What's Your Personal Purpose

The question of purpose came up for me several times last week. I attended a motivational speakers evening where there were six speakers who had 10 minutes to express a lesson they learned that impacted who they are today. Two of the speakers and the host for the evening made reference to what's your purpose. The topic of purpose also came up in a business meeting just yesterday. This all gave cause for me to review my written personal purpose that I will revel later in this article.
If money is on top of your goal list that's something you may wish to reflect upon. The question I ask what's the money for? Is it life style? Taking your family to Disney World? Buying a boat or an RV often appears on a list of goals. These are all things we want to have. Things we can do with our families. I believe that money provides you the choices to do what you want and who you spend that time with in your non working time. That's the real goal as I see it. Going through this exercise determines the nuts and the bolts of what you want. It will bring you closer to finding your purpose.
The bigger question remains why you want these goals and what is your purpose in life. My take on personal purpose is what moves you to be who you are and how do you want the world to look at you. Yes, in many cases we do it because it makes us feel good. I send it back again. Why does it make us feel good. My first go around on writing a personal purpose was five years ago after reading Jack Canfield's " The Success Principals". Jack was insistent that you will not lead a truly happy and successful life until you discovered your purpose. So I began the process. I did some research on how to begin and how it should be worded so it spoke to who I am. It was not until a year later that I got it fine tuned to this.
"My Personal Purpose is to be a role model of giving, love, wisdom, credibility, learning, happiness and joy that will inspire my family, friends, customers and associates."
That's it. It seems simple but it took allot of time to get the words just right that speaks to who I believe I am. We all want love and respect. Love and respect can come from a variety of areas and that is why I chose to broaden my personal purpose to include family and my business life. I believe your Personal Purpose should speak to who you are 24 hours a day. Enjoy the journey of writing your personal purpose. You will be glad you did.

Make 2013 The Year You Stop Making Excuses

Excuses are a way of saying I did not have the guts to do it. I was afraid of the outcome. I see an excuse as a way of saying I'm normal. I am just plain lazy or it wasn't that important. Why would I stretch myself? Take a hard look at yourself. If your saying this to yourself and your OK with that your in trouble. I'm suggesting you dig down deep. Make a resolution, that 2013 is the year you stopped making excuses.
How many times have we heard governments say we did not make our target budget because the revenue did not come in as expected. The economy performed below expectations. We all just roll our eyes and say it's government. What else would we expect. Forget the fact they are ruining the future for our children. We have actually allowed the excuse to creep into our every day lives to. It's somebody else's fault. Would you be willing to have government or external forces tell us to turn left and turn right at their will. I sure hope not. Why do we continue to allow this to happen in our every day lives. You will never grow as a person and more importantly as a parent if we accept an excuse of ourselves.
Here is what I believe happens when we stop making excuses.

• When we stop making excuses we actually take control of our lives. Yes, there is a catch. It means that you will actually have to do what you said you were going to do.
• You will gain trust and respect from others. "Now there's a person of their word".
• It causes us to think before we open our mouth and commit to something knowing full well you have to do it.
• Yes is easier than saying no. No is often the right answer especially if you won't do what you said you would do. Think of the consequences on your character.
• Make no mistake that it is only by your actions you are remembered.
• When you stop making excuses you don't have to remember what you said.

I suggest you start to listen to yourself when you talk. Have the guts to say no and mean it. If you think your hurting someones feelings by saying no, think again. You are hurting your reputation even more by saying yes and not doing it. Live your life excuse free. Convince yourself that you resolve to not make excuses this year. Your credibility needs an awakening. Make 2013 the year you will actually do what you said you will do.

The Road To Success Is Paved With A Positive Attitude

Staying upbeat and in the zone requires being in tune to your emotions. I also believe having a positive attitude is closely tied to a belief that you have the talent and the ability to get it done. For some this comes easy. For most it's a difficult.
Navel gazing can be a good thing if you like the possibilities of what life will bring you. To get to this mindset of a positive attitude you must push back the limiting beliefs that were created from your previous failures. These limiting beliefs could have also come from a poor support system in your childhood. So just how do we get to this condition of a positive attitude? I am certain the six tasks below will get you started.

• First, I believe you need to identify what it is you want in life and be firmly committed to that desire. Establishing the emotional pull becomes a pleasure point that will help strengthen your commitment.


• Secondly, you need to identify the negative people in your life and start to work on changing who your friends are. As tough as it may seem, make a list of the negative people in your life and make a commitment to drop them from your circle of friends. Why would you ever call someone a friend who is constantly pulling you back?


• Thirdly, is to start to meet and hang out with achievers and people who can help bring you up a notch. It's like that old saying " Success breeds success." Join a Networking Group.


• Fourthly, is to do something to improve your job or your career. This may be to take a course to upgrade your skills. Meet with your boss and have that heart to heart and express that you are genuinely committed to growing in this company.


• Fifth is what I feel to be one of the most important steps. Find a mentor. Find that someone who has earned success. This is a person you can emulate. A good mentor will help you grow and provide sound advise regarding your future success.


• Lastly is to get your hands on some inspirational books or videos. Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield just to name two. Tony has clips on YouTube. Jack does free tel-conferences on a monthly basis. 1000's attend each call. Tons of free material can be found on the internet. These inspirational leaders will help get you pumped and they will keep you pumped. Most important. They will help keep you on track.

Having a positive attitude is one thing. Staying positive when things are going against you is another beast altogether. Understanding that setbacks are a part of life and that setbacks are only temporary is key. Setbacks are life's way of measuring your commitment to success. A positive attitude will get you up and running faster. It's the fuel of your success.

Find Your Inspiration From Successful People

Last Fall I attended a banquet put on by the Better Business Bureau. Every person I spoke with while networking before the dinner portion was in my opinion successful. The people I got to sit with were nothing short of amazing. The energy in the room was electric. The BBB was honoring companies that displayed high ethics in business. Now this is a crowd that I like to hang out with. I immediately think of trust and credibility when it comes to ethics. It should be a way of life inside your businesses as well as how you interact with our external customers.
As the discussion around our table started to loosen up I became more amazed of the talent I was hanging out with. Those at the table included.

• A Real Estate magnet who does 8 figure property deals internationally. He is also a published author of his business biography.


• There was a President of a large moving company that has offices right across Canada. He is also a Board Member of the Better Business Bureau. Remember the night was about ethics in business.


• An Executive Vice President who left a career as a successful Doctor of Optometry to get into business. Now that's following your passion.


• Also seated at the table was the President of a sales training company but with a unique twist. His company works with business owners who are not sales people. He works with them on how to understand sales people and how to best engage their sales staff.


• Also at the table was a President of a large printing company who is finding success in a very competitive business.


• Seated as well with us, a Lawyer who left a large law firm to go with a three person firm. He wanted to get more engaged with his clients. That takes guts in my books.


• The host of the table is a Regional Manager for a very unique insurance company, that is not an insurance company. How is this for unique! Their customer companies self insure. That's right. Self insure. The customer company selects the benefits and the maximum that can be paid out in each benefit of the plan. His company just manages the details and the claims from the medical card they provide. Their fee is disclosed.


• Oh Yes there was me. The former President of an Office Products Company and Former President of a Computer Forms Company. I am currently a partner in a Scottish apparel company aside from my role at Answer365.

I can tell you the conversation around the table was not about who won the World Series. The purpose of this article is not to say I am good at name dropping and hobnobbing. To the contrary. What I have written about is that I made the effort to go out to this event and hear all about the successful nominees for the BBB Ethics Awards. I wanted to see and feel first hand what ethical businesses do. I left the event feeling invigorated and motivated. Success will not find it's way to you. It is by your actions and your determination that you will find success. I came away with so much more that I went in with. So get out there. Meet some people who will inspire you. You will be thankful you did.

Achieve Success By Managing Your Goals

Normally I do not focus on myself when writing success tips however due to a series of personal events the past year, I was forced to reevaluate some of my goals. What took place caused me to focus even more intensely on some goals and put other goals in the parking lot.

For my regular readers you will notice I have not written an article in 9 weeks. This is a big change after a steady pace of writing an article a week for over 15 months. So what happened? Several things. I took the lead on a huge project at work that consumed a ton of hours. The result of these efforts will make a huge difference to the company and it also means I will achieve my income goals for this year. What became very clear is my number one goal was receiving most of the attention.

One of the events that took place is both my parents broke their hips 8 months apart if you can imagine that. Being with them has taken up much of my time. Both these events were beyond my control. But they happened. My being there for my parents is extremely important to me and that caused me to prioritize my time to accommodate what was important. More importantly I had to evaluate the goals I would have the time to work toward.

These following four things had to be put on the back burner because there was not enough time to achieve them.

1. My weekly article writing became unimportant.


2. My 20 mile a week walking regime dropped way off which put my target weight goal on hold.


3. The book I am working on fell right off the radar with the completion date being pushed out. I have allowed myself two years.


4. I had to cut down on my volunteer work. Perhaps the toughest one to put on hold. Doing this without having some guilt was difficult for me. I have so much to be thankful for it's hard to imagine cutting back on my giving.


5. What did take off as a result of adjusting my goals were these three things. All good things to be proud of.


6. The number of new big accounts has taken off at work. This as a result of my diligent and well planned marketing to an untapped market. These new deals are very strategic and rewarding. I am helping other companies grow their business. As an entrepreneur for many years of my life it is a total sense of joy. Building business is what entrepreneurs do. What a rush.


7. My coaching and mentoring career is starting to take flight. Once again I am helping others grow and prosper. This is a very rewarding experience.


8. Thirdly I am spending more quality time with my family. All four generations of them. I do this with intention and purpose. I do not leave it to chance that I will have the free time. I accomplish this by scheduling this time with my family.

So what's the lesson here? What has become very clear is that we must always stay conscious of our goals. Reviewing and measuring these goals at least several times a week it critical to your success. Prioritize your goals and adjust them so they are clear and relevant. My goals that were placed in the parking lot are not dead. I simply say they are in hibernation. One thing for certain is if your not committed to a goal then it's not well thought out. If you are going to do it, make sure it is for the right reason. Some of your goals may become less important in time. This is much the same in life as what matters changes with age. You should be OK with that. Does it not make sense to excel with fewer stretch goals than achieve six easy ones? Exactly.

The real bonus for me is that my most important goals are flourishing. Yours can too. I am having so much fun achieving my most important goals and I have a renewed energy. I know that I am being the best that I can be. Our staff depends on that. Our customers deserve that too. The time I have spent writing this article has also freshened my love to write. That goal of completing my book is not lost. Success is in your grasp too. Managing your goals will give you a boost toward your future success. Take the time to do this. Your worth it.

Staying Positive in Life - Tips for Improving Your Outlook on Life

It's the age old question. How do you stay up beat and positive amid so many pressures and challenges in your day to day live. In my Business Coaching practice I work with entrepreneurs who are holding so many balls in the air that they lose focus on what the object of their lives and their business is all about. Many of them are consumed in doing stuff. Working in their business instead of on their business. It's hard to stay positive when it seems you are not making any progress. So how do you bring that positive attitude back into your life? Here are some tips that work for some of my clients who suffer from being over whelmed. Yes, I too practice these tips.

• Create a personal purpose. Lets call it a mission statement but for your life. It's not about the business you own or work for. I can tell you that it took me several weeks of introspective thought and research to get to mine. There are numerous sites on the internet that will help bring you to that point where you are ready to put it to paper. Some are religious based and some relating to finding what makes you happy. In my books happy is always good. Creating a well thought out personal purpose will help bring out your passion and harness it. The result being you will have increased your outlook on life with the benefit being a stronger positive attitude.
• Start a Gratitude Journal. I write in mine every day. I give thanks to all the wonderful things in my life including the names of wonderful and uplifting people I meet every day. You will be amazed at what you already have. Stop. Catch your breath. Think about all the good things in your life. Write them down on purpose. I suggest you not focus on the hole in the donut but focus on the chocolate glaze. Yum.
• Spend time with and hang out with positive minded people. They are out there. Lots of them. I suggest to you they have problems in their lives they are trying to overcome as well. The difference is their outlook. Things are good now and life will only get better. Positive minded people embrace this outlook and they are doing something about it.

It is extremely important that you be conscious of your thoughts. Turn back the negative thoughts as soon as they appear. Just plain nuke them. The sun shines on a rainy day. It's just out of view. You know it will come back tomorrow. You should also know that your likely going to get wet when your chasing rainbows. You'll dry off. I will close with sharing with you with my personal purpose. I hope this helps you, in achieving your new outlook that life is grand and full of abundance.

My personal purpose is to be a role model of giving, love, wisdom, credibility, personal satisfaction, learning, happiness and joy that will inspire my family, friends, customers and associates.

Overcoming Obstacles Is The Key To Your Success

I spent some time early this morning doing some reading of inspirational quotes. Not so much as to get me pumped up but to provide me with fresh ideas to write for my readers. We all see Facebook Friends who post daily quotes of what others have said in an attempt to inspire others. What they have not said is one word why they have put this quote forward or why they believe the quote to be relevant. I usually just hit unsubscribe for these Facebook friends who push out these daily quotes. I see it as a shallow attempt to increase their Google rankings or to suggest they have wisdom because they posted an inspiring quote. Wisdom is earned. Yes we want to inspire others. It is however through ones life experiences and research that we gain wisdom.

The quote that grabbed me the most this morning was that of Henry Ford. "Obstacles are those frightful things we see when you take your eyes off the goal." This quote however is not as harsh as one of Abraham Lincoln's quotes, "Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm". The two quotes are similar but to what extreme do we endure pain and failure to reach our goals? I believe what we learn from these quotes is there will be obstacles. It's the preparation and mental toughness of how you deal with these obstacles that will determine your success. Life is not anywhere close to pick door number one and it's smooth sailing from here.

You know there will be road blocks. You know there will be failures.

• By simply accepting that road blocks and obstacles will appear is the first step.
• Through preparation and your willingness to learning how to deal with obstacles is the second step.
• The third and most important step is understanding that these obstacles and road blocks are a way to validate that your goal passes the test. If not, than your goal needs changes. This is the difference between a very attainable and a stretch goal.

I personally believe we have to live life in the big picture. That being said, life is full of details we must attend to. It's by doing the little things right that we get to live life in the big picture. The devil is in the details can be viewed this way. If you allow yourself to get mired in the little things you will never be able to expand and see the big picture. The sky is large and for the most part blue for a reason. I believe the term blue sky is for all things possible. The dream. The big picture. I will leave you with my second most favorite quote I read this morning. It's by Cherie Gilderbloom: "The best dreams are the ones we have while we are awake."

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Are You Afraid Of What It Takes To Succeed?

More and more of people are using the power of positive thought to try to achieve their dreams. The part to understand is that they will remain dreams if you do act upon them. Leaving behind the world of easy mindless entertainment is the challenge that most of you will face. Web surfing and television require no thought. Both are a vehicle to provide your brain with lazy stimulus. Then again who would even consider the notion that success is easy. That's why true success is for those who pursue it. It all begins with you and your determination. Quite simply. How bad do you want to succeed. Contrary to what you believe it does not have to be painful. In fact, it can be fun.

OK Paul. Whats with the fun bit? Have you have lost your mind? Again I push it back to you. How fun is staring at a glass panel that produces images for your mind to process. OK. You get it. I am not a television watcher. I can go days without watching. That is of course, unless it's golf. Golf takes talent, practice,persistence and the burning desire to win. To win by the way is the goal. Successful golfers do all of the above. So now you understand my passion for golf both on and off the course. It is a journey of always trying to be better.

Let's get back to the title of the article. "Are you afraid of what it takes to succeed"? Most are. The main reason is that it takes you outside your comfort zone. Out past the easy stuff. Just imagine what life would be like if you dialed up your comfort zone. Lets imagine your comfort zone is doing things better than the average person. It's OK to want to be better today than you were yesterday. In fact it's healthy to push ones self. People who exercise and have active working minds live happier and more productive lives. In my mind that should be everyone's dream. The key to a long life.

So what are you afraid of? What is holding you back? If someone was to paint a picture of your happiest moment would you go after it? Would you be willing to give up a few hours of mindless entertainment every week to reach that end? Yes, this is a paragraph of questions. Have you been able to answer yes to any of the questions? Everyone dreams of a better you. A better life. Yet so few act on it.

So here is a little exercise to plant the seed. I got this idea from one of my mentors Jack Canfield from his book "The Success Principles". It's about creating goals. Grab a pen and paper and start to write down every thing you want in life. Absolutely everything! For example. A new car, summer cottage, a healthier you. How about a raise at work or better still, to be self-employed. Where are you going to go on that dream vacation. Don't stop. Write till you can write no longer. Phew. Are you done? Two things have happened here. First is that you did no realize there were so many things you want and are missing in life. Secondly, is you now have some goals. The first step to achieving a goal is to write it down. The next step is to organize them and start to work on achieving them.

I truly believe you have to look after number one in life. Yes, that's you. By doing so, you can be a better father or mother. A better husband or wife. A better employee who gets rewarded for your efforts. Get over the notion it's selfish to be the best you can be. A healthy, happier you has so much more to give. The biggest gift of all will be what your children learn from you. The gift being how to become a success. You don't have to teach it. They just watch and emulate you. There is no greater motivator in life than to watch your children grow and become successful. They will love you for it.

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Achieve Greatness Through The Power Of Thought

This past week I read the "Science of Being Great' by Wallace Wattles. It has been an interesting read as it follows the line of his book "The Science Of Getting Rich". Once again the emphasis is on the power of thought. Wattles believes that we must work and focus on greatness but we are not to rush. For if we are shallow and unprepared people will not seek our advise. If we are boastful others will not seek your advise and in fact likely avoid you. Wattles believes and I agree we can become great by reading, understanding life's experiences, thinking and through your actions. Wisdom is in fact earned and gained through experience. No one is born with wisdom. The key is that we are truly judged by our actions. Words are just that. Words unless supported by actions.

The book "The Secret" is perhaps the most widely read book of the past decade. "The Secret" is in fact about the power of attraction. Each chapter in the book is written by experts in the fields of the law of attraction and the power of thought. The books purpose was really to bringing about what you dream about and think about. This all makes perfect sense. For example it is unlikely we do not end up as a doctors if we dreamed or envisioned being a fireman. This I believe is all gained through a thought that became planted in our minds. How good we become at it, is how well we thought it through. That what we visualized in our mind does in fact become reality. Lets call this thought, the seed. From there it grows. However we must fertilize the seed with thoughts of completion. I believe the teachings in "The Secret" to be actual fact. The thoughts that we truly believe will become truths. This can all take place no matter if your rich or poor. The first step toward greatness starts with a clear vision.

A dream is just a dream if you do not act upon it. I believe this to be the most important part that many of the authors left out of "the Secret". It is critical to your success that you remove all doubt that it can be achieved. For if you doubt your thoughts, you are not committed to achieve it. You must fill your mind with positive thought. Thoughts that will carry your dreams and aspirations to reality. Greatness does not fall out of the sky. The eureka moment will appear because you brought that action toward you. The eureka moment is really a crystallization of what you believed would happen. The eureka moment becomes the proof that you can bring about, what you think about. This is also the title of a great book written by Eddie Lemoine. " Bring About What You Think About"

This thought process can be hard to grasp when your stuck in the dreaming stage. You must narrow down your thoughts to small details. Dreams are really what we wish for. A wish is just that. A wish. The last time I looked, The Silver Bullet was a beer commercial. There is now fast and easy way to achieve greatness just like there is no Silver Bullet. Success in becoming great comes after you take the thought from your mind into acting it out in real life. From the Morning and Evening Thoughts of James Allen's book "As a Man thinketh". "Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. A person becomes calm in the measure that they understand ones self as a though evolved being."

To become great you must believe you are in fact, great. This is accomplished from starting with a positive attitude. However, it is from deep thought and a true belief that you will achieve greatness that you will in fact, achieve greatness.

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Personal Growth Is Key In Building Your Success

Most people get up in the morning and work on improving their position at work or on their companies. It is only natural that we get caught up in what has to be done to move a project forward. Activities I call working in your business instead of on your business. These activities have you working in your job and not on your job. Activities that are task related and will keep you in a worker bee mode. Who really has time to do more?

We as humans also need to work on what makes us efficient and happy. I can not over emphasize how important it is to do a personal check-in on a regular basis. When you do not book or scheduling ME TIME you can soon lose track of your dreams and goals. When you are submerged in task related activities you lose the ability to look around the corner. Successful business people often employ personal coaches. They know the importance of personal performance. You may think successful leaders are already at their pinnacle, but intelligent leaders know they need to be constantly improving. When you are the front-runner and innovator you set the standard for all others to follow. When you set the standard it is not about price. Your competitors and followers will have to compare themselves to you to market their products.

In one of my favorite books "The Science Of Getting Rich", Wallace Wattles the author insists that to become truly rich you must live life on the creative plane and not the competitive plane. For if you earned it on the competitive plane you can also lose it on the competitive plane. When you create you have the opportunity to improve the life of others without the haggle of price. Wattles expresses the importance that the purchaser's life has been enhanced by more than the price of the product or service you sold them.

The importance of personal growth will do the following things for your life.

• Personal growth will create an ability for you to be unique. You are creating the opportunity to stand out. If you walk and talk like the rest of the world you will have to earn your way in what I call "Hand To Hand Combat". That is the competitive plane. Your life will ebb and flow as does the market you do business in.
• When you take the time to make yourself better you will start to work smarter. Yes the early bird gets the worm. Be cautious not to be just doing just more of what you are doing for burnout will soon follow.
• Through personal growth you will get to know your strengths and weaknesses. You can improve on the weaknesses you have or find someone to work with who has strengths in that area.
• When you take the time to study and improve on yourself you will become a thinker. When we think, we are creating opportunities that become indelible on your mind. Opportunities that will set you apart from the field.

When you take the time to work on you, the picture becomes clear. You now have in your mind the way to move forward in a positive manner. Those thoughts of second guessing your decisions will vanish. You will create a confidence in yourself that will be visible by all you interact with. When you express yourself in that manner it removes question of your knowledge and capabilities. Things will begin to flow your way. Invest the time to make yourself better. By doing so you will be in control of your life instead of life being in control of you. Book an appointment with yourself today. You will be thankful you did.

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Finding Success - How to Conquer Fear of Failure

Overcoming the fear of failure is one of the toughest things we will have to do in life. It will come in many forms and at different times. It's the biggest cause of call reluctance with sales people and the biggest obstacle in employee performance. What if they say no? What if I mess up? What will my friends think of me if I screw up?

Lets be honest. We all want to succeed. We all want the admiration of our colleagues and our friends. However this validation and admiration we desire must be earned. There is no silver bullet. It's easier for some than others but everyone must at some point push through what they do not want to do. If it was easy we would all be doing it. There is no single recipe for success.

I was fortunate to learn about dealing with failure at an early age. Failure to me was not winning. It was not until later in life that I came to understand that being around the top was good too. Having been a competitive ski racer and sailor I was motivated by winning. I learned that when we went to the results board at the end of the day every one looked to see where they placed. The second place you looked was to see who won. No one looked at who was at the bottom first, or in fact at all. Headlines on the sports page of the news paper don't read. "John Doe Came in Last." If you were on the bottom, odds are you were the only one who noticed. Yes it hurts but there is only one way to move up the leader board. That's through hard work, practice and persistence.

I will pass along these few steps that should help you get past the fear of failure. 

• The first part of getting past the fear of what will happen if the potential customer says no. Well it's part of the job. Everybody does not say yes. It's about the product or service you are selling or promoting and not about you. Can you increase your performance with practice and good coaching. Yes. Simply put. Get it in your head that what is happening to you happens to everyone. Others don't share or broadcast their losses either. They learn from them.
• What will happen if we didn't quite get it right at work. Well, if we have a nurturing and mentoring boss they will likely help you though what has happened. Lets remember that their success is somewhat tied to yours. The key here is to ask for help. Asking for help is a sign of strength and not of weakness. Express to them that you want to be better. Who in their right mind is going to say no?
• If you are unable to get to the space of having self-confidence I suggest you find a coach who will help you get there. I have used a coach numerous times in my life. Many of my readers know I have a had a few hits in my life. I got through them all and some times I needed help. There is no sin in that. They helped make me stronger.

Take action now to get past these feelings of fear. Anxiety can do all kings of crazy things with your mind. To move forward in achieving your goals you need to have a clear mind. Focus is not a buzz word. It is for real. You can only reach for what is clear in your mind. What happens in the process of getting there is just that. A process. Don't beat yourself up. You have what it takes. Being your own biggest cheerleader is a good place to start.

Becoming Successful in Life - The Importance of Listening

Before you say, "come on Paul. I know the importance of listening. I suggest you stop and really take notice of the time you're talking instead of listening. I can tell you from experience as a sales leader and manager, the best sales people are listeners. They listen for the clues and what we call buying signals. The same can be said in life outside of sales.

It takes more than being a good listener to be successful. It's very important you ask the right questions. One of my favorite sayings is. "Answers rarely appear on their own. Answers only come after you have asked a question". One tip I use when I ask questions is to wait until the individual has finished what they were saying and count to three. This will seem like an eternity but you will get better at it with time. The purpose for this is, the individual spoke about what first came to their mind. It is after this dead air that the individual will come out with more information after they had a chance to think about it deeper. This is when the real good stuff comes out. We provided them with the courtesy to finish their thought. When we listen we project trust. When there is trust, they will tell us more.

How many times in your life have you heard someone say. I can never remember names. I believe the issue is that these people are not listening. What is taking place is they are thinking about what they are going to say next. Well guess what! When your thinking about what you will say next, your not listening effectively. If you start to listen intently you will remember their name. If you listen intently you project that you really care what they have to say. If you listen intently they will tell you more than they would otherwise have said.

What does all this have to do with being successful you ask? When we are talking we are expressing what we already know. When we are listening we have the opportunity to gain knowledge. Knowledge is power. Knowledge helps us with making sound decisions in life and business.

In my opinion there are four ways to gain knowledge.

1. To be an apprentice and gain experience working beside a master.
2. Go to school. Guess what happens in school? 80 to 90 percent of the time is spent listening.
3. Read about things that will expand our knowledge and provide you with expertise. Because you want to!!
4. Listen intently from those who have knowledge and most importantly take notes when you have a chance following the conversation. Writing helps us to retain what we have heard. Think of the things we have written on napkins during a lunch meeting. Do you get my point?

In many of my recent articles I have been writing about maintaining a positive attitude. To have a positive attitude you need to be conscious of your thoughts. The same applies to listening. Slow it down and be conscious of the questions you ask and how you listen. You will find it amazing what you will learn. To be successful in life you need to be forever learning and expanding your knowledge. Being thirsty for knowledge will water the seeds of success.

How Do You Measure Success ?

Success can be measured in many ways. Sports, relationships, personal achievements and of course the one most consider. Financial success. All humans have different motivators. We drive toward things that make us feel good. Many studies have indicated that money can be as low as 3rd or 4th on the priorities of a good job. Accomplishments, personal satisfaction of being the best you can be, as well as an opportunity for advancement are commonly placed ahead of money when it comes to your job.

So why should I write about success. For many years my life was motivated toward financial success. I chased it for many years. I personally have owned three companies. I lost one to bankruptcy. I folded one of them before it got ugly and I sold one. I have held several senior management roles including an international corporation and a multimillion-dollar not for profit. I have been fired from a senior level executive position and I had been out of work for as long as six months on a couple of occasions. During many of those months I have purchased Internet business opportunities. Many books and self help programs. I want to share some of these experiences through my writing and hope that my readers will find out what truly makes them happy.

Success has come to me in many ways. One of the great joys in my life is being a volunteer having served on the front lines and acted as Chair or President for many organizations. The most gratifying of my successes did not come from making money. As a result of these activities money found a way to me. If money is your motivator you want to explore some of what I have learned, I have meet many financially successful people on the Internet. Many of my life friends are millionaires and I enjoy their company because most of them have an interesting story. Over the coming weeks and months we will explore finding a life or business coach. Finding a mentor. We will review motivational books and CD programs. We will take an in depth look at personality types and locate some wonderful questionnaires that could help you understand your personality and tendencies. The Internet has a wealth of information and opportunities. Finding the juicy stuff is where the challenge comes in.