How life reflects our thoughts By Donna Davis

What Was I Thinking?!

How life reflects our thoughts

By Donna Davis

There's a country song called "What Was I Thinking?" It's a cute story about a young man who takes a beautiful girl out for a date. Normal, right? Except for the fact that the girl's father is a bit crazy. And despite the father's gun-toting demeanor, the boy decides to take the girl out again. And so the question "What was I thinking?"

Probably at some point in our lives, most of us have done something and later asked "What was I thinking!?" But have you ever thought about this on a much broader scale? Do you realize how powerful your thoughts are and the effect they have on your life?

What does your life look like right now? Do you have a fulfilling, nurturing relationship? Can and do you talk to your kids? Do you like where you live? Do you have a job or business that is rewarding and fun? Would you like to make any changes?

So "what are you thinking?" Do you believe that you can create the life you dream of? If your answer is yes, then you probably are already using the steps we'll discuss here. If you said maybe or no, then keep reading.

Thoughts are powerful. If you repeat something enough times, you start to believe it. And when you believe something, you start creating that in your life. If you find you're not making the progress you want in your life, start here.

Step 1: Become aware of your thoughts. If you are new to this process, then at the end of the day, take five minutes and reflect on how you felt. Did you feel peaceful or frazzled and stressed? Were your thoughts about how everything is falling perfectly into place, or how you'll never get everything done? Do you ever say things like "Oh, we can't afford that," "I'm always tired," "I'd love to start my own business, but I could never do that" or "My kids are always in trouble"? Start becoming aware of what you say and what you think, and then notice how often those thoughts occur. As you become more familiar with this process, then become aware of your thoughts more often during the day.

Step 2: Observe your life. Are you happy? Are you working in a job or business that you love? Do you have great relationships that nurture you? Most of us have areas in our life that we want to improve upon. But first think about the accomplishments you've made in your life and take a few moments to really be proud of what you did. You did that!! It might have been difficult, but you did it! Congratulations. Take a few moments to imagine a celebration in your honor. No matter how big or how small, your accomplishment matters. Celebrate yourself! Now, consider the dreams that you haven't achieved or that you've even given up on. Many times our thoughts kill our dreams. So flip a switch and take those wonderful feelings of accomplishment and KNOW that you can achieve other things in your life as well, even if your dream seems far away.

Step 3: Stop the negative thoughts. Once you start to be aware of the negative thoughts that pop up during the day, the next step is to stop them. When I was aware of less than positive thoughts creeping in, I would say "STOP" to myself (sometimes silently and sometimes out loud). I would picture a huge Stop sign coming right in front of my face. Others have worn a rubber band on their wrist and when those thoughts start chattering away in the brain, they simply pop the rubber band.

Step 4: Immediate say something positive to yourself. Once you have found some trick or method to stop the negative thoughts, then immediately say something positive. For example, if the thought of "I'll never be able to afford a vacation" appears, say "Money is flowing to me right now" or "I am prosperous in all ways." Write down your positive phrase and post it everywhere to reinforce the positive.

Step 5: Repeat positive phrases several times a day. In addition to stopping the negative thoughts, you want to start reprogramming your brain with positive, good thoughts. So write down your positive thoughts and carry them with you. Repeat them several times a day to yourself. What I personally have found is that I don't start with something I feel is too far out of my reach. I did not start by saying "I am a millionaire" because my brain immediately said "Yeah, right!" But I started reprogramming in small ways.

When I was younger, my father (who's now 90) said that $25,000 a year was a great income and people should be happy with that. (And when my father was young, that was a great income.)

I'm sure you can guess what happened in my career. For years, I could not earn over $25,000 a year. I wasn't happy with that income. I felt worth more. Can you relate to that? Are you receiving what you're worth - in your career and relationships?

I started reading books like "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. I read many other books on thinking prosperously, and I learned that what my life looks like on the outside is a direct reflection of what I'm thinking on the inside.

About 15 years ago when I was being interviewed for a job I really wanted, I started repeating "I am offered $32,500 as my starting salary." (The salary for the position was $30,000.) This was a stretch for me considering my previous programming. The hiring process took several months so I had a lot of time to keep repeating my desired salary. Upon hire, I was offered $32,500. I stayed with that company for almost 5 years and more than doubled that starting salary.

Step 6: Congratulate and celebrate your successes. As you begin making changes, acknowledge yourself. And as you start to achieve your dreams, celebrate! Reinforce the feelings you have after your accomplishments - big and small.

If you become aware of your thoughts, you can change them. Even if you say one less negative statement a day, you're making progress. And when you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, your life starts moving in a more positive direction. If you journal, write down where you are in this process today and then check back in a month and then in three months and see the progress you've made.

You can create the life of your dreams. It starts with baby steps. You deserve the best. So now."What Are You Thinking?" Be excited about achieving your dreams.

Vitamins for the Mind by Jim Rohn

ENTERPRISE

Human beings have the remarkable ability to turn nothing into something. They can turn weeds into gardens and pennies into fortunes.

Enterprise is better than ease.

Showing a profit means touching something and leaving it better than you found it.

Enterprise is the hope of our future.

Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living; profits make you a fortune.

We all know a variety of ways to make a living. What's even more fascinating is figuring out ways to make a fortune.

Kids ought to have two bicycles, one to ride and one to rent.

Learn to be Thankful for What You Already Have by Jim Rohn

Learn to be Thankful for What You Already Have by Jim Rohn

Is thankfulness a survival skill? Perhaps most of you would respond with, "No, Jim, thankfulness is not key to survival", and I would tend to agree with you. Most of us have probably already solved the necessary problems of survival, gone beyond that and are now working to achieve our desires. But let me give you this key phrase, "Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want." I believe one of the greatest and perhaps one of the simplest lessons in life we can learn is to be thankful for what we have already received and accomplished.

Both the years and the experiences have brought me here to where I stand today, but it is the thankfulness that opened the windows of opportunities, of blessings, of unique experiences to flow my way. My gratitude starts with my parents who raised me, gave me an incredible foundation that has lasted me all of these years and continues with the mentors that I've met along the way who absolutely changed and revolutionized my life, my income, my bank account, my future. I am also very thankful for the people, the associations, for the ideas, for the chance to work and labor, and to produce results, all of that has brought me to this place, to this weekend. I'm grateful for it all.

What a unique opportunity each one of you here has, so many of us; representing different countries, nations and cultures, to appreciate the uniqueness of our own experiences that has brought us all here, together, for these three days to learn new skills and sharpen old ones. For the countries we represent; we have freedom and liberty. These are extraordinary times, about eleven years ago the walls came tumbling down, in Germany, and it started a wave of democracy and freedom like the world has never seen before. We as a country and as a world have so much to be thankful for. Always start with thanksgiving; be thankful for what you already have and see the miracles that come from this one simple act.

Now thankfulness is just the beginning; next, you've got to challenge yourself to produce. Produce more ideas than you need for yourself so you can share and give your ideas away. That is called fruitfulness and abundance. Here's what I think fruitfulness and abundance mean - to go to work on producing more than you need for yourself so you can begin blessing others, blessing your nation and blessing your enterprise. Once abundance starts to come, once someone becomes incredibly productive, it's amazing what the numbers turn out to be. But to begin this incredible process of blessing, it often starts with the act of thanksgiving and gratitude, being thankful for what you already have and for what you've already done. Begin the act of thanksgiving today and watch the miracles flow your way.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

The 90/10 rule from Stephen Covey

Becoming a Motivational Leader

Becoming a Motivational Leader
By: Brian Tracy

Create a Big Vision
To become a motivational leader, you start with motivating yourself. You motivate yourself with a big vision, and as you move progressively toward its realization, you motivate and enthuse others to work with you to fulfill that vision.

Set High Standards
You exhibit absolute honesty and integrity with everyone in everything you do. You are the kind of person others admire and respect and want to be like. You set a standard that others aspire to. You live in truth with yourself and others so that they feel confident giving you their support and their commitment.

Face Your Fears
You demonstrate courage in everything you do by facing doubts and uncertainties and moving forward regardless. You put up a good front even when you feel anxious about the outcome. You don't burden others with your fears and misgivings. You keep them to yourself. You constantly push yourself out of your comfort zone and in the direction of your goals. And no matter how bleak the situation might appear, you keep on keeping on with a smile.

Be Realistic About Your Situation
You are intensely realistic. You refuse to engage in mental games or self-delusion. You encourage others to be realistic and objective about their situations as well. You encourage them to realize and appreciate that there is a price to pay for everything they want. They have weaknesses that they will have to overcome, and they have standards that they will have to meet, if they want to survive and thrive in a competitive market.

Accept Responsibility
You accept complete responsibility for results. You refuse to make excuses or blame others or hold grudges against people who you feel may have wronged you. You say, "If it's to be, it's up to me." You repeat over and over the words, "I am responsible. I am responsible. I am responsible."

Take Vigorous Action
Finally, you take action. You know that all mental preparation and character building is merely a prelude to action. It's not what you say but what you do that counts. The mark of the true leader is that he or she leads the action. He or she is willing to go first. He or she sets the example and acts as the role model. He or she does what he or she expects others to do.

Strive For Excellence
You become a motivational leader by motivating yourself. And you motivate yourself by striving toward excellence, by committing yourself to becoming everything you are capable of becoming. You motivate yourself by throwing your whole heart into doing your job in an excellent fashion. You motivate yourself and others by continually looking for ways to help others to improve their lives and achieve their goals. You become a motivational leader by becoming the kind of person others want to get behind and support in every way.

Your main job is to take complete control of your personal evolution and become a leader in every area of your life. You could ask for nothing more, and you should settle for nothing less.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, see yourself as an outstanding person, parent, coworker and leader in everything you do. Pattern your behavior after the very best people you know. Set high standards and refuse to compromise them.

Second, be clear about your goals and priorities and then take action continually forward. Develop a sense of urgency. Keep moving forward and you'll automatically keep yourself and others motivated.

Using Stumbling Blocks as Stepping Stones

Using Stumbling Blocks as Stepping Stones
By: Brian Tracy

Everyone makes mistakes and the busier you are, the more mistakes you will make. The only question is "How well and how effectively do you deal with the inevitable ups and downs of life?"

In this newsletter, you learn the difference between a positive and negative worldview. You learn how to benefit from your mistakes and how to remain positive in the face of adversity.

Let the Light Shine In
This is achieved through the simple exercise of self-disclosure. For you to truly understand yourself, or to stop being troubled by things that may have happened in your past, you must be able to disclose yourself to at least one person. You have to be able to get those things off your chest. You must rid yourself of those thoughts and feelings by revealing them to someone who won't make you feel guilty or ashamed for what has happened.

Using Stumbling Blocks as Stepping Stones
There are two ways to look at the world: the benevolent way or the malevolent way. People with a malevolent or negative worldview take a victim stance, seeing life as a continuous succession of problems and a process of unfairness and oppression. They don't expect a lot and they don't get much. When things go wrong, they shrug their shoulders and passively accept that this is the way life is and there isn't anything they can do to make it better.

On the other hand, people with a benevolent or positive worldview see the world around them as filled with opportunities and possibilities. They believe that everything happens as part of a great process designed to make them successful and happy. They approach their lives, their work, and their relationships with optimism, cheerfulness, and a general attitude of positive expectations. They expect a lot and they are seldom disappointed.

Flex Your Mental Muscles
When you develop the skill of learning from your mistakes, you become the kind of person who welcomes obstacles and setbacks as opportunities to flex your mental muscles and move ahead. You look at problems as rungs on the ladder of success that you grab onto as you pull your way higher.

Two of the most common ways to deal with mistakes are invariably fatal to high achievement. The first common but misguided way to handle a mistake is the failure to accept it when it occurs. According to statistics, 70 percent of all decisions we make will be wrong. That's an average. This means that some people will fail more than 70 percent of the time, and some people will fail less. It is hard to believe that most of the decisions we make could turn out to be wrong in some way. In fact, if this is the case, how can our society continue to function at all?

Cut Your Losses
The fact is that our society, our families, our companies, and our relationships continue to survive and thrive because intelligent people tend to cut their losses and minimize their mistakes. It is only when people refuse to accept that they have made a bad choice or decision-and prolong the consequences by sticking to that bad choice or decision-that mistakes become extremely expensive and hurtful.

Learn From Your Mistakes
The second common approach that people take with regard to their mistakes, one that hurts innumerable lives and careers, is the failure to use your mistakes to better yourself and to improve the quality of your mind and your thinking.

Learning from your mistakes is an essential skill that enables you to develop the resilience to be a master of change rather than a victim of change. The person who recognizes that he has made a mistake and changes direction the fastest is the one who will win in an age of increasing information, technology and competition.

By remaining fast on your feet, you will be able to out-play and out-position your competition. You will become a creator of circumstances rather than a creature of circumstances.

Action Exercises
Now, here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, imagine that your biggest problem or challenge in life has been sent to you at this moment to help you, to teach you something valuable. What could it be?

Second, be willing to cut your losses and walk away if you have made a mistake or a bad choice. Accept that you are not perfect, you can't be right all the time, and then get on with your life.

Third, learn from every mistake you make. Write down every lesson it contains. Use your mistakes in the present as stepping stones to great success in the future.

Ho to guide your subordinate to set a clear GOAL