By Chris Widener Most people think that failure is bad and success is good. I want to help you change your thinking about that if you fall into that category. I will give you that failure isn’t fun and success is, but I think the following is true:Both failure and success are good… if you know what their specific purpose is. Of course we know that success is good, but why? Success is good because it confirms things for us. Success confirms our plans. Success confirms our … [Read more...]
The question isn’t if global warming exists – WORKING TITLE
The real question isn't whether or not global warming/climate change exists, the real question is what the hell to do about all the pollution. It's like two people standing outside watching a house burn arguing about how the fire started instead of putting it out. Include ideas or example about political arguments. Include http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/history.html … [Read more...]
Top 10 Excuses for NOT Giving Recognition
1. “I don’t know how." No doubt this can be an honest and valid concern. Most folks never receive any type of training on giving recognition. But, it is a skill that can be learned. 2. “I don’t have time." For sure, most of us have more stuff to do than time to do it in. But somehow we all manage to do the things that are really important to us. Maybe, you just haven’t made recognition high enough of a priority. Besides, how much time does it take to say, “Thank … [Read more...]
The Best Way Out is Always Through
An excerpt from The Best Way Out is Always Through by BJ Gallagher Mary Kay Ash banged her head on the corporate glass ceiling one too many times. Working for several direct sales companies from the 1930's until the early 1960's, she achieved considerable success. She climbed the corporate ladder to become the sole woman on the board of directors of the World Gift Company - quite an accomplishment for a woman in the 1950's. But life wasn't rosy at the top. Even though Mary Kay had the … [Read more...]
The “Ben Franklin Method” For Winning People Over
The "Ben Franklin Method" For Winning People OverBy Bob BurgSo often I make the point about giving before getting, and that is certainly a very important aspect of helping a person to feel comfortable with you, and want to do for you. Whether in social relationships or sales, being the first to reach out is an extremely effective human relations strategy, as well as just a generally nice way to be. But we learn from one of America's more well-known founders, Benjamin Franklin, how taking the … [Read more...]
Your Attitude – You Choose
Chris Widener There are lots of things in this life that we don’t get to choose. On the other hand, there are lots of thing in this life that we do get to choose. Our attitude is one of the things that we get to choose. Nobody else lives inside our brain. Nobody else controls what or how we think. It is up to us, moment by moment, to choose what our attitude is. It is up to us to determine how we will look at and perceive the world around us. It is up to us to decide how we will react to our … [Read more...]
As We Sow, So Shall We Harvest
Denis Waitley Our true rewards in life will depend on the quality and amount of contribution we make. From the Scriptures, to science, to psychology, to business, the documentation is the same. “As we sow, we reap.’ Life is an unfailing boomerang. What we throw out, will come back full circle. The way we can build self-reliance is to recognize the number of alternative choices we have in a free society. And for every choice we make, there is a consequence or reward of that decision that … [Read more...]
Avoid Fair-Weather Supporters
by Denis Waitley When you seek support and feedback, be sure it is from people who are truly interested in seeing you succeed. Don't seek feedback from fair-weather friends, competitive peers, or any person who doesn't have your best interests at heart. Neutral doesn't count. Get feedback from someone who is on your side but will still be objective and brutally honest with you. Misery truly does love company, and jealousy creates some of the most miserable people. Surpass the achievements of … [Read more...]
Six Foundational Reasons for Managing Your Time
Chris Widener Most of us know how to manage our time. It is pretty simple really. What most of us miss are compelling reasons to manage our time. We know the “how” but miss the “why.” Here are six foundational reasons I have that motivate me to manage my time and myself properly. It is a matter of stewardship. I view my life as not my own. I am merely a steward of it. I am given control over it for some 70 years and I should make wise decisions with it! This is a great sense of … [Read more...]
If They Can Do It What’s Our Excuse?
CBS Evening News Steve Hartman Looks At What Difference A Couple Of Tons Makes - Or Doesn't - For Two Old Friends (CBS) When elephants retire, many head for the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn. They arrive one by one, but they tend to live out their lives two-by-two. "Every elephant that comes here searches out someone that she then spends most all of her time with," says sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley. It's like having a best girlfriend, Buckley says - "Somebody they can … [Read more...]
How to Talk to Anybody, Anytime
Chris Widener You know the situation: There you are at a business or social function and you end up with someone who you have never met before. Some people get amazingly uncomfortable with this situation because they simply don’t know how to start or carry on a conversation. Yet successful people are always going to find themselves in these kinds of situations because they are always stretching themselves and putting themselves into situations to help them and their businesses grow and that … [Read more...]
Top 10 Characteristics of Ethical Leaders and Values-Driven Organizations
By Eric Harvey & Al Lucia 1. High Values Awareness Values are regularly communicated and discussed to ensure awareness and understanding throughout the organization. 2. High Values Accountability People are evaluated on values-driven practices as well as results—with zero tolerance for conscious values violations. 3. Leadership By Example Leaders earn the right to expect others to do things by doing those things themselves. 4. Values-Driven DecisionMaking Decisions are … [Read more...]
The Richest Man in Town
"Introduction" The Richest Man in Town by V.J. Smith I'm so glad I found you. My friend, Aaron "Marty" Martinson, wrote those words in a note to me. On the pages that follow, you will discover that he didn't find me. I found him. And, thanks to Marty, I remembered a few things about life that I hadn't really thought about for a long time. For years I had grand visions of writing a book about a leader who changed the course of history. I filled my personal library with … [Read more...]
All You Want is Within Your Reach
Chris Widener If there is one thing that I believe with all my heart it is that you can have any life you choose to. You can live the life you have always dreamed of. We live in a period of unparalleled opportunity in human history. Think about it: Just one hundred years ago, most people really only had five or six options when it came to deciding what they would do with their lives. For most, they didn’t even have the knowledge that they could do anything other than take over their … [Read more...]
What The Bleep is All This Quantum Physics Stuff About?
"Quantum Physics is the science of gods... Newtonian Physics is the science of the small minds of men." Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that you should forget the Newtonian world of three dimensions (3D) and just operate in the quantum soup--not if you want to get any results, that is. To be effective, you must develop understanding and mastery of both quantum and Newtonian realms. I recently had lunch with a unique individual who was telling me he was going to lose weight. He … [Read more...]
The Top Ten Ways to Gain 2 Hours a Day or More!
Chris Widener When you gain 2 hours a day, that is 14 hours a week and a whopping 728 hours a year or 18.2 workweeks! Take a look at the list below and implement a few - if not all - of them and see how much time you gain this week and how much more you accomplish! (Note: The time saved listed is per day! They are also very conservative estimates.) 1. Turn off the TV. We may as well start at the easy one. The average person watches 3 hours a day. So turn it off for one of those hours. Do … [Read more...]
Your Ideal Self and Life
Your self-concept is made up of three parts, each of which affects each of the others. Understanding these three parts enables you to put your hands on the keyboard of your own mental computer. When you learn to take charge of the development of a new and positive self-concept of selling, you can then control your sales destiny for the rest of your career. Determine Your Direction The first part of the self-concept is the "self-ideal." Your self-ideal largely determines the direction … [Read more...]
Respect For Others
Tony Alessandra, Ph.D. When I was in high school back in 1960's, everyone always divided themselves into self-contained, often exclusive, groups. These groups followed all the old clichés -- you had your greasers, your jocks, your nerds, your college prep kids, and your vocational kids -- and everyone was always careful to stay within their own group. Although I was technically in the athletic group (or jocks) and the college prep group, I always tried to go out of my way to get along with … [Read more...]
Your Brain is the Greatest Computer Ever Created
By Ron White Have you ever walked into a room and couldn't remember what you went there for? Have you ever grasped the hand of a potential client and then when the handshake broke, the name seemed to disappear from your memory? Or have you ever left a prospect and as you drove away remembered a key point that you should have shared with them? Of course you have... we all have. However, I have some great news for you. Your memory is nowhere near as bad as you may think it is. Recently, I was … [Read more...]
Bad Luck, Bad Choices, and Bad Habits
By Chris Widener We were at some friend’s house the other day and the wife mentioned some other acquaintances of ours. “It sure is too bad, all the bad luck they have,” She said. My first thought was, “Bad habits, not bad luck.” My second thought was, “Or is it bad choices?” You see, there is a difference. What we many times call bad luck is merely bad choices. Let me explain: If you work hard, buy a new car, keep it up with regular maintenance and blow a tire … [Read more...]
Leading Change
Dr. John C. Maxwell Leadership is about change. If you need no change, you need no leader. In times of change, people seek out more and better leaders. Those successful sought-out leaders embrace the following thought: "The best reformers the world has ever known are those who began with themselves." Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change that we envision." Tolstoy said, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." The following comments are about … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success
Dr. Deepak Chopra is a well-known author of more than 25 books. He is one of the leading spokespersons for a growing movement of physicians who are combining modern Western medicine with ancient Eastern healing methods. Chopra was formerly the Chief of Staff at Boston Regional Medical Center, and he has taught at Tufts University and Boston University Schools of Medicine. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is a short but insightful book that explains how simple actions can make a big … [Read more...]
