Success University 02 (Nov 08 - Jan 09)

[winston]

Yes You Can! by Mike Brescia

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Today's Empowering Quote
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"I've said many times, to myself, 'This is going to be no problem. I've done this before.'" --Tiger Woods

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Today's Empowering Question
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"What memory can I use in this situation that will give me a reference point for the right attitude towards a successful outcome?"

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Today's Fast Session
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Man, what a great day this is going to be, huh?

Ready?

Say yes...

It's very well known that Tiger Woods uses a very specific kind of self talk. He talks himself into staying calm at times when others are literally trembling inside (outside, too!). He's not a wizard. He simply talks to himself in a way that encourages him. He says, "I can" and that type of talk opens up the door marked "memory of past success."

And you know what?

When you talk to yourself, you listen. No matter what you say, you're listening... and recording it in your memory.

And when you put thoughts into your mind, they CAN be rejected. However, if you do it often enough and they're the right thoughts, your mind - your subconscious mind - will ultimately bring you around to believing whatever you tell it.

How many times have you heard a thing-it could be anything- -and your first reaction was one of complete disbelief:

You can earn your degree-"I don't have the time"

You can be a size 6 again-"Yeah, right. I've had two kids and just can't lose that weight."

You can be in really great shape-"Who, me? I get out of breath climbing one flight of stairs."

You can advance at work-"I'm just a pee-on. No one notices me."

Some things are just hard to believe at first...

...Until you've been exposed to those same thoughts over and over and over again. Advertisers know this--that's why the same commercials are run constantly.

Soon, after some repetition, you open up a little to the possibility.

"Could be..."

Then, perhaps your belief gets a little boost.

"Hmmmn, well, maybe I do have time to take one course at the community college at night."

"You know, I've just cut back on soda and I've lost 3 pounds!"

"Walking around the block with my neighbor is kind of fun, and I don't get as winded as I used to."

"I've been trying harder at my job and guess what-the boss paid me a very nice compliment on my work!"

At this point, a wonderful cycle has begun. As your belief gets stronger, you'll do a little more, then your
belief gets stronger, then you'll do a little more, etc.

Positive, encouraging and optimistic self-talk is literally the software program that can flip your switch
from lose to win in any area of life. It may not be "true" today. But with the right words and the right emotion - and with repetition - you simply must change. It's unavoidable. Your brain won't let you lie to yourself for too long before it says, "Ya know, I DO like getting up at 5:30 to exercise." Bingo!

This is a very important topic, so we'll have to pick it up later... very soon, in fact...

[helios]

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Today's Empowering Quote
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"I've said many times, to myself, 'This is going to be no problem. I've done this before.'" --Tiger Woods

i am aching everywhere now, esp. the Golf muscles involved in the Swing ...


Muscles used in golf:
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Golfing Muscles:
front of thigh (quadriceps)
back of thigh (hamstrings)
outer thigh or hips (abductors)
inner thigh (adductors)
buttocks (gluteals)
sides of abdomen (internal and external obliques)
low back (erectors)
mid/upper back (latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius)
chest (pectorals)
shoulder (deltoids)
rotator cuff (infraspinatus, terses minor, subscapularis, supraspinatus)
back of arm (triceps)
front of arm (biceps)
forearm (forearm flexors and extensors)

[winston]

How do you ever get the truth to be more the way you want it to be? You’ve just got to start beating the drums of truth the way you want it to be—and when you do, you will immediately feel good. And there are those who might say, “Oh, you’re not facing the fact.” And we say, we would never face any fact that was taking us to a place we don’t want to be.

There are those who believe that the world is getting more and more desperate. We are here to tell you that the world is getting better and better, and better, and that every experience you have causes you to launch rockets of desires, and Source comes in response to those rockets.

And the best thing about your birth and death is that the resistant ones die and the allowing ones are born. And with this combination of contrast that keeps you launching new and new desires, it’s no wonder that the
Universe is expanding in this marvelous way and that life is getting better, in every day—and in this moment—for everyone who insists on focusing there
.
Excerpted from a workshop in Portland, OR on Saturday, July 12th, 2003

All Is Well

[winston]

Carry Out a Good Personal Life Plan by Todd Hicks

Life is a precious gift that is filled with plenty of opportunity. The way your life turns out mainly depends on you. It is your responsibility to have goals and motivate yourself to accomplish them. You will learn how to set goals and succeed at following through to achieve them.

Life goals are guidelines you set to create a better life for yourself or others. Once you realize your life goals, you should create a personal “bucket list”. A “bucket list” is a document that tells you everything you want to accomplish, a plan of action to accomplish each goal and why you must stay motivated to accomplish each goal.

Do you work at a low-skilled, low-paying job? If so, add learning marketable skills to your bucket list. Conduct research on areas you can focus on to learn skills employers demand. After you do this, enroll in courses that relate to these areas, practice doing some of these things or get someone to train you. The main factor that should keep you motivated to stick to this plan of action is you do not want to spend the rest of your life flipping hamburgers or mopping floors.

Are you too slow at doing chores at home? If you are, write down becoming more proficient at doing chores as one of your life goals. Analyze everything you do and think about during the time you do chores as you focus on developing methods to increase your speed. Learn how to multi-task, or do various things simultaneously. Keep in mind that the quicker you do chores, the more time you will have to do everything you really want to do.

Do you want to find a new job? If acquiring employment is one of your life goals, the guideline you must follow to stay motivated to become successful at finding a new job is to always take the necessary steps. These steps include creating a professional resume and cover letter; adequate preparation for job interviews; going to interviews wearing professional business attire and a smile and ignoring the temptation to criticize an employer you have worked for.

If you have a job, do you want to stay there while getting a raise and promotion? If staying is your desire, add becoming a model employee to your bucket list. Stay motivated to always get plenty of sleep before going to work; be on time; dress professionally; finish each task you start; exceed expectations and be nice and helpful to everyone.

If earning plenty of extra money and possibly retiring early is one of your life goals, add becoming self employed to your bucket list. Do research on how to earn money taking surveys; writing articles and books and running a successful business. After doing the research, you must stay motivated to follow through to gain financial freedom.

Follow these motivational guidelines to create a bucket list you can successfully carry out!

[kennynah]

this year of ox...shall fill our individual buckets to the brim..with things and intangibles that our hearts desire !!!!

buckets full !!!!

[winston]

Tear Up Your “To Do” Lists! by John Di Lemme

Most of you have those tedious “To Do” list that you create in an effort to get more things done in your day. But let’s take time to really look at your “To Do” list. The actual words “To Do” have a negative connotation, and when you look at that list on a daily basis you think to yourself, “I MUST get this stuff done!”. It’s like meeting a deadline on a daily basis. You absolutely dread it! You should just call it your “To Don’t” list, because it’s not something that you even look forward to doing.

So, what kinds of things are on these “To Do” list?

1) Go to the gym
2) Take the kids to baseball practice
3) Make (3) new contacts for my business
4) Pick-up the laundry
5) Coaching session w/John Di Lemme
6) Tele-Class at 8:30pm
7) Book flights for upcoming seminar

That’s right, this is an example of the infamous “To Do” list that you write out every day, and you drive yourself crazy trying to get everything done. Then at the end of the day, you wad up your list and throw it away. No matter if you finished everything or not. Does this make sense? No. Why should you torture yourself by making a list of things that will ultimately hang over your head all day long. Plus, most of the time the things on your “To Do” list are important to you and you should feel a sense of accomplishment after you complete them.

I know that you are saying to yourself, “John, I have to write things down or I won’t do them, and these things are important.” I agree with you 100%, but there is another way...something you won’t hate and resent doing on a daily basis. You must make this list important to you and feel good about yourself when you complete it or even most of it.

Develop a Champion Checklist!
Doesn’t that sound better and more powerful? How would you feel at the end of your day if you accomplished the majority of things on your “Champion Checklist”? Here’s another tip. Don’t throw it away day after day after day. Keep your Champion Checklist in a journal or simply a notebook. This will allow you to look back at your lists at the end of the week and see all of the things that you achieved. On the other hand, it will also act as your guide to things that you can do better such as time management.

My challenge for you today is to commit to tearing up your “To Do” list and replace it with a “Champion Checklist”. Will you do it or will you continue to begin everyday staring at a list that haunts you all day long? It’s up to you! This simple change will produce drastic results for you.

[millionairemind]

If All Else Fails
By Byron Pulsifer © 2009

You need to be able to move forward in life without carrying a huge amount of baggage. One of the greatest obstacles to getting what you want is to remember past failures as if they foretell the future.

Far too many people assume, and assume wrongly, that failure in the past means failure in the future. They seem to adopt the attitude that they have tried and failed so there is absolutely no reasonable requirement to ever try again. They think that trying again can only set them up for more failure, for more disappointment, and for more ridicule by their friends.

And, there is something that is even more interesting when failure arises. Failure doesn't mean that you sit down and never throw in another attempt because throwing in the towel only means that you quit for this time not for all time.

There is, after all, no light without knowing darkness, and therefore, there is no success without first failure. Excess baggage of failure in the past means that you haven't properly processed what has gone before and turned this baggage into a positive. The natural question, at this point, is to say how can failure be a positive? Let me put this positive turning of baggage another way.

Take a failure as a crucial part of growth; as a crucial part of learning; and as a valuable chapter full of a host of learning tools. Failure properly dissected with 'learning from mistakes' as its focus will resurrect the positive aspects of the attempt and highlight what to change on the next attempt.

When all else fails, revisit failure as your best teacher, your master of learning, and put aside forever any notion that failure means quitting. The old adage rings true in that 'quitters never win, and winners never quit'. Nothing worth having, doing, or accomplishing comes pre-packaged with foolproof steps that guarantee success.

[winston]

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*** Article: The Secret to Letting Go of Every Fear - By Guy Finley ***
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Are you afraid of some condition in your life? Here's a life-transforming secret: that seemingly scary condition, whatever it may be, is not the problem. It is your reaction that is fearful. This is why if you will become conscious of your condition instead of afraid of it, you will change forever your relationship with fear.

It is only within this special kind of inner-relationship that there is real safety, because now you are interacting with fear in an entirely new way. You are no longer letting it dictate to you how to act or what to do. Instead, you are aware of the fear. You are learning to quietly observe and study it. And, each day, as you discover something new about the strange and shaky nature of your own fearful reactions, they begin to lose their power over you.

Why? Because you are at last seeing them for what they have always been: unintelligent mechanical forces. You are slowly becoming stronger than they are because by seeing them as they are -- not as they would have you see them -- you have helped yourself to climb above and outside of their influence. This self-insight is the difference between trembling through your life and being in command of it.

To be consciously afraid means that you know you are frightened, but at the same time you know that these very fears, as real as they may seem, are not you. And no wrong reaction can keep you captive once you begin to see it for what it is.

Fear is, and has always been, nothing but a self-limiting reaction that we cling to in the darkness of our present life-level, having mistaken it for a shield of self-protection. But, just as the faintest of early morning sunlight can dispel the night-long darkness, so does the smallest of insights into a persistent fear lead to letting it go.

You can prove this powerful principle to yourself anytime you want. Just dare to proceed even while being afraid. But remember, your new aim isn't to be courageous or to try and act strong in the face of fear. No. We've seen that this won't work. You simply want to be more curious about your frightened thoughts and feelings than you want to believe in them.

If you will follow this simple but higher instruction, not only will you start to see these habitual reactions that have been keeping you scared and running, you'll actually start seeing through them. This is where the real miracle occurs.

Each new insight into the actual nature of these negative reactions removes some of their power over you. And their loss is your gain. You are stronger now and you know it. You also know this new strength will never fail you because it isn't just the temporary appearance of a bold opposite. This new strength of yours is the absence of an old weakness.

Let's look at just one of the ways in which this principle of putting self-illumination before psychological self-protection can turn fear into fearlessness.

Do you know someone who you would rather run from than run into? Most of us do! Nevertheless, starting right now, resolve never again to avoid any person that scares you.

In fact, go ahead and walk right up to that critical man or aggressive woman and say or do exactly what you want instead of letting the fear tell you to do what it wants. Have no ideas at all about the way things should or shouldn't go. You are there to watch and learn about yourself, not to win an ego victory. Let that person see you shake if that is what starts to happen. What do you care? Besides, it is only temporary. That unpleasant person before you can't know it, but you are shaking yourself awake.

For the first time, you are letting your reactions roll by instead of letting them carry you away. As you stand there, momentarily apart from your usual self and working hard to remain as inwardly watchful as you know how, you can see that this flood of previously unconscious reactions has its own life story -- a shaky sort of story that up until now you had embraced as your own. But now you are beginning to see the whole story. The fears do not belong to you. Here is the explanation:

You have never been afraid of another person. The only thing you have ever been frightened by is your own thoughts about that person. Yes, you did feel fear, but it wasn't yours and it wasn't toward someone stronger than you. The fear you felt was in what you thought he or she was thinking about you.

Amazing, isn't it? You have been afraid of your own thoughts! And seeing this ends this. Now you can let this thought-self go, because no one holds onto terror.

Excerpted from "The Secret of Letting Go," Rev. Edition, Llewellyn, 2007

[winston]

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*** Article: Looking Out for List Number One - By Jamee Tenzer ***
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You know those things you want to do someday? Here is my partial list: learn to speak Spanish; write a book; take belly dancing lessons; complete a baby scrapbook for each of my three children; read the stack of books by my bed; help my daughter with her knitting; and so much more. My list continues indefinitely.

You know those things you do every day? Here's my partial list: be wife, mommy, daughter, sister, coach, trainer, and friend; answer emails; exercise; manage pets; call the plumber; call the phone company; buy more dog food; change the light-bulb; pay the bills; manage the family calendar; and so much more. This list goes on indefinitely, too.

And, if I am not careful, these two lists shall never meet. List number one will forever be dominated by the hands-on-hips glare of self-important list number two. And list number two does have a point. She is filled with the items that MUST get done. Her tasks concern "real" issues such as getting food on the table, running a business, getting the kids to violin and ballet, making doctor's appointments, putting the kids to bed at night, and getting them up in the morning, on TIME.

List number one has none of these serious issues to offer. All she has is her commitment to balance, love, fun, creativity, and living life to the fullest. List number one does have a secret, though. She knows how important she is. Unlike list number two, she doesn't need to prove herself. She just patiently waits for her opportunity to shine. So how do we let our number one list shine when days, weeks, and months fly by, filled with the concerns of list number two?

Well, I have recently implemented a strategy. I have begun to put my list one items in my calendar. I started with belly dancing lessons. No, I am not a dancer, but if the presence of a "belly" is a requirement, then after 3 kids, I've got that one covered. In fact, the last time I took a dance class was ballet when I was 7. So, to say I am a beginner is an understatement. On top of that, when my daughter saw me watching a belly dancing "how-to" DVD and trying to practice some of the "moves," she suggested that I stop it immediately. This gives you an idea of my natural talent.

Luckily, list number one does not care about what people think or whether things make sense. I forged ahead with my strategy. I made a note on a particular day to find a class and sign up. Each time I came across that note and didn't have time to do it, I moved it forward to the next day, the next week, and yes, the next month.

It took three months, but finally there was a day in which I was able to take the time to find and sign up for a class. That set the wheels in motion. I found someone to stay with the kids, purchased a beginner's skirt and set of finger cymbals, and blocked out those Wednesday classes in my calendar.

As soon as I make lunches for the kids, start dinner, and get my little one in the tub, I'm going to practice my moves!

COACH ME QUICK TIPS FOR LIST NUMBER ONE:

1. Identify one item that you have wanted to do, take care of, learn about, or research, for some time.

2. What is the first step on that project?

3. When can you take that step? Next week? Next month? Whenever it is, just put it in your calendar. If you use an electronic calendar, you can always move it forward digitally. If you use a handwritten calendar, write it on a post-it so that it can be moved forward if needed.

4. Allow list number one to shine!

[winston]

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Column By Jack Canfield
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Good Things Come to Those Who Ask

Asking for what you need is probably the most underutilized tool for people. And yet, amazing requests have been granted to people simply because they've asked for it!

Whether its money, information, support, assistance, or time, most people are afraid to ask for what they need in order to make their dreams come true.

They might be afraid of looking needy, ignorant, helpless, or even greedy. More than likely, though, it is the fear of rejection that is holding them back. Even though they are afraid to hear the word no, they're already saying it to themselves by not asking!

Do you ask for what you want? Are you afraid of rejection?

Consider this: Rejection is just a concept. There is really no such thing as rejection! You're not any worse off by hearing no than you were before you asked. You didn't have what you asked for before you asked and you still don't, so what did you lose?

Being rejected doesn't hold you back from anything. Only YOU hold yourself back. If you are told no, ask for what you'd have to do to get it, or ask again at another time when the circumstances have changed.

Ask if they know someone else who might say yes. When you realize that there's no merit to rejection, you'll feel more comfortable asking for things. But you may need a bit of help learning how to ask for what you want.

First, ask as though you expect to get it. Be confident in your request coming from a perspective that
there's no reason why you wouldn't get it. Or they say no, you can ask them why, or what you would need to do to get a yes. You might need to form a better business plan before you will get a loan.

You might need to take a course in computers before you will get a promotion. You might need to spend more quality time with your family before you will get the loving support you need. By getting this feedback you are able to make adjustments and ask again with better chances of getting a yes.

Second, assume you can get what you want if you only ask for it. You want a window seat? Assume all you have to do is ask for it. You want an ocean view? Cheaper tickets? A scholarship? A better deal? Just ask for it as if that's all you have to do to get it.

And finally, be specific about what you want or need. Do you want to make $5,000 more a year? Then don't just ask for a raise. Ask for $5,000 more a year. Vague request produce vague results. Don't just ask for more time with your spouse, ask for a date on Friday night. Don't ask for help on a project, ask for what you want that person to take care of.

Getting a good perspective on rejection and learning how to ask will make a world of difference for you as you work toward your goals. Practice asking and you'll get very good at it! You'll even speed your progress by getting what you need, or improving yourself in order to get it later.

Make a list of what you need to ask for in all areas of your life, then start asking!