Power of hope

No matter how bad things seem to be at any moment of time, there is always hope. There is a saying "This too will pass"  I hope that todays story brings a small ray of hope to you this day!!! Jean Kerr said, "Hope is the feeling you have, that the feeling you have, isn't permanent." It is what we have when we know that we WILL eventually survive the night and bask in sunshine once again. It does not deny the present darkness, but it reminds us that dawn is coming. Brigadier General Robinson Risner ("Robbie") spent seven years as a POW at the "Hanoi Hilton," as prisoners of war called their North Viet Nam compound. There he discovered the power of hope. He spent four and a half years of that time in isolation. He endured ten months of total darkness. Those ten months were the longest of his life. When they boarded up his little seven-by- seven foot cell, shutting out the light, he wondered if he was going to make it. He had already been under intense physical and mental duress after years of confinement. And now, not a glimmer of light shone into his cell -- or into his soul. Robbie spent hours a day exercising and praying. But at times he felt he could nothing but scream. Not wanting to give his captors the satisfaction of knowing they'd broken him, he stuffed clothing into his mouth to muffle the noise as he screamed at the top of his lungs. One day Robbie got down on the floor and crawled under his bunk. He located a vent that let in outside air. As he pressed against the vent, he saw a faint glimmer of light reflected on the inside wall of the opening. Robbie put his eye next to the cement wall and discovered a minute crack in the construction. It allowed him to glimpse outside, but was so small that all he could see was one blade of grass. A single blade of grass and a faint ray of light. But when he stared at the sight, he felt a surge of joy, excitement and gratitude like he hadn't known in years. "It represented life, growth, and freedom," he later said, "and I knew God had not forgotten me." It was a tiny glimmer hope that sustained Robbie through an unbearable ordeal. The human spirit is strong. It seems to run forever on nothing but a morsel of hope. Without it, you have nothing. With it, nothing else matters.

How to get friends

Just a short message today. Have been thinking about friends over the last few days and I wanted to just share an idea: If you call on your friends only when you need something, you will soon find yourself without friends. There is a great deal of wisdom in the phrase, “If you want friends, be a friend.” Friendship means giving without expecting anything in return. Busy, successful people are not searching for new friends. If you want to be their friend, you must make the effort to befriend them. Let them know that you are interested in them as people, not in what they can do for you, and you may find that you have made a true and loyal friend. Make sure you do stop and thank the people in your lives. igniting the fire within. www.fraserstirling.co.nz

CONTROLLING THOUGHTS

I have just been away on a conference and had plenty of time to think about the power of our thoughts. Whats the difference between the person who makes something of their lives and someone who just drifts along? The drifter makes no attempt to discipline or control his thoughts, and he never learns the difference between positive thinking and negative thinking. He allows his mind to drift with any stray thought which may float into it. People who drift in connection with their thought habits are sure to drift on other subjects as well. In an allegorical account of an interview with the devil it was stated that the devil said he feared nothing except that the world might sometime produce a thinker who would use his own mind, adding significantly that he controlled all drifters who neglected to use their own minds. The devil is not the only individual who exploits the drifter. And the drifter is the victim not only of all those who wish to exploit him, but he is also the victim of all the stray, negative thoughts which park themselves in his mind. The non-drifter takes full possession of his own mind through self-discipline, and organizes definite plans and purposes. He directs his mind to whatever ends he desires, and he keeps his mind occupied with the things he wants and off the things he does not want. A positive mental attitude is the first and the most important of the twelve riches of life, and it cannot be attained by the drifter. It can be attained only by a scrupulous regard for time, through habits of self-discipline. No amount of time devoted to one's occupation can compensate for the benefits of a positive mental attitude, for this is the power which makes the use of time effective and productive. A positive mental attitude does not grow voluntarily, like the weeds of the fields. It requires cultivation, through carefully disciplined habits of thoughts. And the greatest of all training grounds for the cultivation of a positive mental attitude is provided by one's chosen occupation, where he spends the greatest part of his life. Here you may combine your efforts to make them financially productive and to develop a positive mental attitude. When you get your own thought habits under control, you will have yourself under control, but you cannot do it by drifting. Organize your thoughts. Decide what you want, to what position in life you aspire. Then plan ways and means to express your thoughts, in terms of organized action. Follow through with applied faith and unremitting persistence. This is the means by which you can become the master of your fate, the captain of your soul. Waste no time worrying about what others may think. The important thing is what you think and do. Its the key to igniting our own inner fire. Igniting lives on fire. www.fraserstirling.co.nz

Learn from your mistakes

If you don’t know why you failed, you are no wiser than when you began. There’s an old saying that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So it is with our failures. Unless we learn from our mistakes, we are likely to repeat them until we learn from such experiences and correct our course-or give up and accept temporary defeat as permanent failure. Every setback you encounter in life contains valuable information that, if you study it carefully, will eventually lead you to success. Without adversity, you would never develop wisdom, and without wisdom, success would be short lived indeed. When you make a mistake, say, “That’s good! I’ve gotten that out of the way. I will never do that again.” You will no doubt make other mistakes, but they won’t bother you nearly as much when you treat them as learning experiences. By learning from our mistakes we are one step closer to knowing what ignites our fire. www.fraserstirling.co.nz

ARE YOU FEELING STUCK?

Do you ever feel like there are parts of you saying yes, while other parts are holding you back? There is a cast of characters that live inside of us all and at different times we may be run by one voice over another. (almost like the 2 angels). The key question here is this. If you are committed to being successful, how can you put your dreamer and visionary at the helm, on a day-to-day basis? If you can turn the volume up on the voice of the dreamer, and the volume down on the voice of the doubter, you will create more opportunities for greater success with greater ease. What are the voices saying inside of your head? Who are the people in your life and on your team who might be playing these roles? Imagine that your dream is to take risk, a big risk that could really grow your business. Perhaps you would change jobs, an assistant or move to a bigger space. Here's how these voices might typically respond. Doubter - This voice is often heard saying such things as, "I don't think that's a good idea." "I have my doubts." Even "bad idea." If you were to really crank the volume up on this voice it could turn into a real annihilator saying things like, "Are you out of your mind?" Realist - "Be realistic..." If we turn the doubter down a bit, it becomes the voice of a realist. Realists aren't bad, as a matter of fact, they are important for they require evidence and solid plans. The way to deal with this voice is to give it what it needs. If you ignore it, or worse reject it, it can cleverly sabotage you. Being realistic often offers prudence and makes us do our homework. However, if you are overly realistic you may kill the passion around your dream. Dreamer - Once the realist is fed (with facts and strategies) there is room for the dreamer. The dreamer says, "What if..." (the doubter often says, "But what if...") The dreamer imagines what is possible, is an opportunist, believes in the dream and finds creative outlets. Dreamers talk about their dreams in a powerful way, with clarity and intention. Serious dreamers build Dream Teams as they get others excited about their vision. And most importantly, dreamers take action to make their dreams a reality. Visionary - This voice says, "Anything is possible, let's dream big!" You know these people. These are the folks we look up to and admire. Setbacks or failures do not stop them. They have learned the process of realizing their dreams and now they embody what it means to be a big dreamer. Simply put, a visionary has a vision and they invite others to join them. Often people are so inspired by this visionary that they ask to participate. People enroll themselves when they are in the presence of a true visionary. A visionary is not defined by the size of the dream, for dreams come in all sizes and areas of life. If you were truly living your dream, even your "dream come true life," how would it be? What do you see yourself doing, where are you doing it, and who is doing it with you? How many lives would you touch and how many people would you help? www.fraserstirling.co.nz

SIGNS OF GREATNESS

You have to love the Rugby World Cup and all the highs and lows that go with top level sport. One team is enjoying success and the other is in the pit of disappointment. Thats the difference between the average and the top of their game. The average person quits at the first failure they encounter. That’s why there have been many average men throughout the years and only one Edison or someone who stands up and makes a difference. I believe that one of the best ways to get what we want, is to look at people who have been successful and follow in their footsteps. So it is with Edison. He demonstrated what is needed to be the best we can be... Thomas Edison observed that the reason most folks don’t recognize opportunity when it comes knocking is that it is often dressed in overalls and looks like work. Edison knew that anything worthwhile never comes easily; if it were easy, anyone could do it. Because he persisted far beyond the point the average person would consider reasonable and rational, he produced inventions that even the most learned people of the day considered impossible. Great advances in knowledge are often achieved by people with an almost fanatical devotion to finding the solution to a problem. Flashes of inspiration alone are not enough to ensure success; they must be followed by determined, persistent action. So as we enter the final stages of the Rugby World Cup, take note of those who have persisted and overcome, they have a commitment to be the best they can be. www.fraserstirling.co.nz

IS LIVE WORTH LIVING?

Over the past while as I’ve sought out ideas, principles and strategies to life’s roller coaster . Recently I have been really digging deep and I believe four simple words that can make living worthwhile. First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN. What you don't know WILL hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences—negative or positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people's experiences, both positive and negative. I've always said that it is too bad failures don't give seminars. Obviously, we don't want to pay them so they aren’t usually touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable—we would learn how someone who had it all then messed it up. Learning from other people's experiences and mistakes is valuable information because we can learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves. We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a good listener. Now I do suggest that you should be a selective listener; don't just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we read, so learn from every source; learn from lectures; learn from songs; learn from sermons; learn from conversations with people who care. Always keep learning. Second, life is worthwhile if you TRY. You can't just learn; now you have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new sport. It doesn't mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out? Third, life is worthwhile if you STAY. You have to stay from spring until harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up. And that's the end, but just don't end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through. And lastly, life is worthwhile if you CARE. If you care at all you will get some results, if you care enough you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win. Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can you make in your life today by putting these words to work? www.fraserstirling.co.nz Fraser

KEYS FOR VISULIZATION

Some of my most read posts are those where i expand on Visualization and dream boards.  I thought I would recap on some key aspects of Visualization. Did you know that there are four parts of visualization that you can learn and practice to assure that you use this incredible power to its best advantage all the days of your life.  This helps you stop living the life of others and start igniting the fire within. 

How Often?

The first aspect of visualization is frequency, the number of times that you visualize a particular goal as achieved of yourself performing in an excellent way in a particular event or circumstance. The more frequently you repeat a clear mental picture of your very best performance or result, the more rapidly it will appear as part of your reality.  At least once day, otherwise it can become seen as a chore.  

How Long?

The second element of visualization is the duration of the mental image, the length of time that you can hold the picture in your mind each time you replay it. When you deeply relax, you can often hold a mental picture of yourself performing at your best for several seconds, and even several minutes. The longer you can hold your mental picture, the more deeply it will be impressed into your subconscious mind and the more rapidly it will express itself in your subsequent performance. I personally believe first thing in the morning is the best time.  However just find a time that suits you. 

How Clearly?

The third element of visualization is vividness. There is a direct relationship between how clearly you can see your desired goal or result in your mind and how quickly it comes into your reality. This element of visualization is what explains the powers of the Law of Attraction and the Law of Correspondence. The vividness of your desire directly determines how quickly it materializes in the world around you. Here is an interesting point. When you set a new goal for yourself, your image or picture of this goal will usually be vague and fuzzy. But the more often you write it, review it, and repeat it mentally, the clearer it becomes for you. Eventually, it will become crystal clear. At that point, the goal will suddenly appear in your world exactly as you imagined it.  Ignite the fire within.  

How Intensely?

The fourth element of visualization is intensity, the amount of emotion that you attach to your visual image. In reality, this is the most important and powerful part of the visualization process. Sometimes, if your emotion is intense enough and your visual image is clear enough, your goal will immediately come true.

Its about getting passionate about your own life. 

Achieving Your Dreams

Recently I have been talking about taking action.  Taking action on what?   Your dream/s....unless we are chasing our own personal ideal, we are floundering.

While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. And here sits the much larger group, wondering how life can be so unfair, so complicated and unjust. What’s the major difference between the little group with so much and the larger group with so little?

Despite all of the factors that affect our lives—like the kind of parents we have, the schools we attended, the part of the country we grew up in—none has as much potential power for affecting our futures as our ability to dream.

Dreams are a projection of the kind of life you want to lead. Dreams can drive you.  Dreams ignite the fire within.  Dreams can make you skip over obstacles. When you allow your dreams to pull you, they unleash a creative force that can overpower any obstacle in your path. To unleash this power, though, your dreams must be well defined. A fuzzy future has little pulling power. Well-defined dreams are not fuzzy. Wishes are fuzzy. To really achieve your dreams, to really have your future plans pull you forward, your dreams must be vivid.

You’ve got to be a dreamer. You’ve got to envision the future. You’ve got to see the Alps while you’re climbing 14,000-foot peaks. You’ve got to see the finish line while you’re running the race. You’ve got to hear the cheers when you’re in the middle of a monster project. And you’ve got to be willing to put yourself through the paces of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. Because that’s how you realise your dreams.

What a delight it is to wake with a sense of purpose and passion.

Ignite the fire within.

www.fraserstirling.co.nz

What Inspires you?

Over the recent weeks I have been drawing a range of resources for inspiration(encouragement). One of the things that I find is fail safe and works every time is audio and or video speeches. There are my personal favourites such as Jim Rohn, Dennis Wailtey and then there are this that have stood the test of time and are still inspiring many years later.

Today I just wanted to share some of the classic clips ignite the fire within you today.

Enjoy:

Igniting the inward fire

www.fraserstirling.co.nz

The Art of Visualization.

Recently I have been reading about the power and the importance of visualization. The ability to first create in our mind. One of my main mentors is Dennis Waitley and I love his phrase if you see it in the mind you will see it in the hand.

The art of visualization helps you make your goals part of your subconscious reflex habits, like brushing your teeth or driving your car. Imagine that you’re driving home. Think about the steps you take. You start the car, turn left at the light on Main Street, take a right to the expressway, and head west to the foothills. These interim steps break down your final objective into easily segmented steps.

Psychologists call this interior model or template a “cognitive map.” The cognitive map gives you an image by which to check progress at every moment. If you expect to reach a landmark in less time than you are taking on this particular trip, you might speed up a little to get back on pace. Scientists refer to the process of adjusting your actions to fit your image of what is right as using a “negative feedback loop.” This doesn’t mean that you berate yourself when you get off track. It means you mentally correct to the target.

This week begin to utilize or increase your utilization of the art of visualizing your dreams, so that accomplishment of your goals simply becomes a habit!

Or as Covey would say"See the end in mind".

Want to know more....

The Quiet- Paul Wilson

Psychocybernetics. Waltz

Many many other great books too.

Igniting Lives on Fire

www.fraserstirling.co.nz

I STAND AND KNOCK ON THE DOORS OF MEN(OPPORTUNITY)

Opportunities somehow always seem to gravitate toward busy people who can hardly keep up with those they already have. Logically, it would seem that opportunities would make an effort to seek out individuals who have an abundance of time available, but instead opportunities appear for those who have goals and dreams and a plan for achieving them. We often think of opportunity as a living, moving thing, something that actively seeks out a willing recipient. In fact, the reverse is true. Opportunities are ideas or concepts that exist only in the minds of those who recognize them. When you have no goals or plans, opportunities mean nothing to you. They become opportunities only when you recognize them as ideas that you can implement to help you move toward your goal.

Is there areas of your life that have been causing you to wonder what is going on? Maybe you need to revisit the event and look at it with a different lenses?

Igniting lives with fire.

Visit www.fraserstirling.co.nz

What a kick up the back side does?

Last week I was blind sided and hit from behind while waiting at an intersection. It reminded me of the importance of living my life and not allowing others to live it for me. Eg others making my decisions and or just watching TV...filling in time.

It is so important to be living in prime time, rather than watching TV in prime time. On your way to success make certain you grow friendships, not just bank and mutual fund accounts. Life is a collection of memories, not of material things. The Egyptian pharaohs were buried with all their treasures, and were mummified in hopes that they could enjoy their bounty in the next life. But we are only caretakers of possessions. There is a big difference between standard of living and quality of life. Standard of living is based on income earned. Quality of life is the enjoyment of the millions of minutes in between accomplishments.

Having money is only one aspect of wealth. To the sick person, wealth is health. To the lonely person, wealth is someone to talk to and share with. To the estranged person, wealth is hearing words of love and forgiveness.

Borrowing the free verse style from Brother Jeremiah's classic poem, I'd Pick More Daisies, here are a few things I'd do, the second time around.

I'd laugh at my misfortunes more. Spend more time counting my blessings than my blemishes. Spend more time playing with my children and grandchildren and less time watching performers in the arena. More time enjoying what I have, less time thinking about the things I don't have. If I could live my life again, I'd walk in the rain more without an umbrella and listen less to weather reports. I'd spend more time looking at trees and climbing them, less time flipping through magazines made from dead trees. I'd spend more time fully involved in the present moment, less time remembering and anticipating. I'd smile more, frown less.

And most of all I'd be more spontaneous and active, less hesitant and subdued. When some spur of the moment idea came up to go hiking, playing Frisbee, coloring Easter eggs, singing in a chorus, going kayaking, or watching an eclipse, I'd be less likely to sit in my chair objecting, "It's not in our plan."

I'd be inclined to jump up and run out the door next time and say, "Yes, we can!" Although I can't live my life again, I'm still going to live the new way every day any way. I'll never have all the moments I've missed, but I do have all the time remaining.

Hopefully I don't experience the feeling of that afternoon again. However one good side is that it has got my thinking back on track.

Action Idea: Choose one activity this month that you really want to engage in, but that you have been putting off because it isn't a priority. Schedule that activity in your planner, as if it were a "must do" business or financial commitment. When you have done it, while you are still feeling good, schedule one for next month, and do it as long as you live.

How one man made his seminar a success.

I am a very avid fan of Bob Proctor.
Here is his personal recount of how he got his self started...

As you step in the front door of the home I lived in on Maple Wood Lane in Glenview, Illinois, in 1973, there was a room immediately to your left I referred to as the den. Imagine a small room, approximately 12 feet by 12 feet. There are two very comfortable chairs on one wall, with a window in between. The opposite wall is a love seat. There are a couple of plants and pictures on the wall, a rug on the floor and that would be it.

As I go back in time, I see myself sitting in the first chair on the left hand side as you enter the room, with a pen and a pad. I'm beginning to write a description of the company I am going to build. I feel myself experiencing emotional discomfort. I have just left my position as Vice President of Sales with the Nightingale-Conant Corporation. I had been there for 5 years, and I am feeling a little insecure having left there. I know it is my old paradigm having flashes of control over me.

It's an odd thing. Intellectually I knew feeling insecure was silly. I had built a very successful company on my own prior to joining Nightingale-Conant; I could do it again. I had well over a decade of serious study of the human personality. I clearly understood why we do what we do and why we don't do many of the things we want to do.. Regardless, that feeling of insecurity was there. I am sure you know what I am talking about. I had worked with Nightingale-Conant for 5 years, and I realized that working for someone else, receiving a paycheck from them over a 60- month period had created a relationship in my mind where the company and my security were connected. They were writing the check; they were looking after me so I was secure.

Intellectually I knew that was a false concept, but I wasn't dealing with my intellect, I was dealing with my emotions. I was dealing with my old paradigm. We're raised with the idea, get a good job, you'll be safe. It's such a false idea and yet it's one that a high percentage of the population believes in.

Fortunately, I understood what was causing this emotional discomfort. It was the paradigm, and I would not let the paradigm win. Intellectually I knew if I built one company I could build another and that's what I intended to do.

With pen and pad in hand I began to describe what I was going to do with my life from that point on. I had once heard Earl Nightingale say that we should find out what we love to do and then dedicate our life to it. When he said that I made a physical and mental note of it. I had an innate understanding that that was one of the beautiful truths we should all live by. And that idea was running around my mind as I sat preparing to mentally create my company.

I knew what I loved doing. I loved teaching people the Truth. I loved showing people how their paradigm is nothing but a multitude of habits that had been fixed in their subconscious mind by other people. It was robbing them of their dream. It was controlling their thinking. It was controlling their life. I love teaching people how to recognize and change that.

I made up my mind sitting in that little 12 x 12 room that day that I would dedicate the rest of my life to this work. With that decision made, quitting was not an option. My dream had to manifest. There was only one way to go.

Initially my new company consisted of just a few notes on a lined pad. But those few notes triggered a picture in my mind that was awesome. And I had enough experience under my belt to know that all you have to do is hold the picture and then follow your feelings. Your feelings will direct you on what your next step is. I think Thomas Carlisle put it very well when he said, "Go as far as you can see; when you get there you'll see how to go further."

The first step became obvious. If I was going to teach a seminar I would have to write one first. I had sufficient information but it had to be organized into a seminar format. Another thought came to my mind almost simultaneously -- go ahead and sell the seminar and then you'll have to write it. I had two people that wanted to work with me. One lived in Belleville, Ontario, about 150 miles East of Toronto. The other one was in Gary, Indiana. I was planning on moving back to Toronto from Chicago. So I decided we would do a seminar in 3 different cities each week: Belleville on Monday night, Toronto on Tuesday night and Gary, Indiana on Thursday night. It would be an 8-week seminar, 3 hours each week from 7-10pm.

I sold it, wrote it and taught it all at the same time during that 8 week period. I wrote the first seminar and the week I was teaching it I wrote the 2^nd one and so on. It was a busy 8 weeks. I clearly remember the last week of the seminar series . the last seminar was on leadership. I worked all night and then lay down on the floor and went to sleep. The seminar was taken to the printer. When it was delivered to the hotel in Belleville on Monday night for me to teach, the ink was still wet on the paper. That was a crazy 8 weeks. Although the experience was worth millions, I sure would never want to do it again.

That's where it all started.

Then I sold the seminar to The Prudential of America Insurance Company. It was highly successful.

The seminar was showing people why they weren't doing the things they really wanted to do. It explained how their mind operated on two different levels. The Conscious Mind is our thinking mind. It's where we make our plans. And sometimes that is where the plans stay - they never see the light of day as the Subconscious Mind controls our behavior. If you are going to realize your plans and turn them into results, you must deposit those plans in the treasury of your Subconscious Mind. That requires changing the conditioning.

Right from the beginning we were very successful. The word of what we were doing was spreading. We were invited into various companies and into other countries.

Every cent that we earned was pumped back into the Company. I believed this was a safe bet because I was betting on me. I had eliminated all options. The company must grow; it must continue. I could not lose. I often wonder about people who want to be in business for themselves but don't want to spend any money to do it. A lot of people start a business and say "I'm going to give it a try." That never works. You must give it your all.

I was invited to Australia to do a seminar. I had to go to the Australian Embassy to get a Visa to enter the country. I got talking to the man that ran the Australian Embassy in Toronto, and I ended up selling him a license to operate our company in Australia.

Based on a write up in Success Magazine, I got a call from Malaysia from a man in Kuala Lumpur. I ended up conducting seminars for all the insurance companies in Malaysia and Singapore. Our company was selected over a number of other companies to conduct a complete program for all the personnel of Malaysia Airlines from the Captain to the baggage claim personnel, from the board of directors to the ticket counter representatives.

I was virtually living on an airplane. Fortunately, I don't mind flying, and I get a lot of work done when I'm in the air. However, I knew that if the company was going to continue to grow I could not be the only one that was teaching seminars.

It was then that we decided that we would set up a consulting/facilitation division where individuals who had a desire to do what I was doing could purchase a license to teach all of our material. That concept has been very successful and enabled LifeSuccess Productions to be represented in approximately 90 countries around the world.

Like any business, ours had its ups and downs, but I always refused to quit. After all, I had burned all my bridges.

I can't think of anything where I could get more satisfaction than that which I enjoy in this business. As I'm writing this, I am getting ready to fly to Zurich in a few hours, from there to Los Angeles, then to Phoenix, then onto Helsinki in Finland. That's this month. And that's only a part of what I'm doing. I believe this has to be the most exciting business there is. I've been in it since 1968. Every year I enjoy it more than the prior year.

Bob Proctor

How to stay motivated

Just been on holiday with no TV, radio.....internet...zippo...nothing and I was still highly motivated, and was reminded of this great article by Chris Widener.

Some time ago, someone wrote me an email and said, “I would love to know what motivates YOU!” So I took them up on it and I want to tell you how I stay motivated.

It is a valid question, this one of what motivates me. After all, each and every day I have to stay on the top of my game whether it is because I am giving a speech, marketing my materials or just trying to keep my kids energized!

As I thought about it, I realized again just how simple life can be if you put the right processes in place. I realized that me staying motivated revolves around a few basic things that I do. And they are things that ANYBODY can do. So if I can stay motivated, you can too! If you want to stay motivated, try these basics that I use to keep myself motivated:

• Read good books and magazines. I am an information junkie! I read all of the time. I don’t care what you say; you cannot be successful without reading! I read books, magazines, etc., all of the time. I read a breadth of information so as to develop myself on a wide variety of topics. Keep reading them on a regular basis throughout the month and not just in reading binges.

• Listen to good information. Get yourself into some good tapes. Listen to what others have to say. Give yourself a budget to spend on materials that will make you into a motivated animal! Above all, as you listen, apply the truths to your life in your head and they will become what you live.

• Maintain a positive group of friends and colleagues. I broke this rule one day and went to coffee with a real downer. I am still recovering from him! One of the best things you can do is to surround yourself with positive people who will build you up and encourage you to pursue your dreams. They will be honest with you, yes, but they will also challenge you to shoot for the stars!

• Focus clearly on my goals. I know where I am going and what I want to accomplish. They are firmly rooted in my mind and heart. Because of this, my mind and heart are in an attitude of motivation all of the time. I want to hit my goals and since they are present in my heart and mind, I put my energies into them.

• Discipline myself to live out my priorities. Most of the time, this takes plain old hard work. We have to discipline ourselves and as we do we find ourselves becoming more and more motivated. If we discipline ourselves, it gives us wins and victories, which makes us feel good, which motivates us for further action. If we don’t discipline ourselves, we feel defeated and we fall into a downward spiral of despair.

Are you keeping yourself motivated? You can. I know you can because I have seen these principles and actions work in my own life. Take a moment right now and see if you are living out the principles for keeping motivated:

- Do you regularly read good books and magazines?
- Do you regularly listen to good material?
- Do you surround yourself with positive and supportive people?
- Do you know and focus on your goals?
- Do you discipline yourself to action even when you don’t feel like it?

Commit yourself to these and you will find that you become a much more motivated person. This is what I do, and why I can continue to motivate others!

Upward and onward my friends!

Stand Tall

I cam across this great article by Denis Waitley:

As Tall as You Want to Be by Denis Waitley

When he was two years old, this adopted child of two college professors suddenly and inexplicably stopped growing, and his health started to fail. A team of doctors gave him six months to live after they diagnosed him as suffering from a rare disease that inhibits digestion and nutrients in food. Intravenous feedings of vitamins and supplements allowed him to regain his strength, but his growth was permanently stunted.

Confined to hospitals for long periods of time, until the age of nine, he quietly plotted his revenge on the kids who taunted him and called him “peanut.”

He recalled many years later that subconsciously “the whole experience made me want to succeed at something athletic.” Sometimes his sister, Susan, went ice skating at the local rink, and he would go along to watch. There he stood, a frail, undergrown kid, with a feeding tube inserted through his nose and down into his stomach. When he wasn’t using it, one end of the tube was taped behind his ear.

One day, as he watched his sister whirl around the ice, he turned to his parents and said, “You know, I think I’d like to try ice skating.” Talk about two adults, looking at their life-threatened child, with glances that were beyond belief!

Well, he tried it and he loved it, and he went at it with a passion. Here was something fun at which he could excel, where height and weight weren’t important.

During his medical checkup the following year, the doctors were startled to discover that he had actually started growing again. It was too late for him to reach normal size, but neither he nor his family cared. He was recovering and succeeding. He believed in his dream, although he had little else to hang on to.

None of the kids taunt him and tease him today. Instead, they all cheer and rush to get his autograph. He has just completed another dazzling performance on the world professional ice skating tour, with a long string of triple jumps, complicated maneuvers, and athletic moves, capped off with a racing front flip that brought him to a sudden stop inches from the audience. Although he has retired from professional skating, he remains a coach, mentor and commentator revered by everyone in winter sports.

At five feet three inches and 115 pounds of pure muscle and electrifying energy, former Olympic gold medal figure skating champion Scott Hamilton stands as tall and as proud as any winner. Scott’s size didn’t limit his faith and reach. Don’t let doubts and critics limit yours. This doesn’t mean that you’ll close almost every sale or get promoted in record time. Scott Hamilton certainly didn’t hit every triple-axel jump he ever attempted, especially during the initial learning phase. Success in developing any skill requires a basic trust in your ability that should never be allowed to waver.

You can stand tall, no matter how small!

What are my options?

Throughout the past week I have been in Christchurch talking with the people who expereinced the 6.3 quake. So many different stories of hope and delight. Yet their were just as many, if not more questions. A normally bustling city was airy and quite. So much time to think and ponder.
I was asking myself if I were here all the time, what would be gong through my mind.
I came home yesterday and came across this list of things to make today great. A good reminder.

1. Positive Mental Attitude: When you awake each morning recite the affirmation "I feel healthy, I feel happy, I feel terrific!" Do this several times mentally and even out loud and see how your day goes. Give it time. You might commit to a 30 day trial period.

2. Sound Physical Health: Each day decide to eat healthy choices - at least for the meal you are currently having. No need to plan a month's menu - just remind yourself that you are the custodian of your own health, and that as caregiver you want to always select the best available options each day at every meal.

3. Harmony in Human Relationships: Instead of initiating a disagreement, initiate a solution. Refrain from combative behavior. Work toward collaboration.

4. Freedom from Fear: Little fears can lead to enormous ones. Always remember faith is the opposite of fear. Act in faith instead of failing to act due to fear.

5. The Hope of Achievement: Inspire yourself by creating a dream of your own to conceive, believe, and achieve.

6. The Capacity for Faith: Stretch your mind to embrace choices made with faith as the backbone to your decision. Soon you could sprout wings!

7. Willingness to Share One's Blessings: Make someone else's day. Focus on being the bearer of goodness instead of the recipient.

8. A Labor of Love: Do something each day that you love to do and would do regardless of the compensation.

9. An Open Mind on All Subjects: Say "yes" to an invitation that you would rather decline because you are not sure you would enjoy it.

10. Self-Discipline: Do a little more, work a little harder, tackle the dreaded task for the sake of showing yourself who is your real boss.

11. The Capacity to Understand People: Learn to enjoy the company of diverse groups of people. Be all-embracing rather than exclusionary.

12. Financial Security: Make setting aside money for a future purpose a game of sorts that represents gratification - but at a later date. Mark savings on a calendar with an ending date and final amount in mind. You are not denying yourself, but rewarding yourself on a designated date.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Why make excuses?

Don’t you just hate it when people make excuses for their failures? So do I. But do you know what I hate even more? Finding myself making excuses for my failures! I have a policy that I try to live by: No excuses.

Here are some thoughts on a “No Excuses” policy.

People will respect you...
When you say that there are no excuses, that you blew it, and that you take full responsibility to make the situation right, people will be astounded (since very few people make no excuses) and they will come to have a greater respect for you.

You will find yourself taking greater responsibility...
When you know that your policy is to have no excuses, there will be less room for error because you will be doing everything that you can to make sure the job gets done!

You will become the “go to” person...
When someone wants something done, they will turn to you because they know that they can count on you to perform. And they know they won’t get any excuses! This will improve your level of success, and that is exactly what you are aiming for, right?

Practice up: “You’re right. There is no excuse for that. I will fix it immediately.” Refreshing!

How many ways am I wealthy and abundant?

There is a saying that we get what we focus on. Recently I have allowed my mind to focus on the less desirable things. Finally I started to realise what I was doing and tuned my mind to what is already working for me.
These are some of the ways I am already wealthy and abundant...

1. A Positive Mental Attitude – purposefully think pleasant thoughts and these thoughts will exhibit “attraction power” that will draw good things into your life. For example, focus on finding that single perfect flower and when you do, buy it and display it on your table or desk for all to admire. Costs little, but pulls in positive vibrations.

2. Sound Physical Health – eat well, exercise daily, and move your body hourly for optimum results.

3. Harmony in Human Relations – talk less listen more. Condition yourself to consider another’s point of view.

4. Freedom From Fear – exchange your fears for faith and refuse to worry about something that you cannot control.

5. The Hope of Future Achievement – set simple goals and live up to your expectations. Start small and work up!

6. The Capacity for Faith – read faith based stories for inspiration, and seek out similar experiences in your own life.

7. Willingness to Share One’s Blessings – give from your current earnings, not only from your surplus.

8. A Labor of Love – do something that you enjoy for the PURE joy of doing it.

9. An Open Mind on All Subjects – challenge yourself to grow and exceed the space you now occupy in the world. Go beyond where you are and learn something new.

10. Self-Discipline – budget your time and money and create a daily plan for the maintenance of sound health. A little done each day adds up in a month’s time.

11. The Capacity to Understand People – school yourself in the nine basic motives that inspire people to do things. Next consider your primary and secondary motives – good or bad. You are where you are in life because of the actions you take.

12. Economic Security – plan for your financial security by saving a set portion of your weekly income. Never become someone’s servant or slave due to lack of personal finances.

Shortly after I was reminded what Napoleon Hill comment on regarding poverty. So I have included a summary from one of his great writings as well.

Poverty is the result of a negative condition of the mind, which practically every living person experiences at one time or another. It is the first and the most disastrous of the seven basic fears, but it is only a state of mind, and like the other six fears, it is subject to the control of the individual.

The fact that a major portion of all people are born in surroundings of poverty, accept it as inescapable, and go with it all though their lives, indicates how potent a factor it is in the lives of people. It may well be that poverty is one of the testing devices with which the Creator separates the weak from the strong, for it is a notable fact that those who master poverty, become rich not only in material things, but also rich and often wise in spiritual values as well.

I have observed that men who have mastered poverty invariably have a keen sense of Faith in their ability to master practically everything else which stands in the way of their progress; while those who have accepted poverty as inescapable show signs of weakness in many other directions. In no case have I known anyone who had accepted poverty as unavoidable, who had not failed also to exercise that great Gift of the power to take possession of his own mind-power (as the Creator intended all people should do).

All people go through testing periods throughout their lives, under many circumstances, which clearly disclose whether or not they have accepted and used the Great Gift of exclusive control over their own mind-power. And I have observed that along with this Great Gift from the Infinite go also definite penalties for neglect to embrace and use the Gift, and definite rewards for its recognition and use.

One of the more important rewards for its use consists in complete freedom from the entire seven basic fears and all the lesser fears, with full access to the magic power of FAITH to take the place of the fears.

The penalties for neglect to embrace and use this Great Gift are legion. In addition to all of the seven basic fears, there are many other liabilities not included with these fears. One of the major penalties for failure to use the Great gift is the total impossibility of attaining peace of mind.

Fraser

How to set goals that will motivate you?

It is easy to set goals, but before long they can be discarded and we are back to where we were. So what do you do in order to set goals that are going to keep you moving towards your worthy ideal?

Resolve today to make the coming year the very best year of your life. Resolve today to draw a line under your past and to focus very clearly on your future. Resolve today that you are going to set goals, make plans, take actions and achieve more in the coming year than perhaps you have ever accomplished in any one single year before.

One of the great rules for success is this: "It doesn't matter where you're coming from; all that really matters is where you're going!"

No matter what you have done or accomplished in the past, "that was then and this is now."

The very best days, weeks, months and years of your life lie ahead. The most exciting accomplishments and the greatest achievements are still to come. As Shakespeare said, "The past is merely a prelude."

As it happens, everyone has goals. But some people seem to accomplish their goals far more systematically and with greater assurance than others. Why is this? The answer is simple. People who accomplish goals at a higher rate than the average are people who use a systematic, proven method of goal setting and goal attainment.

Perhaps the two most important qualities of success are focus and concentration. Focus means knowing exactly what it is you want and concentration means having the discipline to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing, the most important thing, until it is complete.

If you have these qualities, and both of these qualities are learned through practice, you can accomplish virtually anything. There are no limits on your future if you can focus and concentrate every hour of every single day.

The starting point of setting goals for the coming year is for you to project forward and think back. Practice what we call "Back from the Future" thinking. Project forward to the end of the next twelve months and ask yourself, "If everything happens perfectly, what will it look like?"

The one quality of men and women who become leaders in their own lives and societies, throughout all of history is the quality of vision. They have the ability to visualize. They can see the future well in advance of it becoming a reality. They can then see the steps that they will need to take to get from where they are to where they want to go.

So if your next twelve months were ideal, in every respect, what would happen or, what would have happened, at the end of that twelve month period?
You need to set goals that are multi-dimensional. You need to set goals for every part of your life so that you function like a well-oiled machine, like a balanced wheel that goes around smoothly in every respect. You need goals for your health, for your career, for your finances, for your relationships, for your personal and professional development, for your community and for your spiritual growth. Nothing happens by accident. Everything happens for a reason. And you are the "primary creative force" in your own life. You are the reason. Things are happening in your life because you make them happen, not because you sit around and wait for them to happen.

Here is the basic seven-step model of goal setting. You can use this like breathing in and breathing out on a regular basis to accelerate your attainment of any goal you can imagine for yourself.

Step number one is for you to decide exactly what you want. This immediately moves you into a separate category of people because most people have no idea of what they really want. Clarity is the most important single quality of goal-setting and perhaps the most important single quality of success. Decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Instead of fuzzy goals like more money, better health and happiness, be specific about exactly how much more money you want to earn in a specific period of time and combine that with exactly what level of health and fitness you desire.

Most people are unconsciously preoccupied with the fear of failure. It is the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. And the fear of failure can work on you unconsciously by blocking you from setting clear specific goals. Why? Well, if you don't set clear, specific goals, then you can't fail to achieve them. So your subconscious mind is actually protecting you by helping you to avoid failure.

You must resist and overcome this tendency by having the courage to be bold and specific about exactly what you want. This is step number one.

Step number two is for you to write it down. Only three percent of living Americans, or adults anywhere for that matter, have written goals. Everyone else that thinks about a written goal and plans to write them down, someday. But they never get around to it. Most people spend more time making a list of groceries before they go shopping or planning a vacation than they do in planning their lives. But again, this is not for you. Success begins with a pad of paper, a pen and a few minutes of your time. One of the most important keys to success is to "think on paper."

All successful people "think on paper." And here are two important points. If you cannot write it down clearly and specifically on a piece of paper, then it means that you are not really clear about it yourself. Perhaps you don't even want it. What is worse, it may be that you are afraid that you may not attain it. Nonetheless, a goal that is written down is merely a fantasy or a wish. A goal that is clearly written and described on a piece of paper takes on a power of its own, it is now something concrete that you can touch and feel and work with.

The second principle of writing goals down is that something miraculous happens between the head and the hand. When you actually write a goal down, it is as if you are programming it into your subconscious mind and activating a whole series of mental powers that will enable you to accomplish more than you ever dreamed of. By writing it down you intensify your desire for the goal and you increase your belief that the goal is possible. You begin to expect to achieve the goal and you start to attract people and circumstances into your life that are consistent with the attainment of the goal. Writing your goal down is one of the most amazing of all goal-setting skills and it is a key to your success.

The third step is for you to set a deadline. If it is a large goal, set a series of sub-deadlines. A deadline acts as a "forcing system" on your subconscious mind and begins to move you toward your goal rapidly while it moves your goal toward you.

Sometimes people ask me, "What if I set a goal and I don't achieve it by the deadline?" The answer is simple. Set another deadline. Remember, a deadline is a guess-timate of when you will achieve it. Sometimes you will achieve your goal well in advance of your deadline. Sometimes goals will take much longer than you expect. But you must have a target time before you set off.

It is like making a reservation at a restaurant. You may be five minutes early or five minutes late, but you always have a specific time for which your dinner is reserved.
The fourth step is for you to make a list of everything you could possibly think of that you will have to do to achieve your goal. The more comprehensive your list, the more motivated you will become, the more intense will be your desire and the more you will believe it possible.

One of the things that hold people back is even if they get to the point of a written goal; they do not take the time to lay out a list of all the little things they will have to do to get there. And with additional experience, you will add new items to your list until it finally becomes complete.

The fifth step of goal setting is for you to take your list and organize it into a plan. A plan is really quite simple. It is a list organized by priority and importance. You decide what you will do first and what you will do later. You decide what is more important and what is less important. And most of all, you decide upon the one thing that is more important than anything else that you can do immediately to begin moving more rapidly towards your goal.

Step number six is for you to "take action!" This is the big killer for most people. They are procrastinators. They have great ideas combined with great hopes and dreams. They may even get to the point of writing down their goals. But when it comes to taking action, they always have a reason or excuse to procrastinate to put it off until a later time. However, as the Bible says, "Faith without deeds is dead."

It is when you launch toward your goal that you begin to feel the desire and power that goes along with goal setting. And once you have launched toward your goal, it is much easier for you to continue moving in that direction.

Step number seven is for you to do something every day to move you toward your major goal. Never let a day go by without you engaging in some action that helps you move another step in the direction of what you really, really want in life.

Remember, you can't hit a target that you can't see. And if you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. The simple seven step act of deciding exactly what you want, writing it down, setting a deadline, making a list, organizing the list into a plan, taking action on the most important item on your list and then doing something every day towards your goal will change your life and your future in ways that you cannot even dream of today.