your own destiny. You become the architect of your own future, and the primary creative force in your own life. And always remember: You are your own best customer.   Executive Time Management (Sixty-minute video, two 60-minute audios plus two workbooks) Learn how to get goals, delegate effectively, get more done and be more productive. This fast-moving, one-hour video seminar, complete with 2 audio cassettes and 2 workbooks, will save you many hours of hard work, and thousands of dollars of wasted time and money. You learn how to: Identify your special strengths and talents; Set clear goals and priorities for yourself and others; Delegate all lower-value tasks to the right people; Plan every day and week in advance; Identify your key tasks and concentrate single-mindedly on one thing at a time; Overcome procrastination and get more important things done faster. Click Product Image for More Information For More Information About Brian Tracy Brian Tracy is a leading authority on personal and business success. As Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, he is the best-selling author of 17 books and over 300 audio and video learning programs. Join Brian's Free Email Newsletters. . Copyright � 2001 Brian Tracy International. All Rights Reserved. Webmasters: Add This Article To Your Site

Slaying Your Own Giants  - Chris Widener I read an old story the other day. It is one that almost everyone is familiar with, and as I read it, I realized that it is filled with a strategy for successfully defeating giants. Yes, giants. We all have them in our lives: Self-doubt, bad habits, financial difficulty, bad relationships etc, can all be giants in our lives. The story? David and Goliath. Take a journey back in time with me and see if there isn't a great deal of truth in this story that we can apply to our own lives today. Here are the timeless principles I see in this story of the little guy beating the giant: Expect giants to block the way to the Promised Land. Too many times we go for our dreams expecting that it will be like a cakewalk at the county fair. Not true! If you want to get to something as great as the promise land you imagine for your life, realize that the world isn't just going to roll over and die. No, competitors will do anything they can to keep you out. Naysayers will stand before you and tell you it can't be done. Giants will appear and you will have to go through them to get where you want to go. Don't go into your journey with your eyes closed. Expect to battle a giant or two! Attack your giant for a reason bigger than your own victory. For David, his reason was to defend the honor of God, since the giant was taunting God. Yes, he heard that he would get a wife out of the deal, but his biggest reason wasn't personal. The same is true with us. Yes, we will gain a lot from our successes but I have found that personal gain is usually fleeting in regard to long-term joy and happiness. Those things that bring a deep sense of personal satisfaction come from accomplishing something positive for an altruistic reason, or for some cause that transcends us! Recognize your own strengths. When asked if he thought if he could really defeat the giant, David reflected on his past successes. He thought about all those times that he was guarding his father's sheep and had to ward off animal attackers. Surely if he had killed both a lion and a bear, this human - even if he was nine feet tall! - wouldn't be much to do a way with. David knew his strengths. He knew what he could do, and he would do it again and again until he reached his goal. Don't use someone else's armor. Okay, the king was convinced: David could go ahead, but first, the king put his armor on David. Like a 10 year old in his father's suit, David walked around in the armor. �No thanks,� said David. He knew what he needed and it wasn't what worked for someone else. Yes, we need to take advice, but what works for one doesn't always work for everyone else. There is no cookie cutter path to success. There is more than one way to skin a cat (By the way, who came up with that disgusting analogy? But I digress�). �Dance with the one that brung ya,� they say. So on your way to success, stick with what works, not someone else's plan or strategy. David knew a slingshot would work just fine thank you. Take five weapons, though you may only need one. This was one of the really fascinating parts of the story. David obviously knew that he was good with a slingshot. Good enough to kill a giant, at least. So there was some assurance and self-confidence there. But he also knew that sometimes things go awry. He knew that sometimes it takes a few shots to kill the giants. So, even though eventually he only needed one smooth stone to do the job, he had four others for backup! What about you? Are you five deep in the resource pocket? If not, find a few more stones to do battle with your giant with. Run toward the giant, not away from it. Here was another interesting point. The story is sure to mention that David ran toward the giant. Why? To get a good shot! So many of us run away from our giants, hoping that if we do we will be able to avoid giants all together. Not true. We will just have to do battle with another giant somewhere else, and all we have chosen to do is go the circuitous route rather than the direct one. Move in close to your giant, and let him have it! Make sure it is dead after it falls. One shot and David's giant took a tumble. Did David party? Nope, he went and made sure that Giant wouldn't rise to haunt him another day. He went in close and with a big swipe of his sword, took the giant's head off! Giants have way of coming back to life, so be sure that you have really conquered your giant before you move on! Just like David, you CAN conquer your giants! You CAN move past them into your own promised land! Just stick with these age-old guidelines and you will be well on your way! Here they are again! Expect giants to block the way to the Promised Land. Attack your giant for a reason bigger than your own victory. Recognize your own strengths. Don't use someone else's armor. Take five weapons, though you may only need one. Run toward the giant, not away from it. Make sure it is dead after it falls. Take up your slingshot and take a few throws at your giant today! Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success and Extraordinary Leaders, two companies helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams. Join subscribers in over 100 countries around the world! Get Chris' FREE weekly Made for Success Ezine by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Get his FREE daily SuccessQuote� with action point by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Get his FREE monthly Extraordinary Leaders Ezine, one of the world's most widely distributed leadership newsletters, by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit his websites at http://www.madeforsuccess.com and http://www.madeforsuccess.com. Copyright 2002 Made for Success. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

LifetoSuccess.com Weekly Success Ezine Volume 10 www.lifetosuccess.com

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