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Table of Contents Article - The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn, Part 2 of 5 - Jim Rohn Article - Getting Your Ideas Across - Brian Tracy Article - Four Core Values that Guarantee Success  - Chris Widener

Date: November 7, 2004 From: John Clark Subscriber, You need to give yourself a pat on the back. You are starting to put yourself in an elite group of individuals who are going to make a great success of their lives. You should be proud of yourself. If you haven't already done so please do yourself a favor and go get Brian Tracy's Free 21 Ways CD, you can go to the following link and get it: http://www.performfirst.net/u/21/b.asp?id=1862 Also, If you haven't started researching any business ideas, you can start by looking at what you do in your spare time. "John, what do you mean?", You may be saying to yourself. Well in my studies and by my personal experience I've found that you can make the things you enjoy doing into an income producing business. And you can take it all over the world via the Internet. One of the best and most comprehensive courses I've found is by one of the best in Internet Marketing and his name is Cory Rudl. For More Information on how to Start you own online business follow this link: http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/816986 Until the Next Ezine, Here's to your LifetoSuccess.

The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn, Part 2 of 5 - Jim Rohn Last week we started a five part series on The Seasons of Life. At that time I stated that I believe there are overriding principles that we should follow and be led by. That life is about constant, predictable patterns of change. And that as we approach the future; for all of us, the only constant factor will be our feelings and attitudes toward life. Secondly, we as human beings have the power of attitude and that attitude determines choice, and choice determines results. All that we are and all that we can become has indeed been left unto us to decide and interpret through our attitude and choices. This week we will begin our discussion of the four seasons. I'll start by making two comments. First, life and business are like the changing seasons. That's one of the best ways to illustrate life: it's like the seasons that change. Second, you cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. Now with those two key phrases in mind, let's look at what I consider to be the first major lesson in life to learn, and that is how to handle the winters. They come regularly, right after autumn. Some are long, some are short, some are difficult, some are easy, but they always come right after autumn. That is never going to change. There are all kinds of winters - the "winter" when you can't figure it out, the "winter" when everything seems to go haywire. There are economic winters, social winters and personal winters. Wintertime can bring disappointment, and disappointment is common to all of us. So you must learn how to handle the winters. You must learn how to handle difficulty; it always comes after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions; they come right after expansions. That isn't going to change. The big question is what do you do about winters? You can't get rid of January simply by tearing it off the calendar. But here is what you can do: you can get stronger; you can get wiser; and you can get better. Remember that trio of words: stronger, wiser, better. The winters won't change, but you can. Before I understood this, I used to wish it were summer when it was winter. When things were difficult, I used to wish they were easy. I didn't know any better. Then Mr. Shoaff gave me the answer from a part of his very unique philosophy when he said, "Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom." (Next week we will talk about the second major lesson in life: learning how to take advantage of the spring. Spring is opportunity. Fortunately, spring always follows winter.) To Your Success, Jim Rohn Great Health, Wealth, Relationships and Overall Success! Become part of a group that has committed to a plan, a process, a blueprint and a commitment to inspect and improve their lives. The Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan (including experts Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy) will help you do just that and become the person you desire to become. Visit: www.jimrohn.com today! To read previous articles, quotes, and Q and A from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine Archives, or to get a complete listing of Jim Rohn's books, audios, videos and seminar schedule, or to place an order; please go to: www.jimrohn.com or call 800-929-0434 M-F 8:30-5:30 CST.

Getting Your Ideas Across - Brian Tracy Over the years, I've learned that fully 85 percent of what you accomplish in your career and in your personal life will be determined by how well you get your message across and by how capable you are of inspiring people to take action on your ideas and recommendations. You can be limited in other respects by education, contacts and intelligence, but if you can interact effectively with others, minute by minute and hour by hour, your future can be unlimited. I an going to share with you some ideas, techniques and skills that you can use to accelerate your progress toward power communication. But first, there are two major myths about communication that must be dispelled. The first myth, which many people believe, is that because they can talk, they can communicate with others. Men especially, according to the research, think that by speaking louder and faster, they're more effective in dealing with people. Many people think that because they have the gift of gab, because they have no problem talking to others on any subject that comes to mind, they're good communicators. Often, exactly the opposite is true. Many people who talk a lot are often poor communicators even terrible communicators. Many people in sales and business think that being able to string a lot of words together in a breathless fashion makes them excellent at getting a message understood by others. However, in most cases, those people are seen as boring or obnoxious, or both. Let me say this slowly and clearly: The ability to talk is not the same as the ability to communicate. As I will discuss later, the ability to communicate is the ability both to send and to receive a message. The ability to communicate is the ability to make an impact on the thoughts, feelings and actions of someone. Many people who consider themselves excellent talkers are not very effective at all in this regard. So let's dispel the first myth, the myth that talking is equal to communicating. Don't allow yourself to become complacent. The ability to talk to one or more persons is only the basic requirement for communication. It's the starting point. It's the jumping-off place. Effective communication is something else again. The second myth about effective communication is that it's a skill that people are born with. Either you have it or you don't have it. If you're not extroverted, gregarious and outgoing, you don't have what it takes to be a good communicator. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. Communication is a skill that you can learn. it's like riding a bicycle or typing. It takes time and practice, over and over. But if you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life, as you will soon see. Communication requires both a sender and a receiver. The process of communication happens rapidly, and this same process takes place whenever two or more people exchange ideas. First, the sender thinks of an idea or image that he or she wishes to convey to the receiver. The sender then translates the idea or image into a form, or words, either written or spoken. Those words constitute the basic message that is transmitted to the receiver. The receiver catches the words, like a baseball player catches a baseball, and then translates the words into the ideas and pictures that they represent in order to understand the message that was sent. The receiver then acknowledges receipt, and replies by translating his or her ideas and pictures into words and transmitting them to the sender. When the message has been sent and the receiver has acknowledged receiving it by transmitting a response that the sender receives, accepts and understands, the communication is complete. If this sounds complicated, it is. Probably 99 percent of all the difficulties between human beings, and within organizations, are caused by breakdowns in the communication process. Either the senders do not say what they mean clearly enough, or the receivers do not receive the message in the form in which it was intended. An enormous number of factors can interfere in any communication, and every one of them can lead to a distortion of the message in some way. Probably every problem you'll ever have will be somehow associated with a failure or breakdown in the communication process. Let me explain. According to Albert Mehrabian, a communications specialist, there are three elements in any direct, face-to-face communication: words, tone of voice and body language. You've probably heard that words account for only 7 percent of the message, tone of voice accounts for 38 percent of the message, and body language accounts for fully 55 percent of the message. For an effective communication to take place, all three parts of the message must be congruent. If there is any incongruency, the receiver will be confused and will tend to accept the predominant form of communication rather than simply the literal meaning of the words. Very often, you will say something that you feel is innocuous to a person and he will be offended. When you try to explain that you felt the words you used were inoffensive, the person will tell you that your tone of voice was the issue. The third ingredient of communication, body language, is also very important. The way you sit or stand or incline your head or move your eyes, relative to the person with whom You're communicating, will have an enormous effect on the message received. For example, you can dramatically increase the effect of your communications by leaning toward the person You're speaking with. If You're sitting down, this is easy. If You're standing up, you can accomplish the same effect by shifting your weight forward onto the balls of your feet and leaning slightly toward the person You're talking to. When you make direct eye and face contact with the person, combined with focused attention, you double the impact of what You're saying. In fact, one of the easiest ways for you to break off a conversation, almost like knocking a needle off a phonograph record, is by just turning away from a person and looking into the distance when he is speaking. That will usually abruptly cause the person to stop speaking. He will feel that he's just been abandoned in the middle of the conversation. So your choice of words is important, but even more important is your tone of voice and your body language. The better you can coordinate all three of those ingredients, the more impact your message will have, and the greater will be the likelihood that a person will both understand it and react the way you want him to. you've heard the saying that God gave man two ears and one mouth, and in conversation, you should use them in those proportions. Truer words were never spoken. The best communicators are excellent listeners. The worst communicators are continuous talkers. In fact, often the most important part of the message is the part that is conveyed by the pauses you make between thoughts and ideas. The message is conveyed in the silence that takes place during the lulls in conversation. All master communicators have learned to be comfortable with silence. Remember that a person can absorb only a certain amount of information, as ground can absorb only a certain amount of water. If you pour too much water onto the ground, it will form into puddles instead of soak in. A person's mind is very much the same. If you don't give someone an opportunity to absorb what you're saying, by pausing and waiting quietly and patiently, he will be overwhelmed by the continuous stream of thoughts and ideas, and often will distort the message and miss the point. One of the most vital requirements for effective communication, especially with important messages, is preparation. Preparation is the mark of the true professional. The late Coach Paul �Bear� Bryant of the University of Alabama football team was famous for saying, �It's not the will to win but the will to prepare to win that counts.� In all communications, the will to prepare in advance of talking and interacting with people is the key to achieving maximum effectiveness. In high school and college debating, where the individuals and teams are judged on the effectiveness of their ability to get their ideas across and to win their points, they're taught to prepare exhaustively. Especially, they're taught to prepare the debate from the point of view of the opposition before they prepare their own arguments. Lawyers were taught to do this in law school. Before they go into court, lawyers think through every possible piece of evidence or information that favors the opposing party. They then prepare their arguments in such a way as to undermine what they think the opposing party will present as its strongest point. Remember that in communicating, people do things for their own reasons, not for yours. Everyone's favorite radio station is WIIFM, which means �What's in it for me?� The more important the communication, either in business or personal life, the more important it is to prepare for it. Think through where the other person is coming from. What is his or her point of view? What are his or her problems or concerns? What is he or she trying to accomplish? What is his or her level of knowledge or information about the subject under discussion? The best communicators do not use a lot of words, but they choose their words carefully, in advance. People appreciate straight talking. Avoid the tendency to dress up your message and sugarcoat it. When you have a question or a concern, or you want something, come right out and say it without confusion or distortion. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel and how much more positively someone will respond to your message. In getting your point across, perhaps the most important word of all is the word ask. The most effective people are those who are the best at asking for what they want. They ask questions to uncover real needs and concerns. They ask questions to illuminate objections and problems that people might have with what They're suggesting. They ask questions to expand the conversation and to increase their understanding of where people are really coming from. You get your message understood by getting out of yourself, by putting your ego aside, and by focusing all of your attention on the other person. You get people to do the things you want them to do by presenting your arguments in terms of their interests, in terms of what they want to be and have and do. You prepare thoroughly in advance of any important conversation. You think before you speak, and you think on paper. You can say almost anything if you say it, or ask it, pleasantly, positively and with courtesy and friendliness. The ability to communicate is a skill that you can learn by becoming genuinely interested in people and by putting their needs ahead of your own when sending a message or asking them to do something for you. When you concentrate your attention on building trust, on the one hand, and on seeking to understand, on the other hand, You'll become known and respected as an effective communicator everywhere you go.   Managing Meetings That Get Results (Sixty-minute video, two 60-minute audios plus two workbooks) As much as 40 percent to 50 percent of a leader's time is spent in meetings of all kinds. Unfortunately, 50 percent or more of meeting time is wasted. Meetings are a vital skill, a key tool of leadership.  Productive meetings are essential for the effective executive.  Learn how to make your meetings more productive and valuable; Learn how to conduct and participate in results-oriented business meetings that stay on track and contribute real value to your organization.  Ideas on format, layout, agenda, attendance, location, structure and timing.   Click Product Image for More Information For More Information About Brian Tracy Brian Tracy is a leading authority on personal and business success. As Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, he is the best-selling author of 17 books and over 300 audio and video learning programs. Join Brian's Free Email Newsletters. . Copyright � 2001 Brian Tracy International. All Rights Reserved. Webmasters: Add This Article To Your Site

Four Core Values that Guarantee Success  - Chris Widener I had the privilege this past Saturday of speaking just before former United Nations Ambassador and Presidential Candidate, Alan Keyes at a leadership conference in Whistler, British Columbia. Ambassador Keyes gave a brilliant speech as usual and challenged the audience with the idea that the only way people, businesses, organizations, and even countries make lasting impact is by operating out of core values and bedrock principles. This got me to thinking about how successful people become so by living out of core values. In doing so, they provide for themselves the foundation for successful lives that make a difference, not only for themselves, but for others as well. So what are the core values that I have seen in the many successful people that I have worked with through the years? Here are four core values that virtually guarantee your success: They are honest. The successful people I have worked with are certainly not blatantly dishonest. Neither are they corner-cutters or �little-white-lie-tellers.� In fact, I have found that the truly successful are entirely honest. They have no problems with the truth. They stand on it and declare it. Being on honest person takes being at ease with and confident of yourself. It requires a trust that no matter what the truth may bring, things will turn out for the best. When you are confident of yourself and know that the best will turn out, you have no problem telling the truth at all times. This brings you to a place where people know the real you. It allows them to follow you with assurance. It strengthens relationships, upon which your success rests. It allows you to look yourself in the mirror and see the same person in the mirror that is standing on the floor before it. This builds on itself and enables you to be even more confident and move even more quickly toward your successful future. Make a commitment to being honest and you make a commitment to your own success. They are givers, not takers. The successful people I have worked with have achieved extraordinarily. This includes great families, world records, spiritual abundance, and material wealth. But they didn't set out to go and get it at all costs. Instead, they set their minds and wills upon serving others the best they could. They realized one of the most universal principles in the world: you reap what you sow. They know that when the give to others, others give back. The reverse is true as well. When you take from others, they try to keep what you are trying to take. Make a commitment to being a giver and not a taker, and you are making a commitment to your own success. They are bust-their-tails, hard workers. Very few people become successful without hard work. Granted, in our �play the lotto� culture, we desire success without work, but history shows that the people who achieve the most success have as a core value the desire to work hard. One point: They don't just work hard in order to get the return, though they do indeed do that. They also work hard because they believe in hard work as an ethic and value. They know and appreciate that hard work produces character in them, excellence in their product, and satisfaction for those who benefit from their work. So they operate out of the value of hard work. Make a commitment to hard work and you make a commitment to your own success. They do what is right. Successful people are people with a core, people with a rod of strength and integrity that runs right through them. It causes them to see that this world of ours needs people who will do what is right, play by the rules, fight for what is true and still take time to care for the little guy and the underdog. Yes, good guys do finish first after all. And when, on those few occasions they don't, they decide that they would still do it the same way all over again. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Believe it or not, even with all of the scandalous behavior that we read about in the newspapers every day, good people are still the backbone of society. They are what make it work and make it benefit everyone. Make a commitment to doing what is right, and you make a commitment to your own success. Sure there are lots of values that we should strive to hold on to, but start with these four and you will be well on your way to achieving the kind of life that you desire! Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success and Extraordinary Leaders, two companies helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams. Join subscribers in over 100 countries around the world! Get Chris' FREE weekly Made for Success Ezine by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Get his FREE daily SuccessQuote� with action point by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Get his FREE monthly Extraordinary Leaders Ezine, one of the world's most widely distributed leadership newsletters, by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit his websites at http://www.madeforsuccess.com and http://www.madeforsuccess.com. Copyright 2002 Made for Success. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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