Success University 02 (Nov 08 - Jan 09)

[winston]

No matter what the issue is, don't try to justify why you don't feel good. And don't try to justify why you should feel differently. Don't try to blame whatever it is you think the reason is that's keeping you from feeling good. All of that is wasted effort. Just try to feel better right
now.

Excerpted from a workshop in Tallahassee, FL on Sunday, January 21st, 2001

All Is Well

[winston]

Picture This! by Mike Brescia

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Today's Empowering Quote
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"If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else."
-Yogi Berra

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Today's Empowering Question
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"What do I look like reaching my goal?"

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Today's Fast Session
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When the subject of goals comes up, I just get plain excited.

There is nothing like mapping out a plan, working like crazy and despite all obstacles, getting what you were after. Wow!! No matter what the goal is, even little daily goals, it's exciting. They build momentum and anticipation. Just like a road sign telling you that you've only got 3 miles to go. Cool!

In downtown Syracuse, NY, we have two towers that dwarf everything else in the city--The MONY Towers I and II. If you're from out of town and you want to get downtown, you don't even have to know the streets. You just keep following the two towers. And no matter how slow you go, you'll get there... eventually.

This is true of any goal you could possibly have. The most important thing is to be able to see what you're after. Or else, as Yogi said, you'll end up somewhere else.

If the goal doesn't exist yet, you only have to use your imagination. If it does; if others have already done what you want to do, watch tapes of them, talk with them. Read their books. If someone else has done it, surely you can too. Do whatever you must to keep the vision of you achieving your goal in your mind, especially if you're blazing trails.

This is vital, crucial, a must...

You must keep your goal in front of you all the time. The bigger, the more challenging the goal, the more important this is.

There are simply too many distractions, roadblocks, detours and temptations that can derail you on the way for you not to keep it in your sights all the time.

If you want to lose a bunch of weight, tape a picture of your head onto a picture of a person who has the body you want. Quitting smoking? Get a picture of lungs that are nice and pink and healthy. Get a picture of nice white teeth. Money? Pictures of your dream house, car, clothes. Grades? Copy your last report card and put straight A's in place of the other letters.

You're free to get as creative as you want.

See, hear and feel it as often as humanly possible.

Imagine how you'll feel, what other people will say to you, what you'll sound like when you talk. How will you walk? What will you think? Imagine it all.

If you can't see it, you most assuredly won't get it.

Think back to the times that you have wanted something and didn't get it:

Did you keep it in your mind constantly?
Did you visualize getting it?
Did you picture success regularly?

Or did you let every little diversionary thought and distraction get in your mind's way, and keep it from picturing you achieving your goal?

If the answer is the second one, then I hope you've stopped dead in your tracks right now.

This is an important moment. Right now is a turning point. If you can't imagine what it will be like to reach your goal; all the steps to get there and what it will be like once you're there, you're done. It's already over.

Not you though. Not this time. This time is for success. You are ready.

Be like Michelangelo, who just "released" the David from within the block of granite.

See it, feel it, hear it. What is YOUR David?

[winston]

It does not matter whether you are living in a country where there are some requent terrorist attacks, or in a country where there are random acts of violence. It does not matter what the culture is -- it is only the feeling of vulnerability that ever puts you into a vibrational harmony with that which you fear. When you realize that by working to achieve your feeling of Well-being, it is then impossible for you to ever rendezvous with anything other than Well-being -- that is the only place that freedom will ever be.

Excerpted from a workshop in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, August 18th, 2001

All Is Well

[winston]

When you ask, it is given, every single time, no exceptions. You are beloved, blessed Beings who deserve good things—but it takes a
self-convincing before you will allow good things.

Excerpted from a workshop in Boston, MA on Saturday, October 2nd, 2004

All Is Well

[winston]

Success Leaves Clues by Mike Brescia

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Today's Empowering Quote
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"He who seeks advice seldom errs." - Philippine proverb

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Today's Empowering Question
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"Who would know - where should I look for the answer?

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Today's Fast Session
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The old cliché "Success leaves clues" is possibly the most ignored pathway to achievement I know of.

Why?

In addition to not wanting to look unknowledgeable, I think, a big reason is because getting advice and answers often either costs money, which people don't want to invest, or time, which even fewer want to invest.

I say invest because whenever you "spend" time or money on learning, you've given yourself the chance to grow and become better now and in the future at whatever you invested your time or money in. And if you are better at something as a result of your "spending" then you've made a wise "investment."

The average person jumps head first into most situations without knowing a thing about what they're doing.

A great example of this is a story my uncle Dave told me this past weekend.

You see, he and a friend took a fishing trip to Canada a few weeks ago. Every guest in the lodge they were staying in was there for the same reason... great fishing.

Most of the guys there were fairly experienced fisherman.

And that was their biggest problem.

They were just going to go up there and catch more fish than they ever did before. Man, those fish were just going to jump in the boat. We'll just drop our line in and pull out the fish.

Right.

My uncle and his friend, also very experienced fishermen, took a slightly different view.

They'd never fished that area before.

So, for $150 [$75 apiece], they hired a guide for the first two entire days of their trip.

What they got was the experience of a 71-year-old man who'd been fishing in that area his entire life. He was an expert in that area. He showed them which lakes, where on each lake to fish, why, which lures, you name it.

Their results?

Well, consider this...

In a virtual fishing paradise, one guest in the lodge that week caught just 6 fish all week long.

My uncle, with the advice of the guide, caught 294 Walleyed Pike during the same week fishing the same lakes... more than any of the other guests.

He told everyone about the guide.

So did anyone else hire a guide that week? Nope. He told me that no one even asked him what he was doing to catch so much. I guess they all just thought he was getting lucky. Big egos.

This is a perfect parallel to how 97+% of all people treat all aspects of their lives.

I see it every day. Everywhere. In all settings. Obvious solutions to problems are just ignored.

If you want to reach an important goal in your life, if you want to beat your competitors, if you want to have great relationships... If you want to excel at everything you do.

...Then you absolutely MUST get direction from someone who's been there before, wherever "there" might be.

Buy books and read them.

Ask experienced people for solutions and listen.

You might have already known 90% of the answer. So what you have to listen for and hold dear is the 10% you didn't know.

And use it.

I love going to amazon.com and reading the reviews people post for books. So many people give bad reviews because in their opinion, there was "nothing new." What they don't say is that all the "old" stuff, what now is generally accepted, they don't even use that.

There is nothing wrong with hearing the same old stuff. Because unless you use what you've heard or read, you don't really "know" it.

Most tasks look easy on the outside, and they are... IF you know what you're doing.

I wouldn't even dream, for instance, of trying to put something together or learning a new piece of software without having the instructions at my side. But most people ignore them. And their results show it.

Look, you may have an I.Q. in the stratosphere. But if you aren't constantly looking to learn what you MUST know to get your tasks done quickly and effectively in EVERY part of your life, then you are creating a destiny of almost doing a good job, of coming close to finding
happiness but not quite getting there, of being known by everyone including yourself as undependable. And with that comes a poor self-image.

My purpose in writing this is for you to become more and more of a person who is passionate about learning what you MUST learn in order to set and reach the little and big benchmarks on the way to your dreams.

You just can't do it any other way. This isn't my opinion. It's an immutable principle of life. To deny this is to guarantee a high failure rate at many things you attempt.

You don't want that. I know it.

So do this...

Make a list of your To-Do's for the next week. Look at each item and ask yourself the question, "Am I really good at doing this?" If the answer is no, then before you start, write down all the things you need to know and do to prepare before you start. If you need some information, get it.

And get excited. Smile. Laugh. Because when you get that info, when you learn the thing you didn't know before and when you achieve your outcome easier and with more joy than you ever did before, you have expanded your knowledge, your capabilities and your value to yourself and others from that moment on.

Whenever you learn something new, no matter how small, you just taught yourself that you can achieve the largest of goals... the most amazing of accomplishments... because what are big accomplishments? Aren't they just many little ones all piled up?

It's funny, huh?

Success at just about anything is amazingly simple when you look behind the curtain. My uncle was a high school drop out. He didn't even go for weeks at a time.

But when he changed his view about learning, he got his GED, went to college at night, got his degree and ultimately became the highest paid civilian employee in Central New York in the NYS prison system.

In the process, he learned that learning is fun and that in every single experience he has, there is something he can take away from it to help him make smarter decisions in the future... like hiring a fishing guide when no one else would.

So, how many "fish" are YOU going to catch in the next week?

[winston]

Resolve by Mike Brescia

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Today's Empowering Quote
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"When you want a thing deeply, earnestly and intensely, this feeling of desire reinforces your will and arouses in you the determination to work for the desired object. When you have a distinct purpose in view, your work becomes of absorbing interest. You bend your best powers to it; you give it concentrated attention; you think of little else than the realization of this purpose; your will is stimulated into unusual activity, and as a consequence you do your work with an increasing sense of power." -Grenville Kleiser

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Today's Empowering Question
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"Is my resolve sufficient to succeed in my next venture?"

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Today's Fast Session
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Possibly the most important quality or skill you need to succeed at anything in life, whether it be getting in shape, excelling in your job, beating an illness or just plain being happy is a dogged commitment to doing it.

Ninety five percent of the time, people don't reach their aims because their resolve to get there was never very strong to begin with.

If you don't believe you'll get to your destination, how much effort will you ever be willing to put in? I mean, if you want to lose 20 pounds or 200 pounds and you've "tried" dozens of times only to ultimately quit trying, then what kind of effort will you be likely to put in this time?

Right. Not much.

The secret is your belief and your commitment.

How many times have you had some outcome that was an absolute must. You simply HAD TO GET IT DONE. The consequences of failing would be too great. At least in your mind, they were great. So...

You got it done! You worked all night. You rallied the troops. Your whole being was into it. There was simply no turning back. Failure was not an option...

And you succeeded.

Tell me, during those times when you rose to the challenge, was there much doubt about the ultimate outcome? Probably not, huh? You just knew that success was imminent, didn't you? Well, that's what happens when you're totally committed to a goal...

...AND when you're clear on exactly what you want.

To succeed at anything, keep your inner voice positive. Tell yourself you can... constantly. Every hour. At critical moments of decision.

Talking about belief and resolve: You've no doubt all heard the stories about people who exhibited amazing feats of superhuman strength and picked up a vehicle just enough to help rescue another person pinned underneath.

And what about those tireless rescue workers who simply won't let themselves stop until they find one more survivor. They have their outcome set and they're doing everything to achieve it.

Now, in our everyday lives, that kind of schedule is usually not required and definitely not healthy, but the principle is the same. Keep your eyes on the goal. Every minute. Every hour.

If you do, then you won't be wasting precious time on non-essential tasks. You'll keep yourself from feeling the agony of failure. Because if your resolve is strong, when you do meet those temporary setbacks, you'll see them as that...temporary.

When your determination is weak, each setback looks like the end.

So look at your next project, and the one after that, and even the one after that, and start talking yourself into doing what you must. Tell yourself that you're up to it. Make it a must.

Do that and I know I'll be hearing from you with one heck of a success story.

[winston]

The Plain Truth By Robert Ringer

There are some people who aspire to have power over others. And there's not a person on this earth who hasn't found himself on the short end of that power stick at one time or another.

Have you ever asked yourself what it is that gives someone power over you? The truth be known, it's a matter of perception - both the other person's and yours. By this I mean that most power is abstract, and therefore impossible to quantify.

So the question becomes, "If the power someone holds over you is abstract, how can you overcome it?" Answer: You simply refuse to grant permission. You see, the only power another person can have over you is the power you give him.

Which means it's really your power. And only you can grant another person permission to take your power. By the same token, you can refuse to grant that permission.

Of course, you do not verbally grant permission. It's much more subtle than that. As I said, power is an abstraction. The way it normally happens is that you get yourself into a position where you need the other person. If, for example, you ask him for a favor, that immediately gives him power over you.

Thus, the surest way to prevent others from having power over you is to be independent. And the corollary to this is that independence gives you power. The plain truth is that even a master intimidator like Donald Trump would have no power over you if you were totally independent. He may be a powerful person in his own right, but his power would not affect you unless you allowed it to. And you certainly are under no obligation to do that.

The next time you feel as though you're in a position of weakness when dealing with someone, remember that his power is really your power - power that you have given him. And anytime you wish to revoke that power, you need only withdraw your permission for him to use it.

[winston]

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*** Article: Achieve Less Stress by Staying Organized - By Get Organized *** ------------------------------------------------------------

Day-to-day life in today's world can be very stressful. Individuals today cram longer hours at work, time with friends and family, as well as leisure time into the same 24 hours. As more demands are placed on our time, it only gets more difficult to avoid becoming stressed out. What else can be done to keep everything together? If you want to achieve less stress in your life, despite all its demands, the easiest and very best way to accomplish this is to become as well organized as possible.

Tips for Getting Organized:
Thinking up ways to get your life organized is the easy part. Identify the stressful aspects and activities in your life, and take some time (if you have any left!) to figure out a plan that will work for you. What makes you the most stressed: losing your car keys in the morning, looking for important documents at work, or having to stop on the way home from work for take-out because you did not have the time to plan dinner?

Here are some suggestions to get you started. Just remember: the focus is on the stressful things in your life and whether there are ways that you can get organized to reduce the stress.

* Do you have a habit of forgetting things? Make to-do lists and an appointment book your focus. In fact, you can even combine the two by purchasing a diary in which you note down all your daily tasks, appointments, and anything else that's important for you to remember.

* Use only one calendar, diary, appointment book, and so on. Don't use multiple planning tools for work and personal life -- this makes it all too easy to jot down conflicting appointments. Stick to one calendar, and you'll be able to see at a glance what you have planned on any given day, whether at work or at home.

* Are you constantly losing important items such as your wallet and keys? Position a table and a small dish right by your front door, and make a habit of putting all these items in the dish as soon as you get home.

* Is it cooking meals after work that makes your stress levels go up? Hunt down a cookbook or a recipe on a website with a focus on meals that are quick and easy to prepare. Pre-plan a week's worth of menus at once, shop once a week, and you'll never be at a loss for quick and tasty meals.

* Is the paper trail getting you down? Spend some time organizing your filing cabinet and purging it of out-dated documents -- and if you don't have a filing cabinet, get one!

* De-clutter your home and work space. The less you have, the less you can lose, and the less you need to keep organized.

* Is it simply getting the small things done that causes you the most stress? Make a deal with yourself: once you start a task, you'll keep going till it's done. This could be something as simple as sorting your mail. If you open a letter, take the appropriate action. For example, if it's a bill -- pay it, then file the bill, or put it in your to-do file to pay later (and make a note on your to-do list).

* Schedule in time for unplanned "stuff." Stuff could be an unexpected trip to the store, a batch of cookies for the bake sale your child forgot to mention, an emergency meeting at work -- anything at all. The point here is, by planning on unscheduled emergencies, you'll remain organized and stress-free even if an unplanned situation arises. And if it doesn't, you've got some spare "you" time!

Putting It All into Practice:
The best part is, none of these suggestions are difficult or too expensive to achieve. You don't need a complex and sophisticated PDA to write down appointments and make lists. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going old-fashioned and using a diary or even a simple notebook to organize your days. It is infinitely more sensible to rely on good old-fashioned pen and paper, rather than an expensive gadget that can break, get stolen, or run out of battery juice.

All of this sounds easy to do, because it is! There is nothing hard about making lists, writing down appointments, and putting your keys in the same place every time you come home. However, you will quickly find that remembering to put all of this into practice consistently is the difficult part.

Luckily, like most things, being organized gets easier over time. Make these simple tools and techniques part of your daily routine, and pretty soon being organized will be just another habit -- something you do without even thinking. And with better organization comes reduced stress. You will find that suddenly you have more time to spend with family and friends, and that the leisure time you do have is that much more enjoyable.

[winston]

Be easy about it. Don't rush into things. Savor them more. Make more plans and be more deliberate and specific about the plans you are making, and in all you do, let your dominant intent be to find that which pleasures you as you imagine it.

Let your desire for pleasure and your desire for feeling good be your only guiding light. As you seek those thoughts that feel good, you will always be in vibrational harmony with the Energy that is your Source. And under those conditions, only good can come to you -- and only good can come from you.

Excerpted from a workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, April 14th, 1998

All Is Well

[winston]

Every bit of it is about economics. Every bit of it, without exception. Everything about religion is about economics. Everything about politics is about economics. And everything about economics is personal satisfaction. Everyone is personally motivated to do the best that they can possibly do for themselves.

Excerpted from a workshop in Boulder, CO on Saturday, June 12th, 2004

All Is Well