One Percenters
by Grant Stevens
If you are like me, your natural drive is to make a decision to do something, and then run-like-hell at it. Power your way through it. Use your will power to achieve your goal.
But some of life’s goals are much, much bigger than the ones you can use your instantaneous determination to achieve. They are bigger and longer than that. Some goals are going to take you weeks, or months, or years to attain.
And the longer the duration of the goal, the more difficult it is going to be for you to use your willpower to achieve it.
You need to take a different approach. Often times this approach can be more difficult for the person with a driven personality than the “hammer and tongs” approach. This approach requires some planning, and persistence, but mostly it requires an understanding and acceptance that the best (and easiest) way to achieve this outcome, is to take smaller, bite-sized steps.
You know, most people (including me and you) fail to achieve a goal because we burn ourselves out with our own enthusiasm. We are so keen to “make it happen”, that we over drive our bodies, and even though our minds keep saying - go, go ,go, our bodies (including our nervous systems are not up to the challenge.
This is where the planning, and understanding of the journey you are about to undertake is of so much importance.
Take this example: If you had to walk from the most westerly city in your country, to the most easterly city, would you think that it would be a good idea to start sprinting from the moment you start the journey?
Of course not. You have enough knowledge and understanding to know that you may have a journey of weeks, or in some cases many months of “pounding the pavement”. It would not make any sense to start running as fast as you can from your very first step, as you know you would find yourself burnt out and exhausted. For most of us, that would occur only 5 minutes into the journey.
So, what would be the best way to begin?
You would probably start by walking. Maybe at a brisk pace. But after a fairly short time, you would begin to understand how far you have to go, and how fit (or unfit) you really are. You would then change your speed to ensure you could continue to walk at an efficient and effective pace, to ensure you can go the distance in the shortest possible time.
If you can take that idea, and use it in other areas of your life, you will undoubtedly get further, faster, in many areas of your life than you would have by just starting to run as fast and as hard as you can towards your goal.
I know I’ve talked about him before, but Adam Khoo has had log term success in many areas of his life. He is one of the people who can articulate the methods he has used to get to where he is.
Remember in an earlier email we talked about modeling. Adam Khoo is one of the guys you should try to model if you are looking for the same type of success he enjoys.
OK, so back to what this article is about. The 1 Percenters!
1 Percenters stands for doing those things, every day, so that gradually, and with total control, you achieve the outcome you desire.
If you decide that something worth doing is going to take 100 days. All you have to do each day is something that represents 1 principle to different areas of your life, you will find that, over time, these areas begin to improve. Each day, or each week, you will be able to see the improvement.
And because the steps you are taking each day are not huge, massive and scary, you will be able to achieve your goal and feel the success. You will even have little successes along the way each day to help you stay the course.
So, if we are talking exercise, start with 10 or 15 minute sessions. Don’t just go out there on the first day and try to run 10 miles.
If it is a product you are developing, or some knowledge you are studying, start by doing something daily to get there. You don’t decide to send your kids to school 7 days a week for 12 hours a day so that they can graduate high school by the time they are 12. So it is that in many cases in other areas of life it is better to get yourself to take smaller steps more often until you reach your goals.
Now, I’m just going to say one more thing on this, and that is -YOU MUST DO SOMETHING TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL. None of what I have written here today will do you any good unless you take action and move towards your goals.
I apologize for yelling, it’s just that sometimes capital letters really help get the point across.
So until next time,
Grant
http://www.nlpyourwaytosuccess.com
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Ways to increase your vocabulary for speed reading
by dan123
If you really want to boost your speed reading levels, a good thing to focus on is increasing your vocabulary.
There are a number of different ways of doing this, I have listed below a list of 3 good ways you can improve you vocabulary.
1) Pay attention to new words you come across
What I do is keep a small note book and when ever I come across a new word I make a quick note of its meaning, so I can look back to it again in the future if I need to.
Although I actually find that the a actual act of writing down the word and its meaning actually helps me to remember it and so this helps me when I am speed reading because I can read straight through when I come to that word I have just learnt again in the future.
2) Use you new vocabulary
Another cool trick you can use to improve your vocabulary, is to actual use the new words as soon as possible even if the word is something that would be difficult to use, you could for example talk with someone about how you have just learnt this new word and tell them what it means and talk with them about it.
Doing this will also help you to remember the words meaning and also get you use to using it which will help you to read faster by not having to slow down when you come to that word when reading.
3) Familiarize yourself with the roots of words.
Lots of words especially in the English language have words that come from other older languages. For example there are a lot of Latin words used within English. When you actually go and see what the original word means you get a totally different meaning and understanding of what the word means and what it can be used for.
For example:
The word “month”
-12 named periods of the year
-a period of time between the same dates in successive calendar months
-a period of 28 days or four weeks
-origins
- old English
- related to moon
- Since in many early civilisations the calendar month was calculated as beginning with the new moon.
Once you understand the roots of words it makes it easier when you come across a word you don’t know to crack the language code to its meaning.
For help with learning the roots of words simply look in any dictionary. Doing this will not only tell you the meaning or meanings of the word but also if it is a good full dictionary also it will tell you what its root is and what other words shear the same root, which will make it so that in the process of learning what the word means and its root and all of the other words that also use that root, you can easily learn a list of new similar words at the same time.
The more you do this the more you will be able to take an educated guess of what a word you don’t know is, if you are aware of its root, and so not have to stop when reading to find out. And only have to stop if it is a word that is very critical you get its full understanding to get the full meaning and message that the author is trying to communicate in the text.
Another big piece that is important to work on in order to become a fast speed reader, is to boost your speed reading stamina, your speed reading stamina is the amount of time you are able to read at speed for with good comprehension and recall. Boosting your speed reading stamina will help you to train and recondition your brain to reading at faster speeds and so will allow you to get all of the benefits of speed reading faster.
I have collected together all of the important things that you will have to do in order to boost your speed reading stamina, all of this information has been arranged into a 7 part e-course that you can take. To receive this valuable resource for boosting your speed reading stamina which will help you to increase your reading speed faster, simply visit my reading stamina web page and enter you name and a email address so that I can email it to you right away.Thanks DAN!
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Confidence - How To Dump Bravado and Get Real!
by Sharon Eden
I get so mad when I see people in organisations wasting their energy on ‘looking’ confident when in fact their eyes are dead, their actions wooden and their voice lacking vivre! Confident? My begonia they are!
Somewhere sometime we learned to cover up our feelings of shyness, not feeling good enough, feeling under skilled, a fraud, a pile of turd… whatever was our particular damage. And to over-compensate, we learn to do the bravado thing making a show of boldness. This is actually alienating rather than relationship making… including alienation from ourselves which makes us feel living dead.
I know because that’s how I was once. I strutted around in my power suit ostensibly doing stuff and fearing I would get found out as oh so under par. Putting on the bravado overcoat was my default position too!
And, yeah, I know it takes courage and willingness to do the repairing work… but not a load of time as you might have been led to believe by traditional personal developers or therapists. Believe me, it’s ‘reclaiming work’. Confidence is part of our heritage as human beings. It’s part of our birthright.
Think you were born that way? Then tell me, how many babies or young toddlers do you come across with a confidence issue??? It’s a learned behaviour rather than innate. As such you can unlearn it and replace it with your natural confidence which is still available to you even if well buried to begin with.
We can then became far more intuitive, compassionate and effective leaders, executives and managers whatever our work arena. Less energy tied up in self-defence creates more energy for being present to the moment, the person or people with whom we work, our stakeholders, our community and ultimately our world.
Three powerful yet simple tips to get started…
#1 Use the language of appreciation in your self-talk
That might feel very alien at first as you’re used to being adversely criticised rather than praised. Turn that around by telling yourself… Great job! I was brill! Well done! Congratulations! You did great! Way to go!
‘The language we use creates our reality’. So make yours positive instead of telling yourself you’re stupid, silly, slow, one slice short of a sandwich or going to mess it up. End of!
Turn your self-talk to things like… I’m cool, quick on the up-take, I enjoy my point of view, I liked the way I spoke with the team, I know what I’m doing.
#2 Surround yourself with confidence
Write the word ‘confidence’ in lower case letters on post-its and plaster them where-ever you spend time. That activates a part of your brain which starts programming in what you want to achieve… in this case, confidence!
Similarly read books about confidence and confident people, put pictures up that remind you of confidence, have a symbol of it on your desk, read quotations about it… anything that puts confidence at the head of your agenda 24/7!
#3 Dress softer
Bet you wear harsh colours and clothes with severe lines… like my now redundant power suits. Or could be you over-compensate for your bravado hardness with bright colours and more girly styles if you’re a woman.
If you look in line with natural confidence you’ll feel good. So soften up and emulate the dress sense of someone you know who flows with natural confidence. Could be someone alive, dead or fictional. And discover how their style of clothes help you move elegantly, smoothly and in flow.
*Lastly*, as the yellow cab driver replied to a young woman violin player when she asked the way to Carnegie Hall, “Practise, practise, practise!”
And when you’re ready, which you will be pretty soon, relegate that bravado overcoat to the dustbin where it belongs.
© Sharon Eden 2009 All Rights Reserved
With 30 years’ expertise in personal and professional development, Sharon Eden MA is a Certified Coach, Registered and Accredited Psychotherapist and NLP trainer, and founder of Women of Courage. Take just 20 seconds to sign up for her Ezine rich with tips and techniques to boost your purpose, passion and power AND get her ‘5 Day Energiser Plan’ absolutely free. Sign up now at: http://www.womenofcourage.co.uk
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The Church of Chocolate
by Denise Ryan
Now I see no reason why chocolate can’t fall into the category of a religion. I use chocolate as a way to “give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life.” And there have indeed been times when I felt that chocolate was a higher power.
In order to spread my chocolate religion, I need to get organized, but I can assure you I will not be making any moral claims and we will have no religious “laws.” Suggestions, yes - laws, no. In fact, I offer you, the Seven Suggestions, the foundation of our religion.
The Seven Suggestions
1. Thou shall not take chocolate (or anything else) for granted. The Church of Chocolate is all about gratitude. Being grateful for all those who came before and figured out how to make this heavenly substance from random beans. Being grateful we live in a world where we can readily obtain some of the most amazing chocolate available. Being grateful for all those who make it for us and package it and ship it. Being grateful we are able to earn the money to purchase the chocolate. Being grateful we are healthy enough to eat the chocolate. Being grateful for all of those friends who give us chocolate (or time or attention). This process can go on and on and on. Each of us is so very, very fortunate. At the Church of Chocolate we come together to celebrate all we have, not bemoan all we feel we lack.
2. Thou shall savor. This is a suggestion that you slow the heck down and actually enjoy your life. When you eat chocolate (or any other food), you would use all your senses, you actually focus on it. You notice the way the chocolate melts in your mouth. (Thus the chocolate communion wafers.) You are not talking on your cell phone and driving while you eat. You are in the moment. You do not do this just with food, but with many things - conversation, music, the weather. You actually see the person you are speaking with. You take the time to feel the sun on your face or the breeze in your hair. You revel in all the juice of life.
3. Thou shall not settle. You know that your days on this earth are limited. You know that you can take the easy way out or with more effort, you can have something you really want. You can eat that leftover Halloween candy or you take your lazy self to the drugstore and get a chocolate bar you adore. You can just stay in the job you hate or you can work hard and find something you love. Members of the Church of Chocolate always want to make the most of their lives. They are not perfect, but they will not give up.
4. Thou shall be happy. The Church of Chocolate is all about being happy. And you get to define happiness for yourself. We don’t want you to come to Church if you don’t want to. We only want you to come if it makes you happy. We do not think you get more chocolate if you suffer more. We think happiness is a chocolate magnet and those who are happy actually draw chocolate to them. We want to help you learn how to manage your own happiness - it’s one of the few things we believe you have control over.
5. Thou shall practice moderation. While we believe that chocolate is a higher power, we know that eating too much chocolate is not a good thing. There’s is a point in the eating of chocolate at which it no longer tastes so good, a point at which you are full. Then there’s the point at which you are sick. This is chocolate desecration. Moderation is an art which we are learning to practice at the Church of Chocolate (C of C). Most of tend to want it all, to want it now, and to want it in mass quantities. This leads us into all kinds of bad places - debt, addiction, obesity. At the C of C we just want you to stop while it’s all still good.
6. Thou shall accept responsibility for thine own self. This is an important tenant of the C of C faith. We believe you are about as happy and fulfilled as you decide to be. We believe that, for the most part, you will reap what you sow. We believe that blaming someone else for where you are is giving your power away and makes you a victim. Even if someone else wronged you, you get to decide whether that will devastate you or make you stronger. You will not count on anyone, not even the Church of Chocolate, to bail you out. You will know, at the end of the day, your best resource is you.
7. Thou shall laugh. If it’s not fun, why would you ever come to the C of C? Chocolate and life is all about fun. If we are going to expect you to stand up and take charge of your destiny, we’re certainly going to provide some fun along the way. Most members of the C of C expect extraordinary things from themselves. We have to remind them (and the Holy Hat of Hershey can only help with this), that’s it’s okay to have fun. It’s okay to not take everything so seriously. That beating yourself up does not make you a better person. That laughter really is the best medicine and we don’t laugh nearly enough. In fact, if you DON’T laugh and smile, we will excommunicate you.
Can I get an amen?
I’ll also take a “hell yeah”, “Chocolate Rules”, and just about anything else you’d like to shout out. As long as the spirit moves you.
Denise Ryan, MBA, is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation of excellence held by less than 10% of all professional speakers. She is a blogger http://motivationbychocolate.blogspot.comHer website is http://www.firestarspeaking.com where you can see more articles and sign up for a free newsletter.
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Intention Has Power: 5 Steps to Powerful Intention
by Valery Satterwhite
“Unless you marry intention to action, you end up with only a brief affair.” - author unknown
Many people fill their days with thoughts of who they want to be, what they want to do and what they want to have. “I want financial freedom. I want a new car. I want to take a vacation this year. I want to learn another language. I want to be in a committed relationship. I want to land the role of my dreams. I want a gallery to show my painting. I want to lose 10 pounds. I want to write the next great American novel.” The list of possible wants is endless.
Wanting things and experiences is wonderful. At least there is desire, a goal in mind. However want and desire not backed up by intention and action are just nice dreams. When the dreams remain unfulfilled they soon become the source of frustration, restless agitation or quiet desperation.
There is tremendous power in setting an intention. This power directs your energy to the completion of that intention. By setting an intention, you make it clear to yourself and others, just what you plan to do.
Before we show you how to set and act upon an intention let’s define what an intention is in the first place. Dictionaries define the word intension as:
- A course of action that a person intends to follow; The goal or purpose behind a specific action or set of actions - Purpose: an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions - The focus of the mind, the sense of purpose that leads to action.
Now that we have clarity on what an intention is, let’s review the steps in setting and taking action upon that intention to achieve the desired outcome; the fulfillment of the ‘want’.
Five Steps to Set An Intention:
1. Get clear about something you want and write it down.
Write it down in a way that it is a movement towards something you want instead of a movement away from something you don’t want. For example, the goal of “I don’t want to have any more debt.” (away) can be reframed to “I intend to save $5,000 to pay off my credit cards.” (toward) or “I want to stop procrastinating.” (away) can be reframed to “I intend to complete my screenplay in 30 days.”
Get specific. If you intend to remodel your work space, work out the details. How would you remodel it? If you’re ripping up the carpet and putting in new flooring, what kind of flooring? Wood, tile, cement? Adding more light; more windows? How large? What kind? What brand? Will you hire a contractor or do it yourself? Putting in better storage capabilities? What kind of storage? Cabinets? Closet? Get detailed on exactly what you want. Get clear on what the end result, the remodeled work space will look like.
2. Envision how you will feel once you’ve accomplished that intention.
If you’re intention is to “Get a Gallery to show my art” spend some time thinking about how you will feel as an artist who’s work is being shown in a Gallery. Imagine the opening event of your show. What Gallery? What paintings will you show? How will they be displayed? Who will be there? What will you wear? How long will the show run? Who will buy your paintings; what will they say to you or the Gallery owner? Will the owner want to show more of your work? What will happen as a result of your gallery show? How will you feel when that happens? What will you do? What will you have?
3. Share your intention with someone in a way that will supportively hold you accountable to taking action.
Telling others about your intention inserts external accountability into the power of the intention. It is one thing to not complete a stated goal when no one is looking. It’s done every year with New Year’s resolutions. It’s quite another motivating force to have others bear witness to the failure to complete. It is easier to hold yourself accountable if you are also held accountable by others.
4. Do something today to demonstrate your commitment to your intention; a baby step.
Identify one thing, even one little thing, that you could do today to move you towards accomplishing your goal. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds, throw out the bag of chunky chocolate chip cookies in your cupboard. If you want to take a 2 week vacation and go to Paris, figure out the 2 weeks you will take. Check flight availability and fares. The hardest step in accomplishing any goal is the first step. Make that first step a tiny one, one that is easily accomplished. What is important is that you begin!
5. Acknowledge that you did what you said you would and then, take the next step. And then the next…
Celebrate each step you take to accomplish your goal. Enjoy the process. Have fun. It can be a great ride! Before you know it you turned your dreams into reality.
Wizards are alchemists after all; they can turn an inspired idea into a fully actualized creative expression.
Copyright (c) 2009 Valery Satterwhite
Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably. Trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth; disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery developed a proven unique “Inner Wizard” methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com . Get Free “Artist Resource/Marketing Directory” too!
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