The Fuel of Success – What it Is, How to Get It
September 30, 2009
By Dr. Raymond Comeau
“Without passion you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing.” – Donald Trump
The movers and shakers of this world have one thing in common, passion. They are passionate about what they do; they would still do what they do even if they were not paid to do it. The money that they earn and the toys that they have are nice but what really matters and really counts is the game that they play.
One of the great things about passion is that work becomes play and once work becomes a game, success is almost assured. Passion gives energy, it stirs the imagination, and it brings out the best in people and turns ordinary people into giants.
The kind of passion being discussed here is the passion that the athlete has for his sport, the passion that inspire the artist to create masterpieces, the passion that animated all the great leader in history. The kind of passion that lies deep inside every one of us and is just waiting to be discovered.
That kind of passion is intimately related to the imagination. Just like the imagination it exists in a world without rules or frontiers, it transcends reason and defies logic. In exists above worldly considerations, knows no boundaries and has the power to create.
When that passion pervades the brain, man is elevated and sustained. The senses become more acute, the intelligence is on high alert and the creative juices become animated with the essence of spontaneity and creativity.
We were all born with the potential for that kind of passion. For most of us, it was an integral part of our youth. When we got involved in anything that we loved, we went in all the way. However, through some excess of exuberance, there were times when we got burned. Powerful lessons were learned and excessive cautiousness took over. We learned that being driven by passion could have adverse effects and so we decided to be more reserved. That’s when we subdued or buried our passion, one of our most effective tools.
Passion is a power-tool. It requires skill if it’s to be used effectively. There is a very slight margin between unbridled or uncontrolled passion and the constructive and empowering tool that it can be. To be truly effective, passion has to be tempered with maturity in precisely the right dosage.
The capacity for passion is present in every one of us. Whether we can use it to our advantage depends on the way that we see ourselves, on our self-image. The self-image is prophetic.
If we see ourselves as an energetic, involved, dynamic and passionate person, that’s how we’ll act, react, think, behave and feel. On the other hand, if the reflection in our mind’s eye of the person that we are is that of klutz that is as exciting as a rainy day in autumn, we cannot expect that we’ll set the world on fire.
We get to be excited and passionate when we focus on our successes and triumphs. We get passionate when we hang out with exciting and inspiring people, when we read, view or listen to inspirational material.
Passion is the fuel of success but it needs some tending. It needs to be fanned and given oxygen. It needs a central place in our life and daily attention. It will give us the things that we want so long as we give what it needs.
Live every day of your life with passion and watch miracles happen. It’s the flame of hope, the spirit of life and the fuel for success.
Dr. Raymond Comeau aka Shamou is the Author of ShamouBlog and Owner Administrator of Personal Development for Personal Success Forums.
Chunk-Down that Goal and Get Out of Overwhelm
September 30, 2009
by Jack Canfield
Sometimes our biggest life goals seem so overwhelming.
We rarely see them as a series of small, achievable tasks, but in reality, breaking down a large goal into smaller tasks—and accomplishing them one at a time—is exactly how any big goal gets achieved.
After you have decided what you really want, with specific deadlines, the next step is to determine all of the individual action steps you will need to take to accomplish your goal.
How to Chunk It Down
There are several ways to figure out the action steps you will need to take to accomplish any goal. One is to consult with people who have already done what you want to do and ask what steps they took. From their experience, they can give you all of the necessary steps as well as advice on what pitfalls to avoid.
Another way is to purchase a book or manual that outlines the process.
Yet another way is to start from the end and look backward. You simply close your eyes and imagine that it is now the future and you have already achieved your goal. Then just look back and see what you had to do to get to where you now are. What was the last thing you did? And then the thing before that, and then the thing before that, until you arrive at the first action you had to start with. Remember that it is okay not to know how to do something. It’s okay to ask for guidance and advice from those who do know. Sometimes you can get it free, and sometimes you have to pay for it. Get used to asking, “Can you tell me how to go about…?” and “What would I have to do to…?” and “How did you…?” Keep researching and asking until you can create a realistic action plan that will get you from where you are to where you want to go. What will you need to do? How much money will you need to save or raise? What new skills will you need to learn? What resources will you need to mobilize? Who will you need to enroll in your vision? Who will you need to ask for assistance? What new disciplines or habits will you need to build into your life?
Another valuable technique for creating an action plan for your goals is called mind mapping.
How to Use Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a simple but powerful process for creating a detailed to-do list for achieving your goal. It lets you determine what information you’ll need to gather, who you’ll need to talk to, what small steps you’ll need to take, how much money you’ll need to earn or raise, which deadlines you’ll need to meet, and so on—for each and every goal.
When I began creating my first educational audio program—a breakthrough goal that led to extraordinary gains for me and my business—I used mind mapping to help me “chunk down” that very large goal into all the individual tasks I would need to complete to produce a finished product.
To mind-map your own goals, follow these steps as illustrated in the example:
1.) Center circle: In the center circle, jot down the name of your stated goal—in this case, Create an Audio Educational Program.
2.) Outside circles: Next, divide the goal into the major categories of tasks you’ll need to accomplish to achieve the greater goal—in this case, Title, Studio, Topics, Audience, and so on.
3.) Spokes: Then, draw spokes radiating outward from each mini-circle and label each one (such as Write Copy, Color Picture for Back Cover, and Arrange Lunch.)
On a separate line connected to the minicircle, write every single step you’ll need to take. Break down each one of the more detailed task spokes with action items to help you create your master to-do list.
Next, Make a Daily To-Do List
Once you’ve completed a mind map for your goal, convert all of the to-do items into daily action items by listing each one on your daily to-do lists and committing to a completion date for each one. Then schedule them in the appropriate order into your calendar and do whatever it takes to stay on schedule.
Do First Things First
The goal is to stay on schedule and complete the most important item first. In his excellent book, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Brian Tracy reveals not just how to conquer procrastination but also how to prioritize and complete all of your action items. In his unique system, Brian advises goal-setters to identify the one to five things you must accomplish on any given day, and then pick the one you absolutely must do first. This becomes your biggest and ugliest frog. He then suggests you accomplish that task first—in essence, eat that frog first—and, by so doing; make the rest of your day much, much easier. It’s a great strategy. But unfortunately, most of us leave the biggest and ugliest frog for last, hoping it will go away or somehow become easier. It never does. However, when you accomplish your toughest task early in the day, it sets the tone for the rest of your day.
By chunking down your goals, and then taking daily action on them, you create momentum and build your confidence, both of which move you farther and faster toward the achievement of your goals.
Now go take some action!
Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: http://www.freesuccessstrategies.com/
5 Principles of Successful Leadership in Small Business
September 28, 2009
By Dr. Bob Clarke
When we think about leadership-especially in regard to building and growing a successful small business-it’s easy to envision the traditional top-down leadership that so often goes along with the term. We often think about leadership along the lines of being a major political leader or being the chief executive of a major Wall Street company. And while this certainly is a respectable vision of leadership, when it comes to small business, we’ve got to see beyond this traditional view.
Following are the top 5 principles of successful leadership that I’ve found make THE difference in whether your business flies or flops:
Principle #1: Leadership Means Having People Skills.
Let’s face the facts-most small businesses don’t have scores of employees to lead. Instead, leadership revolves around building successful business relationships with clients and friends of the business. Whether it’s negotiating the next big deal or selling the product or service represented by your business, your suppliers, customers, and all parties in between are who the small business owner must strive to lead.
Principle #2: Leaders Must Be Adept At Solving Problems.
Being a natural leader makes it that much easier for a small business owner to be able to reach outside the box and come up with creative solutions to the problems and dilemmas faced by any business. It should come as no surprise that the list of qualities found in leaders corresponds very closely with the list of qualities found in problem solvers.
Principle #3: Leadership Requires Building Confidence.
Inspiring confidence in others when it comes to the capabilities of your small business is something that’s essential to success. Without this leadership trait, it would be quite difficult to handle the necessary business operations like securing financing and developing a strong sales plan. Remember, healthy confidence begins first with the leader, only radiating outward from there.
Principle #4: Leaders Depend On Big Picture Vision.
Because the small business entrepreneur must successfully manage so many different facets of a business when leading it from inception through the growth stage, having “20/20″ big picture vision is an essential leadership quality. Without this keen sense of vision to serve as a guiding light through the ups and downs-and ultimately to success-a business will gradually lose its course and drift off path.
Principle #5: Leading A Small Business Demands Boundless Energy.
It’s not always easy to keep plugging along no matter how overwhelmed you might be, but maintaining a constantly enthusiastic aura of energy is key to developing a business from the ground up. Most proven leaders will tell you that they only found major success after hitting rock bottom first. Boundless energy makes bouncing back from inevitable lows possible.
In small business, effective leadership goes well beyond the scope of leading employees alone-in reality, reaching goals means leading every single aspect of a business to success.
|
