Success Strategy #4

4. Invest in your education if you want to succeed. “Free” is not going to cut it. You need to invest in yourself if you want to make a higher level of income. Attorneys and doctors invest in their education, so you’ve got to invest in yours.
Ninety-eight percent of the population is always looking for a great deal and an easy way to get out of having to doing something. We’ve become a microwave society. But I will tell you that the millionaires I know don’t ever look for security. That’s what 98% of the population does.
Many of us are investing our money in the wrong thing. We’ve been sold to finance our dream vacation on VISA. We’ve been sold to go into debt in order to live the “life.” We’ve been sold many things that keep us broke, average, and controlled by others.
Our lives should be lived by design! So let me sell you on this:
That you were not intended for average or mediocrity
That you are not living your life the way you ought to and that there is something bigger and better out there
You were designed for something bigger and better than what you are living right now
Go home and transform your family; raise a generation that is not going after mediocrity but after everything that is intended for them
A balanced life that is void of debt, despair, and confusion
Not giving up your life for money
A life that you never thought you could live!
Take these strategies and go out and knock over the world with one fell swoop. You can! --As submitted by success trainer Dani Johnson

Success Strategy #3

3. Follow directions. Have you reinvented the wheel 10,000 times since you’ve gotten started in business? Are you looking for a better answer because you don’t like the answer you’ve received? Are you looking for a different way because you don’t like what was shown you? Maybe you don’t like what’s being shown you so you’re trying to do it another way. That’s reinventing the wheel. If that’s the case, then you’ve wasted too much valuable time already, and time is money. Just follow directions, and get it done!
The multi-millionaire told me, “If you don’t do what I tell you to do, we’re done. If I tell you to read this script and you change it, we’re done. If I tell you to call ten people and you call eight, we’re done. If I tell you to go to a training seminar, and you don’t show up, we’re done. There is no mercy, Dani. If you don’t follow what I tell you to do, we’re done!” --As submitted by success trainer Dani Johnson

Success Strategy #2

2. Humble yourself, be teachable, and ask questions. For 18 years, I’ve been studying successful people. Whether they were successful in business or in marriage, I wanted to know their secret because I knew that they had a lesson to share.
Wherever I go and wherever I find them, I’m not afraid to ask. If I’m sitting on a plane with someone successful in a career I’m interested in or need help with, I’ll ask, “What’s the secret to your success?” As a result, I’ve been a sponge for 18 years studying, getting coaching, and asking questions everywhere I go.
How many of us don’t ask for help often enough?
What I’ve found, unfortunately, is that some of our egos are so big that we won’t ask for help because that’s admitting to having a problem. How pathetic! If we don’t ask for help when needed, then we’re living inside a big, fat, ego trip.
We have to get our egos out of the way, remove our little masks and behind-the-scenes lifestyle, and humble ourselves. Then we need to confess, “My business is in trouble. Can you give me some advice?” Or, “My marriage is in trouble and I need help!”
When you seek help, ask those with a proven record of success in the area of your interest or need. Ask experts, not someone who is reading and testing it out or some self-proclaimed guru whose only success is getting you to his seminar.
If you want to be successful in business, should you ask the janitor? Of course, not! You’ll interview him (or her) only if you want to be successful in the janitorial business.
Humble yourself, get rid of your ego, and start asking for help, then do what they do so you can get what they have. And don’t look at the circumstances and say: “Things are just hard for me. That’s the way it is! That’s the way it’s always been, and that’s the way it’s always going to be.” Find the answers to your challenges so that you can succeed in life. Make a decision to change. Either that, or stay in your rut! --As submitted by success trainer Dani Johnson

Success Strategy #1

1. Don’t give any opinions or suggestions. When I was invited to a board meeting with this multi-millionaire, he told me to sit down, shut up, and pay attention. “Once your stack is as big as mines, then you can offer your opinion or suggestions,” he stated. This was a harsh thing for him to say in response to a suggestion I wanted to make. But it got my attention, and this became one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my business career. So I offer it to you. Keep your suggestions to yourself and listen. Use every opportunity to learn from an expert instead of trying to size up to them to prove your worthiness or superiority. --As written by success trainer Dani Johnson.

Success Strategies

This week's focus is on four specific strategies for success shared by Dani Johnson as shared with her early in her business career by her multi-millionaire mentor. These strategies include: 1. Don’t give any opinions or suggestions; 2. Humble yourself, be teachable, and ask questions; 3. Follow directions; and 4. Invest in your education if you want to succeed.

Stay Tuned!

The Art of Connection

Think About This: "As a train's source of energy and direction, the locomotive plays a vital role. However, unless a locomotive connects to other cars on the track, it is relatively useless. A train's value comes from its ability to transport massive amounts of cargo, and doing so requires the locomotive to link up with dozens of freight cars. Traveling by itself, a locomotive would arrive at its destination empty-handed. In that case, its journey would be nothing more than a waste of fuel.
Leaders are like locomotives in that they're blessed with drive, energy, and vision. However, until leaders learn the art of connection, their influence remains minimal. In isolation, their talents accomplish little, and their efforts are squandered."
From a writing by Dr. John C. Maxwell, "Influence: Connecting with People."

It Couldn't Be Done

I have this poem on my refrigerator door and I read it to my children all the time. It has inspired me to "keep going" many times when the dream stealers and naysayers were taunting me. I hope that it will encourage and inspire you, too!
It Couldn't Be Done
Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done and HE DID IT.
Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it.
"But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, but HE DID IT.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done" and YOU'LL DO IT."
From Edgar Guest (1881-1959). Contributing writer, Tracy Heiser, Crown Point, Indiana.

Think About This

This is the final SIX-DAY Series on "Principle-Centered Planning" by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Today: Part SIX of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning

"Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process
and Help you Achieve Your Dreams"

5) The Principle of Flexibility
In leadership, be mentally prepared that not everything will go according to your plans. Then, when plans unfold unexpectedly, you'll be prepared to see new opportunities. Some of the best things I've received in life have been surprises that I could never have planned in advance.

When plans go awry, don't just stand there. By staying in motion, you create movement. Be resourceful enough to improvise when circumstances push you off course.

6) The Principle of Timing
I credit Robert Schuller for teaching me a lesson about timing - the peak-to-peak principle. Most of the time, our decisions are based on our emotional environment rather than reality. When we're in the valleys of life, we don't see clearly. Our perspective is limited, and all we see are the problems around us. In the valleys we make decisions, not to better ourselves, but to escape our problems.

Never make a major decision in the valleys. Wait until you get to the peak where you can see clearer and farther. By reserving big choices for the peaks, you'll avoid making rash decisions that you'll regret later.

7) The Principle of Teamwork
A worthwhile plan ought to be bigger than your abilities. You shouldn't be able to accomplish it alone. Each of us has areas of weakness, blind spots, and shortcomings. Unless we rely on a team to help us, our plans succumb to our personal limitations.

A sign in Coach Bill Parcells' office stated his philosophy plainly, "Individuals play the game but teams win championships." What we can do alone pales in comparison to the potential we have when we work together.

Review

Putting a plan on paper is easy; putting a plan into practice takes leadership. I trust these seven principles will aid your efforts to translate written plans into reality. Let's review them:

1) The Principle of Passion
2) The Principle of Creativity
3) The Principle of Influence
4) The Principle of Priorities
5) The Principle of Flexibility
6) The Principle of Timing
7) The Principle of Teamwork

John C. Maxwell is an internationally respected leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold more than 18 million books.

Think About This

We are in a SIX-DAY Series on "Principle-Centered Planning" by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Today: Part FIVE of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning

"Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process
and Help you Achieve Your Dreams"
2) The Principle of Creativity
Of the seven planning principles, we violate the principle of creativity the most. By gravitating to concreteness, we sacrifice creativity. We settle for what's easy to wrap our minds around, and we neglect to wrestle with harder, more difficult dilemmas.

I'm convinced that leaders are too busy doing to think and provide ideas. Even the rare leaders who think creatively often neglect to encourage the people around them to do the same. Consequently, a majority of teams rely on one person for creative thought and end up starved for good ideas.

3) The Principle of Influence
When you prepare your plans, ask yourself the question, "Am I able to influence the resources needed to fulfill my planning and mission?" To accomplish your plan, you'll need influence over people, finances, and your schedule.

The support of people, especially other influencers, can make or break your plan. Make a priority to build relationships with them. In particular, find the key to their lives by learning what matters most to them. If you continually add value to the influencers around you in meaningful ways, then you'll be more likely to receive their assistance when you need it.

4) The Principle of Priorities
I'm amazed by the number of people who begin to plan their careers before taking the time to prioritize their lives. You have no right, nor any reason, to start planning your life until you know what you're living for and what you're willing to die for. It's important to find your purpose so that you run, not on the fast track, but on your track.

The key to a prioritized life is concentration followed by elimination. As Peter Drucker observed,"Concentration is the key to economic results. No other principle of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principal of concentration. Our motto seems to be, let's do a little bit of everything." We must cease to dabble in everything before we can become excellent at anything.

Tomorrow: Part SIX of SIX: More of the "Seven Principles."

Think About This

Today: Part FOUR of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning

"Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process and Help you Achieve Your Dreams"

You may have heard the expression, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Well, Rome wasn't built on accident, either. The coliseum, the pantheon, Saint Peter's basilica... these architectural marvels weren't the offspring of happenstance. They were created only after architects had spent countless hours developing blueprints of the buildings' foundations and structural frameworks.

A blueprint, as the outline of the building plan, is a vitally important document. Even so, the blueprint only represents a small step in the planning process. Before a building can be constructed, its planners must also budget expenses, consider what raw materials to use, and determine how to recruit labor. A good building plan starts with a blueprint, but extends far beyond it.

Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process and Help you Achieve Your Dreams

It's hard to achieve anything consequential without a written plan. However, putting a plan on paper isn't enough. Regardless of how thorough, concrete, or ingenious a plan may be, it won't happen unless additional ingredients are injected into the planning process. In my experience, I've observed seven principles that are absolutely critical to successful planning.

1) The Principle of Passion

When we're passionless, we procrastinate on the plan or burnout trying to execute it. With passion, we approach our plans with excitement and a sense of urgency. Passion gives planning energy.

Passion also gives planning focus. As Tim Redmond says, "There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a few things that will catch my heart. It is those I consider to pursue." Passion narrows our vision so that the plan dominates our attention and distractions fade into the background.

Tomorrow: Part FIVE of SIX: More of the "Seven Principles"

Think About This

We are in a SIX-DAY Series on "Principle-Centered Planning" by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Today: Part THREE of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning

Why Planning Is Essential
We all have desires and dreams, yet we'll never accomplish our dreams in life just by wanting them bad enough. Planning bridges the gap between our desires and dreams by calling us to action. As noted by William Danforth, "No plan is worth the paper it is printed on unless it starts you doing something." A concrete plan supplies us with tangible steps to take in the direction of our dreams.

Qualities of Principle-Centered Planning

Principle-centered planning allows us to be flexible without losing focus.
Principle-centered planning allows us to be creative without losing concentration.
Planning is the structure. Principle-centered planning is the flesh.
Planning is the roadmap. Principle-centered planning is the movement.
Planning is the idea. Principle-centered planning is the action.
Planning is the paper. Principle-centered planning is the power.

Summary

It's been said, "By failing to plan, you plan to fail." I wholeheartedly agree. People who ignore planning handicap themselves and stifle their effectiveness.

The good news about planning is that it's a relatively simple discipline. Anyone can do it. No PhD is required to make a solid plan - only a window of uninterrupted time for focused thought.

By now I hope you've been persuaded about the imperative of planning. Coming up next I'll unwrap seven principles to guide your planning process and help you achieve your dreams.

Tomorrow: Part FOUR of SIX: "Seven Principles to Guide Your Planning Process and Help you Achieve Your Dreams"

Think About This

Today: Part TWO of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning

Reasons Why People Don't Plan
You don't have to be in leadership very long to learn that planning pays off. Even so, many people don't plan. Here are four reasons why people neglect planning.

1) They don't possess planning skills or knowledge.
Some people don't have an innate ability to project themselves into the future. They've never been taught to prioritize their day or to prepare for tomorrow.

2) They're caught in the tyranny of the urgent, and they believe that they don't have time.
Some people allow themselves to be pulled into the vortex of minutiae. As a consequence, they end up buried under a sea of details, and they can't pull their heads above water long enough to plan.

3) They don't like the perceived hassle of planning.
Instead of planning one event at a time, they become overwhelmed by the mountain of things to plan.

4) Many people don't plan because the outcome varies greatly.
"After all," they say, "When I do make a plan, it normally doesn't end up happening, so why bother?"

Tomorrow: Part THREE of SIX: "Why Planning Is Essential"

Principle-Centered Planning

Think About This:

Today begins a SIX-DAY Series on "Principle-Centered Planning" by Dr. John C. Maxwell
Today: Part ONE of SIX

Principle-Centered Planning
If you've ever gone whitewater rafting, then you know the importance of planning. Whenever the raft approaches rapids, the guide has to plan the best route to navigate safely through them. If the guide fails to plan, then the raft can easily smash into a rock or capsize.

Four Types of Planning:
Passive planning happens when leadership allows the raft to travel downstream at the mercy of the current rather than steering, rowing, and turning. This kind of non-planning eventually leaves you unprepared to face whitewater rapids. Worse yet, in the absence of a plan, the current may take the raft over the edge of a dreaded waterfall.

Panic planning happens only after the raft is in trouble. At this point, all of the organization's resources are scrambled in a reactionary pattern in an attempt to solve the problem. With panic planning, you may or may not come out alive and well, but you are guaranteed some bumps and bruises.

Scientific planning is viable, but can be laborious, mechanical, and often ends up abandoned in the process. Imagine if a raft guide constantly tried to measure the depth of the water, the distance between rocks, the wind speed, and the water current. Although the information might be helpful, oftentimes the water would be moving too swiftly to take the measurements. In a like manner, leaders often have to respond to change in an instant. There's no time to collect scientific data on all of the variables before deciding which course of action is best.

Principle-centered planning is the key to effectiveness. It is the artistic or leadership approach. Principle-centered planning recognizes that life in general (and people in particular) can't be graphed on a chart, but sees that planning still remains essential.

Tomorrow: Part TWO of SIX: "Reasons Why People Don't Plan"

Nobody's Perfect

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

Author unknown.

Think About This

• If you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.

• The secret of life isn’t what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.

• Help other people cope to their problems and your own will be easier to cope with.

• Never use the word impossible seriously again. Toss it into the verbal wastebasket.

• Self-trust is the first secret of success. So believe in and trust yourself.

• Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.

• Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.

• How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself - so always think positively.

• Go at life with abandon; give it all you’ve got. And life will give all it has to you.

--Norman Vincent Peale

Three Ways to Create a Healthy Team Environment #3 Learn from the Customer
When an organization doesn't understand its customer, then the team environment becomes wasteful and inefficient. Efforts go into products that sit on shelves. Time and energy are sunk into marketing services nobody wants. Eventually, the team tires of doing unproductive work, and its morale nosedives.



Leaders foster a team environment in which the customer experience is a primary consideration. They refuse to allow their teams to guess at what customers need. Instead, leaders teach teams the discipline of consulting customers regularly. By allowing customers to define success, a team learns where to focus its attention and is able to position itself to excel.



Before I speak at a conference, I call the person who invited me so that I can hear their expectations of me. Starting with a clear view of my customer's needs helps me as I plan for the speaking engagement. I can fine-tune my content and structure my schedule in line with my customer's wishes. By doing so, I am generally able to meet, and hopefully surpass, their expectations of me.



REVIEW Three Ways to Create a Healthy Team Environment 1) Encourage a Spirit of Togetherness 2) Paint the Big Picture 3) Learn from the Customer



Dr. John C. Maxwell is an internationally respected leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold more than 18 million books.

Three Ways to Create a Healthy Team Environment #2 Paint the Big Picture
James E. Lukaszewski, management and communication consultant, shares the following illustration.
A farmer, while sitting on his porch, noticed a highway department truck pulling over to the shoulder of the road. A man got out, dug a sizeable hole in the ditch, and got back into the vehicle. A few minutes later, the other occupant of the truck got out, filled up the hole, tamped the dirt, and returned to the truck.

Then the men drove forward on the shoulder about 50 yards and repeated the process - digging, waiting, refilling. After a half-dozen repetitions, the farmer sauntered over to them. "What are you doing?" he asked. "We're on a highway beautification project," the driver said. "And the guy who plants the trees is home sick today."

The two guys didn't have a team perspective; they only saw their jobs. Even though their work accomplished nothing in the absence of their teammate, they went on doing it anyway!

When people don't understand how their work matters to the team, they fall into mindless routine, and they deny putting their heart into what they do. Leaders have to guard against a purposeless environment by building bridges between what and why. By helping people see their contributions to the team's goals, leaders ennoble them with a sense of meaning.

Tomorrow: Part FOUR of FOUR: The third of "Three Ways to Create a Healthy Team Environment," plus a review.

A Healthy Team

The readership response was very positive to a six-part series on Dr. Maxwell's "Planning" published back in October. Today begins a FOUR-DAY Series on "Creating a Healthy TEAM Environment," by Dr. John C. Maxwell Today: Part ONE of FOUR
Creating a Healthy TEAM Environment By Dr. John C. Maxwell
At Chernobyl, the massive explosion of a Soviet nuclear reactor released radioactive fallout 400 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. While the suddenness and spectacular nature of the Chernobyl disaster drew the world's attention, another catastrophe in the Soviet Union passed by largely unnoticed. In the 1960s Soviet engineers diverted the two main rivers feeding the Aral Sea so that cotton crops could be cultivated in the surrounding desert. As a result, inflows to the body of water were reduced to a trickle. In time, the Aral Sea began to evaporate. Once the world's 4th largest lake, it shrank to well under 10% of its original size, leaving behind a graveyard of ships to litter the barren earth. Nicknamed "the silent Chernobyl," the destruction of the Aral Sea has had a calamitous impact on the surrounding environment. Dozens of species of birds, animals, and fish have vanished from the area. Salt from the lake, which now covers the dry earth like snow, is blown by the wind and contaminates farmland up to 500 km away. The salt also pollutes the air and groundwater, causing throat cancer, lung disease, and kidney and liver complications among the local population. The simple lesson from the Aral Sea is this: When leaders neglect the environment, the results can be catastrophic. Minding the Environment In the workplace, leaders are environmental caretakers. They preside over the climate of a team, and their positive influence can make the office a healthy and inviting place. On the other hand, if leaders ignore the team environment, then the workplace can become toxic and hazardous to all who inhabit it. In this lesson, I'll share three ways in which leaders can heed their team environment in order to foster a climate of cooperation, engagement, and productivity. Tomorrow: Part TWO of FOUR: The first of "Three Ways to Create a Healthy Team Environment."