:Article Marketing At Its Best

We are all guilty of wanting to change our circumstances, bettering ourselves and altering our life’s plans, but unfortunately a lot of us fail to see the bigger picture. In fact many of us don’t even realise that there may be a bigger picture.

I am constantly coming into contact with people who are desperate to tell me of their latest business venture, or who have a “great idea” that will make them a lot of money, but unfortunately I am rarely approached by people who have a plan for what their money will actually bring them. I mean real and tangible dreams and goals.

Creating wealth is a wonderful plan to have, but creating those “take home” results seem quite distant to most. What I mean is, too many people these days are just caught up in the process of creating wealth that they forget to have a real goal for what it may bring them.

I personally know someone who is worth about $300 million. I already know what you are thinking. You would love to be in that position. Well I have to say he would be one of the most miserable individuals I know. It also needs to be pointed out that he has just realised his own personal position as well. You see, all he has been concentrating on for years is the pursuit of wealth. He has lost friends and family along the way, he has changed his original goals and he has compromised some of his own personal beliefs and standards. All because he was so focused on being wealthy. I am not saying that pursuing wealth is a bad thing; it all has to be put into context with the rest of our lives and not be all that our life stands for.

There seems to be this culture today where we are all trying to out do each other to see who has the most money in the bank. In some aspect, gone are the days of taking others around us along for the ride. We have become a very insular society.

Being wealthy should not be about being selfish. The person we are selfish to the most seems to be ourselves. We dismiss those original goals and dreams and replace them with ones that are only there to impress others. I am not sure about you, but I want to make sure that I keep focused on the real reasons as to why I started this journey.

When I started Attitude Gear ® all I had was $50 in my bank. Now I have to point out that I was pretty happy at that point in my life. Sure, I was restricted to what I could do every week, but there was a sense of enjoyment that I appreciated.

As my business grew, I really started to feel the pressure, the pressure of success, the pressure of failure and the pressure of fulfilling my new goals and dreams.

As I look back now from where I have built my business to, I can honestly say that I am no happier now just because I have a little bit more money in the bank. I believe the reason is simple. I never set out to be rich. I never focused on the dollars. Yes, I was aware of what was required to build a business and what I was achieving but my focus never centred on becoming wealthy.

This, I believe is a big mistake many people make today. They seem to think that wealth will bring them happiness. I am yet to meet someone who can look at their bank statement and fall over in fits of laughter.
Wealth can assist you on your journey but it should never be the only or main reason as to why you do what you do.

The last area I would like to highlight is the area of your personal standards.

Too many people throw their standards out the window when it comes to creating wealth. There are way too many people out in the big bad world today who would rather cheat or take short cuts without a single thought of the people who may be affected.

You don’t want or need hollow results. By that I mean, if you succeed at the expense of others then that I am afraid will be short lived.

My advice is to aim at your goals, aim at those dreams that you have always wanted fulfilled for yourself. Never lose sight of them. Don’t get caught in the trap of being wealthy or trying to create wealth just to keep up with the Joneses. Just be one of the Joneses.

Aim at what you want and until you get it don’t get sucked in by all of the facades. Who cares if someone else gets there first!

Justin Herald started a business with only $50. 6 years later that business was turning over $20 Million. He retired at the age of 31 and is now considered one of the worlds rising stars in the field of self improvement.

Justin has 3 international best selling books:

1. Would you like Attitude with that?
2. What are you waitng for?
3. It’s all a matter of attitude.

He was also named the “International Entrepreneur of the Year” 2005

http://www.justinherald.com

Comments Off

Imagine humungous, bulbous, billowing alto-cumulus clouds building higher and higher in the sky. They are as black as tar at the bottom and snowy white at the top. It looks as if we’re in for a storm.

CRACK, rumble, rumble, rumble. Use your imagination folks. That’s thunder, not a malfunction of my keyboard.

My black and white Border Collie, Tip, catapults from her slumber, ears laid tight against her head, and she’s off, full tilt, as fast as her legs will take her. Where is she going? She doesn’t know. She’s scared and she is just running.

Does she have a safe place at home?

Absolutely. She has a nice dog house that she uses for protection from the rain, snow, and coyotes that venture too close to the yard. But when there is thunder, she runs blindly. She is an incredibly intelligent dog, but under these circumstances, the expression “as dumb as a sack of hoe handles” comes to mind.

You may be thinking, “Cute story but what does this have to do with me?”

Ponder this:

Does a similar reaction happen for you? Something happens in your life (the something rhymes with “it”), and you jump to reaction mode, as if on autopilot. You know what I’m talking about: angry outbursts, sarcasm, rudeness, aloofness, running away, or retreat. It doesn’t make logical sense, and it doesn’t get you the results you want, but you do it anyway. You are an intelligent human being, and yet, it still happens.

Why does this occur?

Let’s have a quick look at how the brain works - in dogs and in you.

Dog Noodle Notes (about Tip’s brain)

The intense sound of the thunder is a nerve message that goes to Tip’s brain. Her brain stem, the most primal part of her brain, receives the stimuli and determines that this loud sound could be a threat to her safety. A threat causes fear, and the brain stem instantaneously overrides all other brain systems and directs her body to do one of three things - fight, flight, or freeze. In Tip’s case, it’s flight.

Is she really in danger of losing life or limb? Not a chance, but her brain doesn’t know that.

If I am near Tip, and hear the thunder, there is a split second in which I can catch her attention, and encourage her to make a different choice - to go to the safety of her house. If I miss that chance, she’s gone.

People Noodle Notes (about your brain)

As a human, you have the same primal brain stem and it works exactly the same as Tip’s. When you are hurt or frightened (physically, emotionally, or mentally), a message goes to your brain stem, the threat is recognized, fear is created, and you move into the same mode - fight, flight, or freeze. You lash out at yourself or others physically or verbally, cry, pout, become argumentative or defensive. You run, or at least leave. You retreat to your own space, and are unable to do anything constructive. You do and say things that you wish you hadn’t, and the consequences of your reactions, over time, can completely destroy your relationships.

I know this happens for you because the “fear” and “reaction mode” happens for me.

What is my reaction? Because of my personality style, I retreat, become aloof, and lose myself in my work. I become sarcastic and abrupt.

Am I this way to customers or friends? No way! I take it out on those closest to me - my wife Carol, my sons Jamie and Brad, or other family members, even though they may not have had anything to do with my fear.

Does it make logical sense?

Not at all, but it happens, unless I am aware of what is going on and make a different conscious choice.

Just like Tip, there is a split second in which I have the ability to let the message move past the brain stem to the cortex of my brain, which is the logical and spiritual part of my brain. The cortex processes the message, considers consequences, alternatives, feelings, and allows me to make a different choice for myself and others.

The same applies to you.

How can you benefit from this knowledge?

Here’s how.

4 Steps to Use Fears as Friends

These are basic, not necessarily simple:

1. Notice that feeling of fear, disappointment, discouragement, hurt, or anger. It may be: tenseness of muscles, heat, perspiration, scowling, tears, clenched fists, rapid heartbeat, and lack of focus. These are some cues to let you know that fear is present.

2. In that moment, STOP! Take a deep breath - or ten. This gives the stimulus enough time to be accepted by your rational cortex. Think about your reactive responses in the past to the same or similar experiences. Were you happy with the consequences and the effect on your relationships? Do you want that to happen again?

3. Wave your magic wand. What is the “best way” for this to turn out, and what actions can you take to achieve that desired outcome? Notice it says “actions you take,” not what someone else should do.

4. Choose and Act!!

You are a human. You have fears. They show themselves as: anger, defensiveness, frustration, or a need to be right. The reactions are not healthy for you or your relationships.

The truth is this: you are the captain of your ship! You are accountable for everything that happens in your life. You always have the power to make a choice - ALWAYS. And ultimately, not making a choice is still a choice.

Use the fears as friends and follow the steps above. You will notice a dramatic improvement in your self-esteem and self-confidence. Watch your personal and business relationships soar.

You know that relationships are vitally important. Treat them with care. Genuine happiness is impossible without them. Don’t be a “Thunder Dog!”

About the author: Dan Ohler is Thinkin’ Outside The Barn!
Dan writes and speaks internationally on relationships, happiness, and change. He helps you learn the secrets to create life-long delightful relationships and abounding success.
For FREE how-you-can-do-it-too articles, visit http://www.ThinkinOutsideTheBarn.com

Comments Off

The IDEAL Problem Solver is an effective tool you can use to attack your problems. If you are used to getting on your horse and riding in all directions when faced with a problem, you may find the IDEAL Problem Solver quite handy. How do you use it?

IDEAL stands for:

• Identify the problem and explain how it can be an opportunity

• Define at least three different goals for your problem-solving task

• Eplore possible strategies and new information that could help ou accomplish each of the important goals

• Anticipate the outcomes (positive and negative) of different strategies to help you decide which ones you will act on

• Look back and learn (after acting on your strategies, what did you notive about the problem you identified

An area I found IDEAL ideal (this is no double-speak!) is in evaluating arguments and ideologies. When you hear an argument, IDEAL(ise) it:

• identfy a problem with it

• definte the goal of your criticism

• explore various strategies for verifying evidence presented

• anticipate the outcome of certain strategies and act on those that seem most promising

• look at the effects

One last thing you can do with this alphabet soup is to critically evaluate arguments. Here’s how:

1. focus on factual accuracy

2. is the reasoning logical and consistent question the underlying assumptions

It would be helpful if you could try to use the IDEAL Problem Solver in different situations for some time to experience its full impact.

About The Author

Ke o agile is an NLP Coach and publisher of In TheZone (http://inthezone.port5.com), an NLP focused ezine for capacity builders in the personal and professional skills development area

keoagile@mailit.com

Comments Off