The Winner's Edge

2009-10-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

2008-07-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

Key words: Denis Waitley, success, motivation, inspiration, make money at home

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2008-07-26T21:14:00.001-07:00

The Winners’ Edge

2008-07-26T21:12:00.001-07:00

The Winners’ Edge

2008-07-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

The Winners’ Edge

2008-07-26T20:58:00.001-07:00

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2008-07-26T20:51:00.001-07:00

2008-02-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

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2008-02-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

Three Rules for Turning Stress Into Success
by Denis Waitley

1. Accept the Unchangeable - Everything that has happened in your life to this minute is unchangeable. It’s history.

The greatest waste of energy is in looking back at missed opportunities, lamenting past events, grudge collecting, getting even, harboring ill will, and any vengeful thinking. Success is the only acceptable form of revenge. By forgiving your trespassers, you become free to concentrate on going forward with your life and succeeding in spite of your detractors. You will live a rewarding and fulfilling life.

Your enemies, on the other hand, will forever wonder how you went on to become so successful without them and in the shadow of their doubts.
Action Idea: Write down on a sheet of paper things that happened in the past that bother you. Now crumple the paper into a ball and throw it at the person teaching this program at the front of the room. This symbolizes letting go of past misfortunes.

2. Change the Changeable - What you can change is your reaction to what others say and do. And you can control your own thoughts and actions by dwelling on desired results instead of the penalties of failure. The only real control you have in life is that of your immediate thought and action. Since most of what we do is a reflex, subconscious habit, it is wise not to act on emotional impulse. In personal relations, it is better to wait a moment until reason has the opportunity to compete with your emotions.

Action Idea: Write down in your diary one thing you will do tomorrow to help you relax more during and after a stressful day.

3. Avoid the Unacceptable - Go out of your way to get out of the way of potentially dangerous behaviors and environments. When people tailgate you on the freeway, change lanes. If they follow you at night, drive to a well-lighted public place.
When there are loud, obnoxious people next to you at a restaurant or club, change tables, or locations. Also, be cautious of personal relationships developed via the Internet. With the massive number of individuals surfing the net, the number of predators increases in like proportion. Always be on the alert for potentially dangerous situations involving your health, personal safety, financial speculation and emotional relationships.

Action Idea: What is one unacceptable behavior you have or allow others to do to you that you will avoid starting tomorrow? Example: The way you drive, being around negative people, walking down dark streets alone late at night, etc.

Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

Keywords: stress, stress reduction, success, motivation, Denis Waitley, success coach

2008-02-02T00:46:00.000-08:00

4 Keys to Getting Organized -- Identify Your Tasks
by Maria Gracia

Each task you do each day, falls into one of four categories:

A: I have to, and I want to
B: I have to, but I don't want to
C: I don't have to, but I want to
D: I don't have to, and I don't want to

A: I have to, and I want to
Tasks that fall into category A are those tasks that are most likely to get completed. For instance, perhaps you have to go furniture shopping for the new unfurnished home you're buying. If you don't go shopping, you won't have a bed to sleep in, or a sofa to relax on. It's a task that has to be done, but you also consider it a fun task. You already want to do tasks in this category, because your desire is incentive enough.

B: I have to, but I don't want to
Tasks that fall into category B are tasks that you will complete, but are also those you may procrastinate a bit on. An example might be paying your phone bill. You have to pay the bill, but you don't want to. But you know if you don't, your phone will be turned off. Category B tasks require a bit more of an incentive, so be sure to attach pending rewards to these tasks. This way, you will have something to look forward to and enjoy when those tasks are completed.

C: I don't have to, but I want to
Tasks that fall into category C either get done at the expense of other things getting done, or they get put on the back burner. For instance, you may enjoy surfing the Internet, so you surf instead of doing laundry. Or, on the flip side, you may enjoy scrap booking, but since it's not a major priority, it never seems to make it to your To Do list. If you always use Category C items as reward items for completing something else you have to do, you will always enjoy the benefits of doing these items. Plus, these tasks will never be done at the expense of a priority item not getting done.

D: I don't have to, and I don't want to
Tasks that fall into category D should be eliminated from your To Do list. For example, perhaps you volunteer to act as a board member for your community town hall. You used to enjoy it, but you don't anymore, nor do you have the time to dedicate to it anymore. This type of 'don't have to, don't want to' task is something you should stop doing. Why take up your precious time doing something that you don't have to do and is no longer in line with your goals?

by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!™
Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now!™ Idea-Pak, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now!™ Web site
http://www.getorganizednow.com

2008-01-29T23:50:00.000-08:00

The Winner’s Edge – Jan 29 – 11 Ways to Increase Your Energy/New Small Biz Site
Presented by Danek S. Kaus

One of the biggest problems many people have dealing with today’s challenges is not having enough energy to do what the need to do.

If that includes you, here are some great ways to rev up your engine and feel great.

One of the first keys to having more energy is to reduce stress. Too much stress depletes energy, leaves you prone to disease and speeds the aging process.

So let’s start with reducing stress and then becoming proactive.

Enjoy nature – If you live in urban sprawl, try to
find a way to get out in nature, even the local park
if it’s a safe one). Being around trees, flowers,
small animals but not snakes) is both relaxing and energizing.

If you can’t go out to nature, bring it home to you. There are DVDs of nature scenes and nature sounds on CDs, such
such as the ocean, creeks, wind in the trees and butterflies, (just kidding about that one
Listen to soothing music, such as New Age or many
classical pieces.

Deep breathing – this is a quick stress reducer. Most
of us breathe in short shallow breaths, high in the
chest. Instead, breathe down into your stomach. The
way to know that you are doing this correctly is to put your hand on your stomach. If your stomach moves your
hand out, you are doing it properly.

You do the technique by inhaling slowly, holding
the breath for a couple of seconds. Then exhale slowly. Repeat as many times
as is comfortable. Be sure to do this process slowly you don’t hyperventilate.

This technique also increases your health because it
helps your body to absorb more oxygen.

Meditation – there are many ways to mediate. One that health expert Deepak Chopra recommends is to focus on your breath as it enters the lower part of your lungs and then as you release it back out. Inhale through your nose and out through your mouth.
After doing this for a few days, quietly say to yourself “so” on the inhale and “hum” on the exhale.

Massage – if you’ve ever had a massage, you know what I mean about relaxation. If you haven’t, ask your significant other to massage you or see a massage therapist.

Aromatherapy – scent has a powerful effect on our minds and bodies. Many companies make a wide variety of aromatherapy products for just about every mental and emotional state.

Visualization – close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and imagine you are in a peaceful setting. I used to use this one with my clients a lot when I was a professional hypnotist. It works.

Exercise – it sounds counterintuitive when you’re tired, but proper exercise really does increase your energy levels. Caution: if you have not been exercising regularly for a while, be sure to check with your doctor first.

Decrease refined sugar and carbohydrates. They cause imbalances in your body chemistry that lead to fatigue and sluggishness.

Nourish your body --increase fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains.

Here comes a blatant ad, but it’s one I think you’re going to really like. A lot. FRS is the only energy drink endorsed by Lance Armstrong, who won the grueling, several-day long Tour De France bicycle race about 6 or 7 times.

Now you can get a two-week supply for FREE.

Click on the FRS ad in the upper left-hand corner of this blog.

FRS increases energy, improves your immune system and slows the aging process. It’s got a lot wonderful nutrients in it. You can learn more by clicking on the blinking FRS ad in the upper left-hand corner. If you need more energy and you want to live longer and healthier life. At least read what the info the folks at FRS want to share with you.

And remember, you can enjoy FRS two-weeks for free.

2008-01-13T02:51:00.000-08:00

Solutions are not always obvious

By Joyce Shafer

I don't want to make a unilateral statement, but in my life, solutions are not always obvious. I recently read a parable many of you probably read a long while back called, "The Prisoner in the Dark Cave."
A man sentenced to death is placed in a dark cave. He's told there is a way out and if he finds it, he's free. The only light source is a hole above him where food and water are lowered to him for thirty days. After the thirty days, that would cease.
The man saw the hole where the light came in as his only way out, because it was obvious. For days, he stacked every rock he could find, believing once he got the pile high enough, he could climb up and lift himself out. The ending is that this tactic didn't work and he died. He'd focused so much on the "obvious," he never explored where he was. Granted, it was dark in the cave, but had he felt along the wall, he would have found a tunnel that led to freedom. The obvious way led to his death. None of us are comfortable when we feel we're in a state of indecision or standing in darkness. We want to take an action and we want it to be a right action.
Another line I read in the same book is, "Life is not a problem to be solved; it is a mystery to be lived. Many of us were conditioned to focus a good deal of energy on problems or see situations as problems that need to be solved. What would life feel and be like if we did consider it a mystery to be lived instead?
There are times when either choices we make or life just being itself result in our feeling discomfort. We don't like to feel uncomfortable. Some situations do require immediate action; some benefit more and provide the outcome we truly wish if we don't rush to change things. An example: You need or want to find a job. There's a temptation, depending on your situation, to take the first one offered to you...just to get some relief! Have you ever known anyone who did that then discovered, say, a week later that the ideal job for them was available? Or accepted the job and stayed there the rest of their working lives and were miserable?
If you ever find yourself in a situation that feels like the man's cave, remind yourself that sometimes, it's necessary to use all of our skills and abilities, and a bit of a sense of wonder and mystery, to discover a way out that's far better for us than perhaps the "obvious" is.

Joyce Shafer is a published author, freelance ghost
re-writer, editor, proofreader, and copy editor, as
well as a weekly United Press International columnist
published at various online venues. See the
exceptional reviews of her first book, “I Don’t Want
to be Your Guru, but I Have Something to Say,” at
www.lulu.com/content/773467, and both books at
www.joyceshafer.com. Contact her at jls1422@yahoo.com

2008-01-09T17:06:00.001-08:00

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2008-01-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Are You SAD? Four Tools to Release the Winter Blues

By Dr. Brian E. Walsh

What an appropriate acronym. It stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. I used to live in the arctic. In winter, we didn't see the sun for many months. I am acutely aware of the winter blues and how people are affected emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Much has been written on the subject, so I would like to provide you with some supplemental information.

Natural Light

Research has demonstrated that exposure to natural light has a positive effect on human health, emotional well-being, and therefore learning. Some of the common symptoms of lack of natural light are fatigue, disturbed sleep patterns, appetite and weight disorders, depression, skin damage, and suppressed immune functions. During the short days of winter, a common problem is Seasonal Affective Disorder. The symptoms can be easily remedied through daily exposure to sunlight. Alternatively, Bright Light Therapy (phototherapy), using a minimum of ten thousand lux units for thirty minutes in the early morning, will often cure SAD. Just to put this into perspective, even the cloudiest day is rarely below ten thousand lux, and a sunny afternoon could be as much as one-hundred thousand lux. Do your own research to understand the current technology for Bright Light Therapy devices.

The commonly-used fluorescent tubes, found in many offices and training facilities, have only narrow spectrum light, and they also emit a constant pulsing that can create stress and fatigue. A study of 750 classrooms ((21,000 students) in California, Washington, and Colorado found that students in classrooms with windows and skylights learned 20 to 26 percent faster than students in classrooms with the least natural light exposure. A Florida study of two first grade classrooms found that full-spectrum lighting reduced nervousness and hyperactivity. The students also improved their overall classroom performance.

The Law Of Emotion

A person can only have one set of emotions and feelings at a time. Stronger emotions and feelings replace weaker ones. Indifference or boredom can be substituted with appreciation or curiosity. Curiosity can then be replaced with excitement, which in turn can enable a high-energy learning state. Self-criticism can be substituted with a strong self-esteem. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is a way of modeling how successful people achieve their results. It gives us a wonderful set of tools and principles for enhancing the components of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-control, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

The Love Factor

Two parallel studies were conducted on young newborn rats sourced from the same supplier. All aspects of the experiments were identical, including their food. In one of the locations, Cambridge University in England, the rats were gaining weight and thriving. In the other location, Harvard University in the USA, the rats were experiencing less measurable growth. The researchers were unable to rationalize the difference until they later discovered the one factor that made the difference. In order to clean the cages at Harvard, the maintenance staff moved the rats into other cages. At Cambridge, while some maintenance workers cleaned the cages, other workers held and stroked the rats. If TLC (tender loving care) can have that kind of effect on the physiology of rats, think what it can do for a human mind.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

EFT is one of the many techniques in the new field of Energy Psychology. It is in the branch known as meridian therapies. The technique removes negative emotions, reduces or eliminates pain, releases phobias, and assists in setting and implementing positive goals. EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture, to treat emotional disorders. Focusing on the issue and stimulating the major neural pathways initiates a memory process causing change by unblocking the emotional short-circuit. This process results in substituting positive emotions for the negative emotions, which were previously learned and associated with the issue.

The process initially requires the person to think about the event or issue. Simple tapping with the fingertips is used to input kinetic energy onto specific meridians on the hand, head, and chest. This combination of tapping the energy meridians and voicing specific phrases works to clear the emotional block from the body's bio-energetic system. This restores the mind and body's balance, which is essential for optimal learning and mental health. EFT can dramatically enhance intellectual performance simply by eliminating the emotional lids on our intellectual potential.

Most SAD Goes Unnoticed.

Most of us navigate through the winter totally oblivious to how poorly we are functioning. Those who evade SAD are regular outdoor exercisers and walkers. Many of us just feel a bit down, and turn to comfort food. The lethargy sets in and we pine for the spring. Be assertive. Releasing the winter blues is simpler than you think. Begin today. Get outside.

International speaker, Dr. Brian E. Walsh, is the bestselling author of Unleashing Your Brilliance. For much of his 30-year corporate career he was involved in human resources, specifically training.

While living in the arctic, Brian studied anthropology and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), which prepared him for working with other cultures. He was then transferred to China where he served as his company’s GM.

After his return to Canada, he elected early retirement to further his earlier interest in NLP and hypnotherapy. He returned to formal study, and within four years had achieved his Ph.D. His dissertation, which focused on accelerated learning techniques, inspired his passion and his book, “Unleashing Your Brilliance”. Information is available at http://www.UnleashingBook.com

Dr. Walsh regularly conducts workshops on accelerated learning. He is a master practitioner of NLP, an acupuncture detoxification specialist, an EFT practitioner, and a clinical hypnotherapist.

Subscribe to his monthly eZine, "Enriched Learning" at http://www.UnleashingBook.com

ARE YOU NEW TO THE WINNER'S EDGE?

Be sure to read the archives for more winning ways.

2008-01-02T04:19:00.000-08:00

How to Painlessly Return Christmas Gifts

'Tis that season again. No, not the time to make resolutions, more on that in an upcoming edition, but the time to return those Christmas gifts that just didn't work out.

Here are some great tips from your very own U.S. government, as posted on their Gov Blog.

Yes, I know it's from the government, but this is great info that can save you time, hassle and money. Read what Nancy has to say.

By Nancy

Wrong color. It didn't fit.  I have two already. I can't regift it.
There are a lot of reasons to head back to the mall this week to return the gifts that weren't quite right, and exchange them for something a little more "you." Before you go, here are some quick tips for making the trip successful.
First, double check to make sure you have all the packaging and instructions together if you're returning a boxed product and keep the tags attached if you're returning a piece of clothing. Stores are more apt to accept returns if the items look like they’re in unused condition.
Store return policies vary like crazy. Some will give only a store credit or a size or color exchange. Others are much more liberal in what they'll allow. To avoid surprises, check the store's return policy on their website before you go. If you have the sales receipt or gift receipt, you'll be in a better position to get a cash refund or store credit for the amount your gift giver paid. Without proof of the price actually paid for the item, you may just be able to get a refund or store credit for the amount the item is currently selling for. And if it's part of an after-holiday sale, that means you may be getting less than it was originally worth.
Unless your gift was purchased months ago, you don't even need to head out into the crowds this week to exchange the items you want to return. Most traditional stores allow you at least a few weeks to return things. If your gift was purchased online though, you may need to return or exchange items more quickly. Many online stores allow only a week or two for returns or exchanges. And more and more stores, online or traditional, charge restocking fees on returned electronics or appliances. That can really eat into your cash refund or store credit!

If you're not satisfied with your exchange or return experience, it can't hurt to contact the seller by phone or send a complaint letter. And if all else fails, you can always try to sell your unwanted gift on an online auction site or donate it to a charity. Or, go ahead and stage an ugly sweater contest at work.

2007-12-30T23:35:00.000-08:00

Be Responsible For Your Own Financial Secutiry

by Denis Waitley

There is no job security. You can’t rely on staying with the same company through retirement. Pension plans, when available, are woefully inadequate. Social security benefits won’t come close to covering your living expenses in retirement.

The only way to reach financial security is to plan for it now, regardless of your age. You have to define financial security in your own terms. Have you defined the amount of assets that you need for financial independence?

Financial security is that amount of assets that will give you a specific income, after taxes, to live like you want to, without having to depend on day-to-day employment.

What is that amount for you? I believe it is more than you think. And, I feel that if you define it, you can reach it in ten years or less. Do you have a financial plan and the assistance of a financial planner? You need both. Always retain a financial planner on a fee-for-service basis. Don’t mix financial planning with an investment broker or insurance agent. What are your financial goals and what is your time line? Because I started late in my quest for financial independence, I have a maximum five-year period remaining for capital accumulation.

Action Idea: Wealth is not only based on income, but also on expenditures. Are you spending or investing? Are your purchases goal-achieving or tension-relieving? How do you use credit cards? Use your credit cards for services or purchases that retain their value or that build your business. Don’t use credit cards for vacations and personal entertainment, unless you plan to pay the entire balance in one or two months. Try to pay all your balances in full monthly. In this way, you avoid the ridiculously high interest payments. Realize that paying minimum balances, at high interest rates, means that you are paying two or three times what the original purchase was worth.

Most importantly, save at least 6 to 10 percent of your take-home pay each month, by writing a check into a savings account or mutual fund for that amount, as if it were a utility bill or house payment. The secret of most self-made multi-millionaires is compound interest. If parents saved one dollar each day for their newborn infant, by going without a cup of Starbuck’s coffee, or a Big Mac, or a soft drink for that day, by the time the child reached age forty, he or she would have a million dollars cash. No lottery windfall. No brilliant investment strategy. Just compound interest, which Baron von Rothchild labeled "The Eighth Wonder of the World."

Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

Denis Waitley is one of the top success coaches in the world. Check out his books on success and winning in life. What you learn in them can be the key to financial security.
Click the link below
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2007-12-10T21:56:00.000-08:00

PROTECT YOUR CREDIT CARD FROM THE FRAUD GRINCH
The holiday shopping rush has begun.
Do you know where your credit cards are?
Credit card theft and fraudulent charges cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
During this time of year, thieves take advantage of the hustle and bustle, when you have so many things on your mind and so many things are happening at once, to steal your credit cards and credit card numbers.
It can happen in many ways.
People can go through the garbage cans of stores to find credit card receipts. They can rummage through your garbage to find credit card slips. Dishonest store clerks can copy down your card number when you are not looking and either use it themselves or sell it to someone else. Or, you might set your card down on the counter, just for a moment, and a quick-handed thief takes it while you’re distracted.
Also keep in mind that pickpockets are very active during the holiday season.
Don’t let a thief ruin this happy time for you.
Take steps to protect your credit cards:
When you receive a new card in the mail, sign it immediately. If you don’t, someone else can forge your signature if you lose the card.
Don’t carry your cards in your wallet. Instead, keep them in a business card case, in a zippered compartment in a purse or briefcase or a separate pouch. And keep your eyes on that purse, pouch or case!
Keep a record of each card number and expiration date, as well as the phone number and address for the card issuer in a safe place at home.
When making a purchase, watch your card during the entire transaction and take it back quickly.
Void any receipts that are incorrect.
If the store still uses carbons, tell the clerk to give them to you. Tear them up into several small pieces and take them with you. Dump the pieces in several different waste baskets or shred them at home.
Save your receipts to compare with your billing statement.
When you receive your statement, examine it as soon as possible for fraudulent charges.
If there are any fraudulent charges, call and write the card issuer immediately to report them. Many credit card companies have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service.
If feasible, consider making all of your holiday purchases on one card. It will be easier to keep track of what charges you actually made.
If you plan to move, notify your credit card companies in advance so they can send your bills to the correct address.
Don’t lend your card to anyone.
Don’t leave receipts laying around. If someone should break into your house, they will give thieves the information they need to use your credit cards.
Don’t sign a blank receipt. If there are any blank lines above the total, draw a line through them.
Don’t give out your credit card number over the phone unless you initiated the call and it’s to a business that you know is reputable.
If you lose your card or someone uses the number fraudulently, you are not responsible for any charges made on the card after you make the report. By law, you are liable for a maximum of $50 for each card if fraud has been committed.

To learn more about credit cards and improving your credit, visit http://upyourcredit.blogspot.com/

If you own a small business, learn 51 reasons why people buy, written by marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson.

visit http://smallbusinesswinner.blogspot.com

You may have to copy and past the links.

2007-11-26T19:42:00.001-08:00

By Brian Tracy
Excerpt from: Personal Success

Your goal is to organize your life in such a way that you enjoy a good income, a high standard of living, and that you are the master of your economic destiny rather than a victim of changing economic times.
Your goal is to organize your life in such a way that you enjoy a good income, a high standard of living, and that you are the master of your economic destiny rather than a victim of changing economic times.

Contribution is the Key

Your job is an opportunity to contribute a value to your company in excess of your cost. In its simplest terms, your job is as secure as your ability to render value in excess of what it costs to keep you on the payroll. If you want to earn more money at your current job, you have to increase your value, your contribution to the enterprise.

Add Value Every Day

If you want to get a new job, you have to find a way to contribute value to that enterprise. If you want any kind of job security, you must continually work at maintaining and increasing your value in the competitive marketplace.

And here's a key point. Your education, knowledge, skills and experience all are investments in your ability to contribute a value for which you can be paid. But they are like any other investments. They are highly speculative.

Knowledge and Education Are Sunk Costs

Once you have learned a subject or developed a skill, it is a sunk cost. It is time and money spent that you cannot get back. No employer in the marketplace has any obligation to pay you for it, unless he can use your skill to produce a product or service that people are ready to buy, today.

Prepare For Your Next Job

Whatever job you are doing, you should be preparing for your next job. And the key question is always: Where are the customers? Which businesses and industries are growing in this economy, and which ones are declining?

Where is the Future?

I continually meet people who ask me how they can increase their income when their entire industry is shrinking. I tell them that there are jobs with futures and there are jobs without futures, and they need to get into a field that is expanding, not contracting.

Never Be Without A Job

There are three forms of unemployment in America: voluntary, involuntary, and frictional. Voluntary employment exists when a person decides not to work for a certain period of time, or not to accept a particular type of job, hoping that something better will come along. Involuntary unemployment exists when a person is willing and able to work but cannot find a job anywhere. Frictional unemployment is the natural level; this includes the approximately 4 or 5 percent of the working population who are between jobs at any given time.

Three Keys to Lifelong Employment

However, there are always jobs for the creative minority. You never have to be unemployed if you will do one of three things: change the work that you are offering to do, change the place where you are offering to work, or change the amount that you are asking for your services. You should consider one or more of these three strategies whenever you are dissatisfied with your current work situation.

Action Exercises

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

First, look around you at your current job and find ways to create added value every day. There's always something more you can do.

Second, identify the kind of work you want to be doing in the future and then make a plan to develop the knowledge and skills you will require to do it well.

Brian Tracy is the most listened to audio author on personal and business success in the world today. His fast-moving talks and seminars on leadership, sales, managerial effectiveness and business strategy are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that people can immediately apply to get better results in every area. For more information, please go to www.BrianTracy.com.

Want more Brian Tracy Advice, Check out these books:

Eat that Frog: 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, by Brian Tracy

The Art of Closing the Sale, by Brian Tracy

2007-11-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

THINK LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR

Do you own a home business or other type of small business? This article will help you to think like an entrepreneur.

If you don’t have a small business or home business, you can learn why you should at least consider starting one.

Entrepreneurial Thinking
By Jonathan R. Aspatore

There has never been a better time to start your own business. Major consolidation continues by large corporations in many industries creating profitable niches for new businesses to fill. The advances being made in technology and the Internet have created entirely new industries for business products and services, which are still relatively untapped. Even companies in the automobile and insurance industries are finding their way to the Web to capitalize on this rapidly growing medium. These developments represent dynamic changes for businesses in every industry and create the perfect chance for you to build a profitable company in your area of interest or expertise.

Entrepreneurial thinking is about recognizing opportunities in the marketplace and understanding how and when to capitalize on them. Becoming an entrepreneur is not necessarily an inherent trait. It takes time to train yourself to use your talents and experience to see opportunities where others do not. Each individual possesses a different perspective on products they would find useful and services they would like to see perform differently. It can often be just as profitable to improve upon an existing business. The advantage here is that you can learn from the mistakes of competing companies while still borrowing the positive aspects of their business for your own. Whether starting a completely new type of business or expanding on current ideas already in the marketplace, the key is learning to use your unique perspective to produce a product or service that provides increased value to potential customers.

No one could ever have imagined the impact the Internet would have on the global economy. New industries have developed in the last few years to support the advanced communications capabilities of this medium. Many of the entrepreneurs that had the foresight and skills to capitalize on these opportunities became millionaires almost overnight. In fact, the Internet is such a dynamic medium that there is still amazing wealth being generated from the creation of new companies, and this trend shows no signs of slowing. The development of dynamic new products and services in any industry naturally creates the need for complimentary types of businesses. By learning to think as an entrepreneur you will position yourself to be ready to capitalize on these opportunities as they develop.

Entrepreneurial thinking is relatively easy to learn. It involves training your mind to look at products and services in a different way and understanding how to improve upon them. How would you change the way a company you are familiar with is currently conducting business? Are there complimentary products or services that you feel would be of value to the same target market? Train yourself to be continuously learning about and evaluating other types of businesses. This is how to create ideas of your own and gain valuable insight into an industry. Project your understanding of a given industry into the future to get an idea for what types of products and services will be desired down the road. The marketplace of every industry is continuously changing, and those that have the foresight, ingenuity, and desire have the potential to capitalize on the opportunities that develop.

Although starting a business is never a sure thing in terms of success and prosperity, entrepreneurial thinking teaches you to capitalize on opportunities in your current job and other areas of your life as well. All of this does not mean that you should quit your job today. However, you should begin trying to lay the seeds for a type of business that interests you. What is it that you enjoy doing or have experience with? What demands are currently not being met in the marketplace? Why are companies not already doing this? The marketplace is full of opportunities and those that choose to take on the challenge give themselves the chance to create a type of wealth, happiness, and security that can be achieved by starting your own business.

Companies such as Yahoo, Amazon.com, and eBay were founded only a few short years ago and have enjoyed enormous success in their industry by generating significant value for their customers. These companies and many others often start in someone’s basement, garage, or dormitory. Being an entrepreneur has nothing to do with age, gender, race or education. Everyone must start somewhere, and those that have the drive and ambition to build their idea into a reality give themselves the chance for unparalleled success.

Starting a business is not something that happens overnight. However, it is probably not as difficult as you might imagine. The Internet has brought a wealth of information to your fingertips, if you know where to look for it. You can access information on almost every topic of interest to an entrepreneur by simply performing a search on any of the search engines. Speak with other individuals who have started their own business. They will provide you with a wealth of insight and possibly some useful contacts.

It is never too soon to begin contemplating starting your own business. This will only encourage your development as an entrepreneur and help open your eyes to opportunities in the marketplace that you never knew existed. The key is to believe in yourself, the idea, and have the desire to make it into a reality.

Jay Conrad Levinson The Father of Guerrilla Marketing Author: "Guerrilla Marketing" series of books Over 14 million sold; now in 42 languages www.gmarketing.com www.guerrillamarketingassociation.com 

Books for Entrepreneurs:

Making a Living Without a Job by Barbara Winter
Click here
No Day Job

Guerrilla Marketing Online: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Earning Profits on the Internet by Jan Conrad Levinson
Click here
G Market Online

Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson
Click here
G Market

Want to learn how to Market your small business or home based business?

Read Seven Steps for Creating Successful Marketing by marketing guru Jay Conrad Levison at
http://smallbusinesswinner.blogspot.com

2007-11-10T22:25:00.000-08:00

Learn to Play the Reluctant Seller When You're Negotiating

byRoger Dawson

Imagine for a moment that you own a sailboat, and you're desperate to sell it. It was fun when you first got it, but now you hardly ever use it, and the maintenance and slip fees are eating you alive.

It's early Sunday morning, and you've given up a chance to play golf with your friends because you need to be down at the marina cleaning your boat. You're scrubbing away and cursing your stupidity for ever having bought the boat. Just as you're thinking, "I'm going to give this turkey away to the next person who comes along," you look up and see an expensively dressed man with a young girl on his arm coming down the dock. He's wearing Gucci loafers, white slacks, and a blue Burberry's blazer topped off with a silk cravat. His young girlfriend is wearing high heels, a silk sheath dress, big sunglasses, and huge diamond earrings.

They stop at your boat, and the man says, "That's a fine looking boat. By any chance is it for sale?"
His girl friend snuggles up to him and says, "Oh, let's buy it, poopsy. We'll have so much fun."
You feel your heart start to burst with joy and your mind is singing, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

Expressing that sentiment is not going to get you the best price for your boat, is it? How are you going to get the best price? By playing Reluctant Seller. You keep on scrubbing and say, "You're welcome to come aboard, although I hadn't thought of selling the boat."

You give them a tour of the boat and at every step of the way you tell them how much you love the boat and how much fun you have sailing her. Finally you tell them, "I can see how perfect this boat would be for you and how much fun you'd have with it, but I really don't think I could ever bear to part with it. However, just to be fair to you, what is the very best price you would give me?"

Power Negotiators know that this Reluctant Seller technique squeezes the negotiating range before the negotiating even starts. If you've done a good job of building the other person's desire to own the boat, he will have formed a negotiating range in his mind. He may be thinking, "I'd be willing to go to $30,000, $25,000 would be a fair deal and $20,000 would be a bargain." So, his negotiating range is from $20,000 to $30,000. Just by playing Reluctant Seller, you will have moved him up through that range. If you had appeared eager to sell, he may have offered you only $20,000. By playing Reluctant Seller you may move him to the mid-point, or even the high point of his negotiating range, before the negotiations even start.

One of my Power Negotiators is an extremely rich and powerful investor, a man who owns real estate all over town. He probably owns real estate worth $50 million, owes $35 million in loans, and therefore has a net worth of about $15 million. Very successful-what you could justifiably call a heavy hitter. He likes wheeling and dealing.

Like many investors, his strategy is simple: Buy a property at the right price and on the right terms, hold onto it and let it appreciate, then sell at a higher price. Many smaller investors bring him purchase offers for one of his holdings, eager to acquire one of his better-known properties.

That's when this well-seasoned investor knows how to use the Reluctant Buyer Gambit. 
He reads the offer quietly, and when he's finished he slides it thoughtfully back across the table, scratches above one ear, saying something like, "I don't know. Of all my properties, I have very special feelings for this one. I was thinking of keeping it and giving it to my daughter for her college graduation present and I really don't think that I would part with it for anything less than the full asking price. You understand; this particular property is worth a great deal to me. But look, it was good of you to bring in an offer for me and in all fairness, so that you won't have wasted your time, what is the very best price that you feel you could give me?"

Many times, I saw him make thousands of dollars in just a few seconds using the Reluctant Seller philosophy. 
Power Negotiators always try to edge up the other side's negotiating range before the real negotiating ever begins.

I remember an oceanfront condominium that I bought as an investment. The owner was asking $59,000 for it. It was a hot real estate market at the time and I wasn't sure how eager the owner was to sell or if they had any other offers on it. So, I wrote up three offers, one at $49,000, another at $54,000 and a third at $59,000. I made an appointment to meet with the seller, who had moved out of the condominium in Long Beach and was now living in Pasadena. After talking to her for a while, I determined that she hadn't had any other offers and that she was eager to sell. So I reached into my briefcase, where I had the three offers carefully filed and pulled out the lowest of them.

She accepted it, and when I sold the condominium a few years later, it fetched $129,000. (Be aware that you can do this only with a "For Sale by Owner." If a real estate agent has listed the property, that agent is working for the seller and is obligated to tell the seller if he's aware that the other side would pay more. Another reason why you should always list property with an agent when you're selling.)

So, Power Negotiators always play Reluctant Seller when they're selling. Even before the negotiation starts, it squeezes the other side's negotiating range.

Remember that when people do this kind of thing to you, that it's just a game that they are playing on you. Power Negotiators don't get upset about it. They just learn to play the negotiating game better than the other side.

Key points to remember:

Always play Reluctant Seller.

Playing this Gambit is a great way to squeeze the other side's negotiating range before the negotiation even starts.

The other person will typically give away half his or her negotiating range just because you use this.

Roger Dawson is a professional speaker and the author of two of best selling books on negotiating: Secrets of Power Negotiating and Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople, both published by Career Press. He was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in 1991. You can contact him at rogdawson@aol.com. His website address is: http://rdawson.com.

2007-11-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

Nap Today, Perform Better Tomorrow.

Copyright (c) 2007 BrainFit For Life

A couple of new reports came out this week addressing sleep in our culture. Everyone knows that they feel a little cranky when they don’t get enough sleep. It’s therefore no surprise that sleep affects your mood. What may be surprising, though, is that scientists know very little about why that’s true.

We understand quite a bit about why sleep disrupts your immune function, your metabolism and your ability to learn and remember things. I have discussed each of these in past articles. But we don’t know much about how sleep regulates mood. An interesting new study published in Current Biology by Michael Walker, sheds some light on this subject.

A loss of reason

A complex brain circuit that involves both higher thinking centers and reactive centers controls your emotions. It’s the higher thinking centers that separate us from other animals. We have the ability (although we don’t always use it) to evaluate our responses thoughtfully, before just reacting impulsively.

In the new study, volunteers were either deprived of a good night’s sleep or allowed to sleep normally. Researchers then looked at both their higher thinking and their reactive brain centers after presenting them with some emotionally negative images to stir their reactions.

They found that specific reactive centers of the brain acted the same whether or not the volunteers had slept well the night before. But certain higher thinking centers responsible for keeping those reaction centers under control, were much less active in the sleep deprived group.

The interpretation of this is that our ‘gut reactions’ are not really that affected by lack of sleep (at least in this situation) but our ability to reason and monitor those reactions is weakened, which can have all kinds of downstream consequences.

Is a longer workday productive?

Why is this important? Other studies show that we are getting far less sleep today than we did a century ago and throughout history. The advent of artificial light has extended the length of our daily ‘productivity’, but many argue that this is actually counter-productive. By not getting optimal sleep, we are decreasing our ability to function efficiently the next day, and actually getting less done.

In fact, another study just released shows exactly that. In this one, researchers, Patricia Murphy and Scott Campbell, showed that napping is actually productive. First of all, midday napping did not cause people to sleep less well at night, as many believe. Second, midday napping improved performance on math, decision-making and reaction-time tests. This increased performance was true after the nap and lasted all the way into the next day, following the nap.

Many of us are so busy that we steal hours from our sleep to attempt to get more done. But science argues that we are not getting more done this way. We are actually reducing our ability to be creative, make decisions, work efficiently and cooperate with other people. Perhaps a little more time invested in our rest could dramatically improve our career and personal relationships.
------

Master Brain Fitness techniques for you and your family. Your Brain Fitness holds is the key to unlock your maximum potential. Dr. Simon Evans and Dr. Paul Burghardt at BrainFit For Life put together the right ingredients in right amount to create the recipe for success. Visit http://www.BrainFitForLife.com for FREE Brain Fitness resources.

2007-11-02T21:30:00.001-07:00

Automatic Wealth Link

2007-11-02T17:44:00.001-07:00

8 Habits of Wealthy People

One of the best books on creating wealth that I’ve read is “Automatic Wealth: the 6 Steps to Financial Independence,” by Michael Masterson. What makes this book so valuable is that Masterson doesn’t tell you how to “get rich quick.” That seldom works. Instead, he shows that building wealth is a process. If you follow the process, wealth will follow.

The book is filled with nuts-and-bolts advice, not theory. As a case in point, Masterson offers 8 habits the wealthy have that help them to not only acquire wealth, but to keep it.

So here goes:

They work hard. About 59 hours per week, on average. The good news is, most have found work they enjoy so it doesn’t seem like work. So I suggest that you find work or start a business that you really like.

They are good at what they do. They have confidence and poise because of their skill. “There is something palpable in the way they hold themselves and the way they speak,” Masterson says.

They have multiple streams of income. It is still critical to develop your core skill first, but once you have done that, look for other ways to bring in income on the side, such as investing, according to Masterson.

They live in (relatively) inexpensive homes. Keep in mind, the bigger the house, with its bigger payments, the more you will pay for taxes, insurance and utilities, as well as more expensive furniture to show off your investment, Masterson warns.

They are moderate in their spending. Don’t’ be a Mike Tyson, the boxer who earned $400 million in 20 years and by 2004 was $38 million in debt, according to Masterson.

They are great at spending less. They buy less expensive cars and eat at home, for example.

They pay themselves first. They developed the habit early on of always putting a predetermined percentage of their income in a savings account.

They count their money. Wealthy people always know where they stand in financial terms.

So there you have it. Eight habits that lead to wealth. This is a very small sampling of the great advice in “Automatic Wealth.”

To read some more excerpts from the book, click here.
Automatic Wealth Link
Or click on the image in the upper left hand corner of this blog.

2007-11-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL YOU CAN HAVE

by Danek S. Kaus

The Most Important Success Skill You Can Have -- and How to Get It.

Whether you have a job or own your own business, the most important skill you can have is the ability to sell.

Now before you stop reading in disgust thinking that you don’t want to wear loud sports coats and white shoes, those days are over. The best sales people are highly skilled professionals who make a lot of money solving problems for other people. That’s what modern selling is about. Solving problems.

If you own a business, you understand the need to be able to persuade people to buy your goods or services.

If you work for someone else, consider getting into sales. Why? First, you can probably make more money than in your current position. Second, if the economy turns bad, the last people a company wants to let go are the ones who bring in the money – the sales people.

Even if you still decide that selling is not for you, it’s always helpful to be able to influence people in -- every area of your life. Learning sales and persuasion techniques can help you do that.

With that in mind, I am listing some of the best books and CDs I’ve come across on the subject of sales and persuasion.

"Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business,” by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus

Power Persuasion

“Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale,” by Zig Ziglar
Zig Ziglar 1

“5 Steps to Successful Selling,” by Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar

“Be a Sales Superstar: 21 Great Ways to Sell More, Faster, Easier in Tough Markets,” by Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy

“The Psychology of Selling: The Art of Closing Sales,” by Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy

2007-10-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

Beyond Rapport – If You Dare

Many of you may be familiar with the standard rapport techniques, which can help you to create rapport with someone and get them to open up to you and trust you in moments.

These techniques involve matching someone’s body language and tone of voice, as well as matching their preferred mode of thinking (visual, auditory and kinesthetic). If you are not familiar with these rapport techniques, you can read about them and many other powerful persuasion techniques in the book I co-wrote, “Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business,” (David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus).

You can link to the Amazon listing here and read the rave reviews on the front and back covers.
Power Persuasion
The Beyond Rapport technique, which we call Power Rapport in the book, is much different. And much, much more powerful.
On several levels this is technique much simpler than other rapport techniques but it's also much more advanced. It works by creating a model that your conscious mind may find reasonable and doable even if it is a bit "out there".

One key to creating rapport is knowing that people like people who are like themselves. And who could be more like someone than themselves?

In this technique you are going to imagine being the other person talking to himself. Here’s how:

1) When you engage in some interaction with another person, imagine that
there is an exact duplicate of him just in front of you facing him.

2) Imagine stepping out of your body and "stepping into" the duplicate and
becoming him. If a third person could participate in this hallucination they
would see the person you're talking to talking to a duplicate of himself!

3) Use all your senses to imagine what it's like as you look through his eyes at himself, hear his own words coming from his mouth and move around in his body.

4) Ask your self several questions as you do this. What does it feel like
to be this gender (if it’s not your own)? How warm is it in this body? What are the
feelings and emotions I'm feeling in this body?

This technique works because it forces your mind to match EVERYTHING in that person’s experience.
When you do this for the first time it can be a bit overwhelming at first. You may even lose sight of your outcome (what you are trying to make happen). Don't worry. Everything you learn here is a skill and with practice you will improve greatly.

WARNING: Be careful who you step into! Would you really want to step into the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic or someone in chronic pain?

So be sure you truly want to create deep rapport before using this technique. If the answer is yes, it can give you some amazing results.

2007-10-14T02:58:00.000-07:00

Are you stressed? Gaining Weight? You May Have Adrenal Gland Fatigue

Are the following symptoms familiar to you?
• Tendency to gain weight and unable to loose it, especially around the waist.
• High frequency of getting the flu and other respiratory diseases
• Tendency to tremble when under pressure.
• Reduced sex drive.
• Lightheaded when rising from a laying down position.
• Unable to remember things.
• Lack of energy in the mornings and also in the afternoon between 3 to 5 pm.
• Often feel tired between 9 - 10 pm, but resist going to bed.
• Need coffee or stimulants to get going in the morning.
• Crave for salty, fatty, and high protein food such as meat and cheese.
• Increase symptoms of PMS for women; period are heavy and then stop, or almost stopped on the 4th day, only to start flow again on the 5th or 6th day.
• Pain in the upper back or neck with no apparent reason

If many of these symptoms are familiar to you, you may be experiencing adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue has a broad spectrum yet somewhat non-specific set of symptoms, which makes it easy for doctors to miss.

The adrenal glands are two small glands, located at the top of the kidneys. Their main function is to help the body cope with stress and help it survive.

Each adrenal gland has two compartments. The inner or medulla, modulate the sympathetic nervous system through secretion and regulation of two hormones called epinephrine and nor epinephrine that are responsible for the fight or flight response. The outer adrenal cortex comprises 80 percent of the adrenal gland and is responsible for producing over 50 different types of hormones. One of which is called cortisol. When our cortisol is lowered, our body is unable to deal with stress.

When a person experiences chronic stress, the cortisol level may rise to such a high level that its production reduces as the adrenal becomes exhausted. When this happens, DHEA, a hormone normally produced in the adrenal glands, starts to decrease.

Our adrenals after time cannot keep up with the increased demand for cortisol production. In response, cortisol output is therefore reduced.

Eventually our adrenals become totally exhausted.

But don’t despair. The good news is that adrenal fatigue can be reversed. It takes between six months to two years for the recover process to take place. To start, try these steps:

1. Remove life stressors. Look at what is causing stress in your life and find ways to work with them if not remove them.
2. Sleep. Get plenty of sleep. Try going to bed by at least 10 p.m. before the adrenal glands kick in its ‘second wind’ keeping us up between 11 p.m. and 1 p.m. This is also the time our adrenals work the hardest.
3. Avoid caffeine if possible. Try herbal teas or decaf coffee. Caffeine can interrupt your sleep patterns.
4. Exercise. Exercise reduces depression, increases blood flow and normalizes levels of cortisol, insulin, blood glucose, and helps with your thyroid
5. Nutritional Supplements. Supplements such as DHEA at 15 to 30 mg helps. Vitamin C, 500 mg to 3,000 mg; Vitamin B5, 900 to 1,500 mg; Vitamin E, 400 to 800 I.U; Beta-Carotene, 10,000 to 25,000 I.U.
6. Diet. Combine unrefined carbohydrates (whole grains) with protein and oils (nuts and seeds) at most meals—olive, walnut, fiber, flax and high-quality fish oil. Eat regular meals, chew food well, and eat by 10 AM and again for lunch. Avoid any hydrogenated fats, caffeine, chocolate, white carbohydrates, and junk foods. Diets should have a heavy emphasis on vegetables.

R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of pioneer nutritional formulas. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.

2007-10-04T15:30:00.001-07:00

DO YOU YOU TUBE?

Click Here

2007-10-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

The Physiology of Success
By Danek S. Kaus

Did you know that the way you use your body can lead to success or failure?

It’s true. Our old friend NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has taken the mind/body connection a step further. NLP shows us that there is a physiology of success. How you sit, stand, walk, etc., can have a major impact on both your self-confidence and your level of competence.

Which direction is your body leading you right now? Here’s how to find out and what to do about it if you don’t like the answer.

First, take a moment to think about your current emotional state. Are you happy, depressed, sad, motivated?

Next, become aware of how you are sitting or standing. If you are reading this article, you are probably sitting at the moment. Are you sitting straight back, with you feet flat on the floor? Are you slouching? Is your breathing deep and healing or shallow and tense?

Whatever position you are in, it is a reflections of your current emotional state. If you want to change what you are feeling/thinking you need to change your physiology. It goes back to the mind/body thing. Your thoughts and emotions affect your body and your body affects your emotions. Change one and you change the other.

Think about what or how you would like to feel. For now, let’s say you want to feel more confident and motivated. Now ask yourself, “How would I sit and breathe if I were extremely confident and motivated?”

“But I don’t know how I would do that,” you might respond.

Yes you do. The inner part of you knows. Just imagine you that your are already thinking and feeling what you want to experience. Go ahead. Pretend you feel that way. Now let your body adjust itself to how it wants to be. Sit, or stand or walk, as though you had the thoughts and feelings you want to a have.

If it’s confidence and motivation, you are probably sitting or standing with your back straight. You might notice your breathing has changed. Your face might be more relaxed. You may even be smiling.

Enjoy your new experience.

Now I’m going to take it away from you. Don’t worry. You can have it back in a moment.

Sit or stand the way your were before you read this article. Notice the difference? Not so good, huh? If you want to recapture how you felt a moment ago, simply change your physiology back to the way you want it to be.

You can use this technique in so many ways. You can create a physiology for learning, working, creating, talking with authority and so on. All you have to do is change into the physiology that matches the mental/emotional state you want to experience.

And then reap the rewards.

PERSUADE ANYONE, ANYWHERE ANYTIME

Read Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus

ARE YOU A MILLIONAIRE IN TRAINING? CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFO

Add these great books to your library:

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
Eker
Do This. Get Rich by Jim Britt
Britt

Start Late, Finish Rich by David Bach
Bach

How to Get Rich by Donald J. Trump
Trump

2007-10-01T03:14:00.000-07:00

REDUCE STRESS by KILLING THE SHOULD MONSTER
Guest Article

Reduce Stress - Shed Your "Shoulds"
By Pat Samples

Living with a Should Monster? A Should Monster is that critical nagging voice that repeatedly tells you that you should be doing a better job as a caregiver. It could be a replay of the voice of your spouse, relative, or friend, or it could be your own self-critic who’s creating merciless “should” lists for you.

See if these sound familiar:

“I should be a lot more patient.”

“I should be able to manage by myself.”

“I shouldn’t complain; other people have it worse.”

Such unrealistic and demanding “shoulds” pile on the stress. For example, the more you criticize yourself for not being patient enough, the more tense you’ll likely feel, making you less patient with others. It might be comforting to realize that even Mother Theresa was known to be fairly testy with those around her, despite her great love and care for suffering people.

The next time you hear yourself saying, “I should,” ask yourself three questions:

1) Is it true?

Is it true that you “should” be able to manage by yourself? Pioneers in the Old West had to get by on their own because no one else was around for miles, but this lone ranger philosophy isn’t “true” today, and it can cost you your health.

Is it true you shouldn’t complain? “Whining” may not win friends, but pretending that you’re not hurting when the going gets rough may leave you feeling discouraged, lonely, and even depressed. And though your pain is less than someone else’s, it still hurts. Telling someone in a straightforward way that you’re honestly struggling may open the way for receiving the kind of help people genuinely want to give.

2) How would my stress level change if I didn’t have that thought?

If you didn’t demand greater patience of yourself, for example, maybe you’d feel less pressure on yourself—and actually feel like being more patient.

3) Whose thought is it?

Does your “should” come directly from your merciless Should Monster? Say “No thank you” or “I don’t buy that” to your inner critic.

Is your “should” based on your own sincere beliefs? Then why not turn it from a should statement to a free choice by saying “I will” or “I’m willing” instead. For example, “I’ll do my best to be more patient (and my best is good enough!)” or “I’m willing to manage by myself.”

Then check again, and see if the new statement rings true and if it lowers your stress. If not, then make a new choice such as “I’m willing to have help and I’ll ask around until I get it.” By taking charge of your thoughts, you can stop feeling pushed by your Should Monster and instead become inspired by goals that reflect your own free choice.

Pat Samples is the author of Daily Comforts for Caregivers and Self-Care for Caregivers and an international speaker who helps family caregivers find peace of mind. Learn more at [http://www.agingandcaregiving.com/]http://www.agingandcaregiving.com.

2007-09-26T00:38:00.000-07:00

The Winner's Edge is back on line.

After resolving a couple of technnical glitches, and needing some time off, The Winner's Edge is back to give you some of the best ideas for improving every area of your life.

With that in mind, it's time to LEARN HOW TO --

RELEASE PAINFUL MEMORIES

This technique is based on NLP (Neuro Linguisitic Programming).

Here's how it works. Let's say that someone you care about hurt you badly and no matter how you try, you just can't seem to release the pain. Maybe they broke your heart, insulted you or embarassed you in some way. No matter how much time has past, you can't seem to get over the original pain.

One of the reasons you can't is that every time you replay the memory in your mind, your are encoding it more in the nerurons of your brain. It's like having an MP3 player that has only one song, which you can't stand, loaded into it -- 2,000 times.

In order to release the pain of the memory, you have to change it in some significant way.

Start by reliving the memory in detail, seeing what you saw and hearing what you heard. When you look at that important someone and see their face, do something to make it less attractive and/or ridiculous. Put a clown nose on it. Maybe you could paint on a ridiculous clown smile. You might add on some gigantic ears, anything to make that person look ridiculous and seem less attractive, domineering or whatever.

Now give them a silly voice. Make them sound like some cartoon character. If you want you can imagine silly music playing in the background.

Use your imagination and try your own variations.

Now relive the scene in your mind watching that person with the goofy face and the cartoon voice. Play it over and over in your mind this way -- vividly. Play it backwards and forwards for a real laugh. As you do, the trauma of the event will begin to fade. Do the exercise enough and you will be unable to have the same negative feelings, even if you want to. If you were to run into that person, you might even find it difficult to keep a straight face because your brain has new ways to respond to them and to the pain they caused you.

Try it and see. If you like the results, keep coming back to The Winner's Edge to learn more NLP tecchniques and lots of other ways to become happier, healthier, wiser and more successful.

Don't forget to bring your clown nose.

Danek S. Kaus

WANT TO BECOME A POWERFUL PERSUADER?

Read "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business" by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus

2007-07-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

THE FRIENDSHIP FACTOR -- KEY TO ALL SUCCESS
BY BRIAN TRACY

From his book, “Personal Success”

Your success in every area of life will be based largely on the quality and quantity of relationships that you can initiate and develop over time.

The Communication Process

The ancient Greeks taught that all conversation involved three ingredients: Ethos, or the character of the speaker; Pathos, connecting with the emotions; and Logos. The logos discussed by the Greeks refers to the factual content of a message, the words used. It refers to the argument that you present on behalf of your point of view. (However, we know that the facts themselves, although they are important, are not as powerful or as influential as the emotions are.)

The Selling Process

In selling, we know that there are three parts to the process.

These are, first, establishing rapport with the prospective customer, second, identifying the problem or need that the prospective customer has and, third, presenting the solution. These are the ethos, the pathos and the logos of selling to someone.

Build Good Relationships

Your success in every area of life will be based largely on the quality and quantity of relationships that you can initiate and develop over time. In the world of business and sales today, relationships are everything. We often call this the "friendship factor." We have discovered that a person will not do business with you until he or she is convinced that you are his or her friend and are acting in his or her best interest. In other words, you cannot influence someone unless he or she likes you in some way. Of course, it's often possible for you to influence a person if he fears you, but that type of influence lasts only until the person can rearrange his situation and escape from the circumstances that enable you to have control over him.

How to Influence and Persuade Others

The way to influence people, then, is to earn their liking and respect, to appeal to the friendship factor. This requires spending time with him, caring for him and respecting him. The more time that you are willing to spend with the person, the greater will be his tendency to trust you and to feel that you are acting in his best interest. The more obvious it is that you care about the person, about what he really needs, the more likely it is that he will be open to your influence. This is even more important in your personal relationships, with your family and friends. The more that people feel you care about them, the more open they will be to your influence.

Action Exercises

First, slow down when you first meet a person in a business or sales situation. Take some time to build a relationship with him or her before you proceed to business matters.

Second, appeal to the friendship factor that underlies all good business and personal relationships. Ask questions about the person and his or her life and concerns. Listen attentively to the answers. Focus on the relationship first.

For more information on Brian Tracy, visit www.briantracy.com

2007-07-05T02:35:00.000-07:00

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2007-07-05T02:22:00.000-07:00

GET IN SHAPE AT THE OFFICE WITH ONE MINUTE WORKOUTS

Sitting at a desk all day can add on the pounds and reduce your energy level.

Now you can get into shape at the office in only one minute at a time, thanks to the book "Gotta Minute? The Ultimate Guide of One Minute Workouts for Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime!," by Bonnie Nygard, M.Ed. and Bonnie Hopper, M.Ed.

Here are just a few tips to begin sculpting your new Olympian body at work:

Create ways to do more walking. Make time to walk in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon. Although five minutes would be better, one minute is still good. If you think you can’t spare a minute, or that it might look odd, find some excuses to walk. For example, instead of going to the closest bathroom, use one farther away, perhaps on a different floor. Then you can walk up and down the steps as well.

Instead of discussing something with a co-worker on the phone, walk to their office. If they are of like mind, you can even suggest that you have a walking meeting. The same can be true of your breaks, instead of sitting in a lunch room, take a walking break with a friend.

You can even walk back and forth while talking on the phone. If the cord is too short, buy a longer one. One word of caution: running or jogging in place can damage your joints, so please limit your one-minutes workouts to walking.

There are also a number of great exercises you can do while sitting to tone and stretch your body.

To stretch your pectoral (chest) muscles, simply reach your arms around the back of the chair and expand your chest.

While seated, alternately extend each leg in front of you, which works the quadriceps.

You can work your inner thighs and hips by doing a seated jumping jack motion, that is, lifting your feet in the air, spreading them apart and then back together.

When you have the chance, stand up and do push-ups against your desk or a wall. Be sure to hold your arms shoulder width apart and wear non-slip shoes.

There are lots of other quick and easy ways to keep in shape at home, in the car or at the office in Gotta Minute? The Ultimate Guide of One-Minute Workouts, so walk to your local bookstore and pick one up.

2007-06-29T02:46:00.000-07:00

NIBBLE NEGOTIATING

This is part 2 of Roger Dawson's article on using the nibble technique in negotiations. If you missed part 1, please scroll down to read it first.

Look out for people Nibbling on you

There's a point in the negotiation when you are very vulnerable, and that point is when you think the negotiations are all over.I bet you've been the victim of a Nibble at one time or another. You've been selling a car or a truck to someone. You're finally feeling good because you've found the buyer. The pressure and the tension of the negotiations have drained away. He's sitting in your office writing out the check. But just as he's about to sign his name he looks up and says,

"That does include a full tank of gas, doesn't it?"

You're at your most vulnerable point in the negotiations, for these two reasons:
You've just made a sale, and you're feeling good. When you feel good, you tend to give things away that you otherwise wouldn't.

You're thinking, "Oh, no. I thought we had resolved everything. I don't want to take a chance on going back to the beginning and re-negotiating the whole thing. If I do that, I might lose the entire sale. Perhaps I'm better off just giving in on this little point."

So, you're at your most vulnerable just after the other person has made the decision to go ahead. Look out for people Nibbling on you. Making a huge sale has excited you so much that you can't wait to call your sales manager and tell her what you've done. The buyer tells you that he needs to call purchasing and get a purchase order number for you. While he's on the telephone, he puts his hand over the mouthpiece and says, "By the way, you can give us 60 days on this, can't you? All of your competitors will." Look out for people Nibbling on you. Because you've just made a big sale, and you're afraid to reopen the negotiations for fear of losing it, you'll have to fight to avoid the tendency to make the concession.

Countering the Nibble when the other person does it to you.The Counter Gambit to the Nibble is to gently make the other person feel-cheap. You have to be very careful about the way you do this because obviously you're at a sensitive point in the negotiation. You smile sweetly and say: "Oh, come on, you negotiated a fantastic price with me. Don't make us wait for our money, too. Fair enough?" So, that's the Counter Gambit to the Nibble when it's used against you. Be sure that you do it with a big grin on your face, so that they don't take it too seriously.

So, consider these points when you go into negotiations:

Are there some elements that you are better off to bring up as a Nibble, after you have reached initial agreement?

Do you have a plan to make a second effort on anything to which you can't get them to agree the first time around?

Are you prepared for the possibility of them Nibbling on you at the last moment?

So, Power Negotiators always take into account the possibility of being able to Nibble. Timing is very critical-catching the other parties when the tension is off and they're feeling good because they think the negotiations are all over. On the other hand, looking out for the other side Nibbling on you at the last moment, when you're feeling good. At that point, you're the most vulnerable and liable to make a concession that half an hour later you'll be thinking-why on Earth did I do that? I didn't have to do that. We'd agreed on everything already.

Key points to remember:
With a well-timed Nibble, you can get things at the end of a negotiation that you couldn't have gotten the other side to agree to earlier.

It works because the other person's mind reverses itself after it has made a decision. He may have been fighting the thought of buying from you at the start of the negotiation. After he has made a decision to buy from you, however, you can Nibble for a bigger order, upgraded product, or additional services.
Being willing to make that additional effort is what separates great salespeople from merely good salespeople.

Stop the other person from Nibbling on you by showing her in writing the cost of any additional features, services, or extended terms, and by not revealing that you have the authority to make any concessions.

When the other person Nibbles on you, respond by making him feel cheap, in a good-natured way.

Avoid post-negotiation Nibbling by addressing and tying up all the details and using Gambits that cause them to feel that they won.

This article is excerpted in part from Roger Dawson's new book-Secrets of Power Negotiating, published by Career Press and on sale in bookstores everywhere for $24.99.

2007-06-27T19:43:00.001-07:00

2007-06-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

If You Don't Feel You're Getting Enough Out of a Negotiation, Nibble for More at the End
by Roger Dawson

Power Negotiators know that by using the Nibbling Gambit, you can get a little bit more even after you have agreed on everything. You can also get the other person to do things that she had refused to do earlier.

Car salespeople understand this, don't they? They know that when they get you on the lot, a kind of psychological resistance has built up to the purchase. They know to first get you to the point where you're thinking, "Yes, I'm going to buy a car. Yes, I'm going to buy it here." Even if it means closing you on any make and model of car, even a stripped down model that carries little profit for them.
Then they can get you into the closing room
and start adding all the other little extras that really build the profit into the car.

So, the principle of Nibbling tells you that you can accomplish some things more easily with a Nibble later in the negotiations.Children are brilliant Nibblers, aren't they? If you have teenage children living at home, you know that they don't have to take any courses on negotiating. But you have to-just to stand a chance of surviving the whole process of bringing them up-because they're naturally brilliant negotiators. Not because they learn it in school but because when they're little everything they get, they get with negotiating skills.

When my daughter, Julia, graduated from high school, she wanted to get a great high school graduation gift from me. She had three things on her hidden agenda. Number one, she wanted a five-week trip to Europe.

Number two; she wanted $1,200 in spending money. And number three; she wanted a new set of luggage.

She was smart enough not to ask for everything up front. She was a good enough negotiator to first close me on the trip, then come back a few weeks later and show me in writing that the recommended spending money was $1,200, and got me to commit to that. Then right at the last minute she came to me and she said, "Dad, you wouldn't want me going to Europe with that ratty old set of luggage would you? All the kids will be there with new luggage." And she got that too. Had she asked for everything up front, I would have negotiated out the luggage and negotiated down the spending money.

What's happening here is that a person's mind always works to reinforce decisions that it has just made. Power Negotiators know how this works and use it to get the other side to agree to something that he or she wouldn't have agreed to earlier in the negotiation.

Why is Nibbling such an effective technique? To find out why this works so well, a couple of psychologists did a study at a racetrack in Canada. They studied the attitude of people immediately before they placed the bet and again immediately after they placed the bet. They found out that before the people placed the bet, they were uptight, unsure, and anxious about what they were about to do. Compare this to almost anyone with whom you negotiate: They may not know you, they may not know your company, and they certainly don't know what's going to come out of this relationship. Chances are they're uptight, unsure, and anxious.

At the race track, the researchers found out that once people had made the decision to go ahead and place the bet that suddenly they felt very good about what they had just done and even had a tendency to want to double the bet before the race started. In essence, their minds did a flip-flop once they had made the decision. Before they decided, they were fighting it; once they'd made the decision, they supported it.

If you're a gambler, you've had that sensation, haven't you? Watch them at the roulette tables in Atlantic City or Vegas. The gamblers place their bets. The croupier spins the ball. At the very last moment, people are pushing out additional bets. The mind always works to reinforce decisions that it has made earlier.

So one rule for Power Negotiators is that you don't necessarily ask for everything up front. You wait for a moment of agreement in the negotiations, then go back, and Nibble for a little extra.

You might think of the Power Negotiating process as pushing a ball uphill, a large rubber ball that's much bigger than you. You're straining to force it up to the top of the hill. The top of the hill is the moment of first agreement in the negotiations. Once you reach that point, then the ball moves easily down the other side of the hill. This is because people feel good after they have made the initial agreement. They feel a sense of relief that the tension and stress is over. Their minds are working to reinforce the decision that they've just made, and they're more receptive to any additional suggestions you may have.

Always go back at the end to make a second effort on something that you couldn't get them to agree to earlier.

Part 2 , “Look Out for People Nibbling on You, ” will appear on Friday

This article is excerpted in part from Roger Dawson's new book-Secrets of Power Negotiating, published by Career Press and on sale in bookstores everywhere for $24.99.

Get Roger Dawson’s Books

“The Secrets of Power Negotiating” by Roger Dawson
Click the link below
Roger Dawson 1

“The 13 Secrets of Power Performance” By Roger Dawson
Roger Dawson 2
“The Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople”
Click the Link Below
Roger Dawson 3

2007-06-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

Working at home can be the first step towards living the lifestyle of your dreams.Let us show you how to take the first step today.
Click Here

Did You Miss These Winning Tips?

"What Your Habits Say About You -- And How to Change Them?

"Don't Lose Money" by Success Guru Brian Tracy

"10 Polite Ways to Say No at Work"

Read the May archives. Scroll up a few inches to see the archives links on the left hand side of the screen.

2007-06-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY? LEARN TO THINK LIKE A MILLIONAIRE

Book review: “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: The Inner Game of Wealth,” by T. Harv Eker

By Danek S. Kaus

It’s true what they say: The rich are different.

But it’s not the homes they live in or the cars they drive that make them different.

It’s the way they think that makes them different. And the way they think makes them rich. That’s the premise of the book, “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”. Author T. Harv Eker has studied the rich, the people who know how to make money. Tons and tons of money.

According to Eker, we all have a mental financial blueprint, a thermostat, that determines how much money we can make. Say your money making thermostat is set for $50,000. No matter what you do, how hard you work, how many businesses you start, your subconscious mind will find ways to keep you at the level of making that amount of money.

This financial thermostat is determined by our beliefs. According to Eker, people with a millionaire mind have 17 beliefs that are different from people who are poor.

For example, rich people believe that they create their lives. Poor people believe they are the victim of circumstances.

Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.

Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them.

Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play not to lose.

If you find yourself with some beliefs that keep you from making money, take heart. The real purpose of Eker’s book is to show you how to change your beliefs so that you can become a money-making machine.

I highly recommend this book. I’ve read it twice and plan to read it again and again.

“Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” is an easy-to-read small book that can deliver on big promises. Thousands of people have used Eker’s coaching to begin making their own fortunes. Maybe now is the time for you to create your own million dollar mind.

Get this book on Amazon. Click on the link below.
Eker 1

2007-06-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

5 Empowering Beliefs
By Danek S. Kaus

We all have beliefs, beliefs about abilities, our health, our chances for success and even beliefs about the nature of the universe.

For centuries we have been taught that our beliefs shape our lives. If this is true, then it is obvious that some beliefs will serve us better than others. Some will lead to success while others will drive you down to into failure.

With that in mind, here are some beliefs that author and success coach Michelle Armstrong suggests can help empower you to create the life you want.

1. Everything happens for a reason. “When we seek out the cause behind everything that happens in our lives, we become more resourceful and instinctive in managing and dealing with everything that occurs,” Armstrong says.

When Armstrong flew from her native Australia to what would be her new home in the Los Angeles area, she spent 14 grueling hours in flight. The hotel had lost her reservation and they wouldn’t have a room for her for several hours. To kill time, someone recommended she visit a restaurant in nearby Hermosa Beach. She accidentally ended up in Redondo Beach. Since she couldn’t find the restaurant, she went into a bar. She sat down at the bar and had a conversation with the man next to her. He later became her husband.

2. You always have infinite choices. “If you’re driving on the freeway and someone cuts you off you have choices. You can blow them a kiss or give them the bird. You can replay the incident over in your head and fester about it for weeks or you could ignore it and forget about it,” Armstrong says.

3. Personal responsibility is power. Armstrong says there are two kinds of people -- those who believe they are responsible for everything in their lives and those believe they have no control over their lives. Those who believe they have no power operate as victims. “They can’t create the results they want because they are not responsible for anything,” Armstrong says. “Those who believe they are responsible have the power to change their lives. Even those who don’t believe but act as if they do, still have the power to create change.”

4. Your unconscious mind holds the key. “If you choose to believe you know everything about yourself, you will never reach your full potential,” Armstrong says. “You need to pay attention to unconscious activity.”

One way to do this is to create a “shadow self,” one who is constantly monitoring what is going on in your life by asking yourself, “What am I feeling in this moment? How am I creating what I am feeling?”

Once you are aware of what you are feeling and how you created that feeling, you must make a conscious effort to change the feeling. For example, if you continually react badly to criticism, you can catch yourself in the moment. Decide how you would like to react instead. You might decide that you need to be treated with respect and then communicate that to the other person instead of getting outraged or depressed.

5. You get what you focus on. As an exercise, look around the room and notice everything that is brown. Do this now. Okay? Now, without looking around the room again, close your eyes and try to remember every green object in the room. Not so easy, huh? Life works this way. “If you focus on poverty, on what you don’t have, that is what you will create,” Armstrong says. “If you focus on abundance, that is what you will create.”

Michelle Armstrong is the author of “Manage Your Mind: Master Your Life.” To learn more about her coaching, visit www.armstrongmethod.com and www.LiveYourAuthenticSelf.com

2007-05-31T21:56:00.000-07:00

Slug/What Your Habits Say About You -- And How to Change Them
By Danek S. Kaus

We all have habits. Some of them are good habits, like exercising regularly.
Other habits, like smoking, drinking or eating too much, or procrastinating, don’t serve us. They lessen our lives and keep us from being who we could be.
In many ways, your habits, good or bad, define who you are, according to author, speaker and success coach Tamir Qadree.
Fortunately, we can break our bad habits and replace them with good ones.
Below is a list of some bad habits, their causes, and their cures, according to Qadree.

Overeating

Cause: This habit can often be rooted in childhood, especially for people who grew up in homes where there was a lot of stress or poverty. One reason people overeat it is to feel better. Food can create chemical changes in the body that give us an emotional high. Qadree says that overeating to get a short emotional high is an immature approach to feeling good.

Solution: The key is self-love. “Know that whatever happened in the past it, is all right to love and forgive yourself, to tell yourself that you are worthy and good enough,” Qadree says.

Procrastination

Cause: Fear of success. “People who fear success worry about how their life will change. “They are afraid that their family and friends will react negatively,“ Qadree says.

Solution: Understand that it is okay for you to be yourself. Do the things that bring you joy as they move you closer to your dreams. “If you enjoy doing something deep in your heart, it will bring you success,” Qadree says.

Sleeping Late

Cause: Oversleeping or sleeping too much can be caused by a fear of facing the world. It is also caused by not knowing what you want to do with your life.

Solution: Find a purpose for your life. Qadree suggests getting quiet and asking God, Your Higher Self or whatever source of inner guidance you use, including your subconscious mind, to tell you what your purpose is. “If it involves serving others in some way, it is a true purpose. If it is does not, you’re just kidding yourself,” Qadree says.

Watching too Much TV or Excessive Video Game Playing

Cause: Wasting too much time on distractions means that you are afraid of your own imagination and of silence. It can also stem from a fear of not being accepted or a fear of your own power. Qadree cites a saying from author Marianne Williamson: “The problem is not that we are not powerful, but that we are very powerful.”

Solution: Spend 10 minutes in silence early in the morning and then late at night. Talk to God or your subconscious mind, etc. Focus on your life. Feel the life within you and focus on your inner core. “Most people don’t take time to feel the life inside them. If they did it twice a day, they would see remarkable changes,” Qadree says. “Instead of running for the noise they would run for the silence and feel more confident and less stressed. They would feel more attached to life.”

Tamir Adree is the president of Esteem Now, Inc., which specializes in building healthy self-esteem. His latest book is “The Reclining Master Awaken: One Minute to Healthy Self Esteem.” For more information visit www.esteemnow.com

BUY TAMIR ADREE’S BOOK -- Click the link
Qadree 1

OTHER SELF-ESTEEM BOOKS

10 Days to Self-Esteem -- Click the link
Esteem 1

Six Pillars of Self-Esteem -- Click the link
Esteem 2

2007-05-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

DON'T LOSE MONEY
By Brian Tracy
Throughout the history of American enterprise, you've heard the words, "work hard and save your money." Work hard and save your money. It is the oldest rule for success in America. It's so important, as a matter of fact, that W. Clement Stone once said, "if you cannot save money, then the seeds of greatness are not in you."

Saving Is a DisciplineWhy is it that saving money is so important? Because saving money is a discipline and any discipline affects all other disciplines in your life. If you do not have the discipline to refrain from spending all the money that you earn, then you are not qualified to become wealthy and if you do become wealthy, you'll not be capable of holding on to it.
The Law of AttractionA principle with regard to saving your money is the law of attraction. The law of attraction is activated by saved money. Even one dollar saved will start to attract more money. Here's what I suggest that you do. If you're really serious about your future, go down and open a savings account. Put as much money as you can into it, even if it's only ten dollars. And then begin to collect little bits of money, and every week go down and put something into that account.

Attract More Money Into Your LifeYou will find that the more you put in that account, the more you will attract from sources that you cannot now predict. But if you do not begin the savings process, if you don't begin putting something away towards your financial independence, then nothing will happen to you. The law of attraction just simply won't work.

Invest Your Money ConservativelyOnce you begin to accumulate money, here's another rule. Invest the money conservatively. Marvin Davis, self-made billionaire, was asked by Forbes Magazine, "How do you account for your financial success?" And he said, "Well, I have two rules for financial investing." He said, "Rule number one is, don't lose money." He said, whenever I'm tempted, whenever I see an opportunity to invest where there's a possibility I could lose it all, I just simply refrain from putting the money in. Rule number two is, whenever I get tempted, I refer back to rule number one. Don't lose money

CLICK ON THIS BOOK COVER

Get Rich SlowlyGeorge Classon says, in The Richest Man In Babylon, that the key is to accumulate your funds and then invest them very conservatively. One of the characteristics of self-made millionaires, one of the characteristics of old money in America is that it's very cautiously, conservatively and prudently invested.

Don't try to get rich quickly. Concentrate rather on getting rich slowly. If all you do is save ten percent of your earnings, put it away, and let it accumulate at compound interest, that alone will make you wealthy.
Action ExercisesHere are two things you can do to apply these lessons to your financial life:

First, open a separate savings and investing account today. From this day forward, put every single dollar you can spare into this account and resolve to never touch it or spend it for any reason.
Second, whenever you consider any investment of your savings, remember the rule, "Don't lose money!" It is better to keep the money working at a low rate of interest than to take the chance of losing it. Be careful. A fool and his money are soon parted.

To learn more about best-selling author Brian Tracy. visit www.briantracy.com

2007-05-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

MAKE MONEY TAKING SURVEYS AT HOME
Click Here!

2007-05-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

10 POLITE WAYS TO SAY "NO"

Do demanding coworkers make your day miserable with one request after another? To keep your sanity (not to mention your money and maybe even your job) there comes a time when you need to stand firm and deny their requests.
Here are ten typical requests and the ways to politely say "no" loud and clear.

1. If someone asks you to contribute to another office gift fund, you can say, "No, I'm going to give a gift on my own."

2. If a coworker asks you for a loan until payday, you can say, "My heart say yes, but my bankbook say no, no, no."

3. If a colleague asks you to work late, you can say, "Sorry, I'm busy tonight. Let me see if I can find someone else to help you."

4. If a coworker asks you to tell the boss a "little white lie," you can say, "That's a very bad idea. The answer is no."

5. If a coworker asks you to vouch for his or her attendance at a meeting you can say, "That would be a big mistake for both of us. The answer is no."

6. If a coworker asks you to complain to your boss you can say, "No, I don’t have a problem with him and don't want to take sides. You'll need to work out the problem between the two of you, or ask our boss to mediate."

7. If a coworker pressures you to organize an office party, you can say, "No, I'm sorry but I can't. I'm just too busy."

8. If an office colleague asks you out on a date, and you’d rather not go, you can say, "I appreciate the invitation, but no thanks."

9. If someone at work asks you to hire a friend for a job instead of a more qualified applicant, you can say, "No, I can’t do that."

10. If a coworker asks you to help out with a project that you don’t have time for, you can say something like, "No I can't help. Maybe you can ask the boss for some extra help."

For more information about Don Gabor’s books, tapes, workshops and coaching, please contact him at 718-768-024 or visit his website at www.dongabor.com

BOOKS BY DON GABOR

How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends
(Recognize 4 conversation styles, remember names)
CLICK ON GABOR 1
Gabor 1

Speaking Your Mind in 101 Difficult Situations
CLICK ON GABOR 4
Gabor 4

Words that Win
CLICK ON GABOR 2
Gabor 2

How to talk to the People you Love
CLICK ON GABOR 3
Gabor 3

2007-05-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP DOING?

If you're going through a rough patch, poor communication might be the culprit. The article below might help you to save your relationship before things get too rough.

If you're not in a relationship, click on the link near the end of the article.

9-Telltale Signs of Poor Communication in Relationships
By Elaine Sihera

Poor communication is the most common complaint (as stated by 68 per cent of couples seeking counselling). Apparently, the average couple talk for only five minutes per day! Yet communication is the most important aspect of a relationship. Once we stop communicating, stop being affectionate and stop making love, we no longer have a relationship. There are many partnerships which lack those three essential ingredients and are still limping along to infinity, with two very unhappy individuals. Communication is not just verbal. It includes every message – feeling, desire and thought – we convey to the other person by way of eye contact, emotion or body language. The secret of communicating effectively is knowing how to avoid the unhappy, harmful interactions.

Poor communicators tend to compete with one another in discussions, to blame each other constantly to boost their egos and to find scapegoats. Everything is a competition for them and they are more interested in being right than having a successful relationship. They perceive themselves to be all-knowing, never giving an inch to anyone, while consistently demanding their own right of way. They are not focused on the relationship they share, only on the arguments, tending to be secretive, self righteous and in denial, so conditions are always tense as they compete for control. It is mainly about who ‘wins’ and who is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, without any acknowledgement of the other’s feelings or fears. In their eyes, there is only ever one way of doing or seeing things – their way.

No one, or any other method, is ever valid or accepted.

Characteristics of poor communicators are the following:

* Criticism: They usually have a steady flow of criticism, put-downs or blame for their partner. But the trouble with blame is that it keeps us focused on our partners to prevent us seeing, or accepting, our own faults.

* Defensiveness: Neither partner feels cared for or listened to. They are both too busy defending themselves in the abusive onslought and fighting to get their points in.

* Denial of Discussion: They respond to criticism with defensiveness, often denying everything – even discussion, making excuses and accusing their partner of being 'emotional', 'stupid', 'silly' or 'mad'.

* Gift of Sanity: Poor communicators are usually the ones who claim to be 'sane' and 'reasonable' and 'caring'. They always feel put-upon and the victim.

* Biased Perception: Individual perception is usually biased, distorted or contradictory. There is also likely to be lots of exaggeration and anger instead of compromise.

* Straying from the Isssue: They tend to stray from the main issue and find no solutions, throwing all kinds of complaints and insults at their partner, but without aiming for anything constructive.

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* Mind Reading: They tend to ‘mind read’ and/or ‘psychoanalyse’ their partner excessively, as well as name-call and show contempt by mocking, rolling their eyes, being insulting, counter-attacking and interrupting constantly.

* Holding Out: There is a determination by poor communicators not to ‘give in’, only to show they are right, with lots of anger, and, eventually, deadly silence.

* Stonewalling: When the attacks get too much, or when they hear something they do not like, there is likely to be no response. Instead poor communicators withdraw from the situation in a self-righteous way(stonewalling), preventing any kind of discussion or resolution.

ELAINE SIHERA (Ms Cyprah - http://www.myspace.com/elaineone and http://www.elainesihera.co.uk/) is an expert author, public speaker, media contributor and columnist. The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a CONFIDENCE guru and a consultant for Diversity Management, Personal Empowerment and Relationships. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise and Managing the Diversity Maze, among others (available on http://www.amazon.co.uk/ as well as her personal website). Also the founder of the British Diversity Awards and the Windrush Men and Women of the Year Achievement Awards. She describes herself as, "Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!"
WANT TO COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH THE ONE YOU LOVE?
These books will show you how:
“20 Communication Tips for Couples: A 30-Minute Guide to Better Relationships”
CR1

“Communication Miracles for Couples: Easy and Effective Tools to Create More Love and Less Conflict”
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“Why Can’t You Read My Mind? Overcoming the 9 Toxic Thought Patterns That Get in the Way of a Loving Relationship?
CR3

2007-05-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

THE TOP 10 INTERNET CONS
The Internet has spawned a new industry of ways to steal your money on line. Don’t be a victim.

Here are the top 10 Internet cons, according to the Federal Trade Commission:

Internet Auctions

The Bait: Shop in a "virtual marketplace" that offers a huge selection of products at great deals.
The Catch: After sending their money, consumers say they've received an item that is less valuable than promised, or, worse yet, nothing at all.
The Safety Net: When bidding through an Internet auction, particularly for a valuable item, check out the seller and insist on paying with a credit card or using an escrow service.

Internet Access Services

The Bait: Free money, simply for cashing a check.
The Catch: Consumers say they've been "trapped" into long-term contracts for Internet access or another web service, with big penalties for cancellation or early termination.
The Safety Net: If a check arrives at your home or business, read both sides carefully and look inside the envelope to find the conditions you're agreeing to if you cash the check. Read your phone bill carefully for unexpected or unauthorized charges.

Credit Card Fraud

The Bait: Surf the Internet and view adult images online for free, just for sharing your credit card number to prove you're over 18.
The Catch: Consumers say that fraudulent promoters have used their credit card numbers to run up charges on their cards.
The Safety Net: Share credit card information only when buying from a company you trust. Dispute unauthorized charges on your credit card bill by complaining to the bank that issued the card. Federal law limits your liability to $50 in charges if your card is misused.

International Modem Dialing

The Bait: Get free access to adult material and pornography by downloading a "viewer" or "dialer" computer program.
The Catch: Consumers complained about exorbitant long-distance charges on their phone bill. Through the program, their modem is disconnected, then reconnected to the Internet through an international long-distance number.The Safety Net: Don't download any program to access a so-called "free" service without reading all the disclosures carefully for cost information. Just as important, read your phone bill carefully and challenge any charges you didn't authorize or don't understand.

Web Cramming
The Bait: Get a free custom-designed website for a 30-day trial period, with no obligation to continue.
The Catch: Consumers say they've been charged on their telephone bills or received a separate invoice, even if they never accepted the offer or agreed to continue the service after the trial period.
The Safety Net: Review your telephone bills and challenge any charges you don't recognize.

Multilevel Marketing Plans/ Pyramids
The Bait: Make money through the products and services you sell as well as those sold by the people you recruit into the program.
The Catch: Consumers say that they've bought into plans and programs, but their customers are other distributors, not the general public. Some multi-level marketing programs are actually illegal pyramid schemes. When products or services are sold only to distributors like yourself, there's no way to make money.
The Safety Net: Avoid plans that require you to recruit distributors, buy expensive inventory or commit to a minimum sales volume.

Travel and Vacation

The Bait: Get a luxurious trip with lots of "extras" at a bargain-basement price.
The Catch: Consumers say some companies deliver lower-quality accommodations and services than they've advertised or no trip at all. Others have been hit with hidden charges or additional requirements after they've paid.
The Safety Net: Get references on any travel company you're planning to do business with. Then, get details of the trip in writing, including the cancellation policy, before signing on.

Business Opportunities
The Bait: Be your own boss and earn big bucks.
The Catch: Taken in by promises about potential earnings, many consumers have invested in a "biz op" that turned out to be a "biz flop." There was no evidence to back up the earnings claims.
The Safety Net: Talk to other people who started businesses through the same company, get all the promises in writing, and study the proposed contract carefully before signing. Get an attorney or an accountant to take a look at it, too.

Investments

The Bait: Make an initial investment in a day trading system or service and you'll quickly realize huge returns.
The Catch: Big profits always mean big risk. Consumers have lost money to programs that claim to be able to predict the market with 100 percent accuracy.
The Safety Net: Check out the promoter with state and federal securities and commodities regulators, and talk to other people who invested through the program to find out what level of risk you're assuming.

Health Care Products/Services

The Bait: Items not sold through traditional suppliers are "proven" to cure serious and even fatal health problems.
The Catch: Claims for "miracle" products and treatments convince consumers that their health problems can be cured. But people with serious illnesses who put their hopes in these offers might delay getting the health care they need.
The Safety Net: Consult a health care professional before buying any "cure-all" that claims to treat a wide range of ailments or offers quick cures and easy solutions to serious illnesses.Can you avoid getting caught by a scam artist working the web? Not always. But prudence pays.

General Tips

Be wary of extravagant claims about performance or earnings potential. Get all promises in writing and review them carefully before making a payment or signing a contract.

Read the fine print and all relevant links. Fraudulent promoters sometimes bury the disclosures they're not anxious to share by putting them in teeny-tiny type or in a place where you're unlikely see them.

Look for a privacy policy. If you don't see one - or if you can't understand it - consider taking your business elsewhere.

Be skeptical of any company that doesn't clearly state its name, street address and telephone number. Check it out with the local Better Business Bureau, consumer protection office or state Attorney General.
Think you were victim of a fraud? You can file a complaint with the FTC by calling 1-800-FTC-HELP.

Recommended Reading:
“Don’t Be a Victim! : How to Protect Yourself from Hoaxes, Scams and Frauds”
Click on this link: Fraud 2

“The 200 Best Home Businesses: Easy to Start, Fun to Run, Highly Profitable"
Click on this link: homebiz3

"The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century"
Click on this Link: homebiz2

"101 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home"
Click on this link: homebiz1

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PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IDENTITY THEFT
Don’t wait until you’re a victim
Click on this link: LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention

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2007-04-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

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How to Have Charisma
By Danek S. Kaus

We’ve all seen people who light up a room when they enter it. They draw others to them and at the same time make them feel more alive and energized.

These people have charisma.

“Charisma is a magic quality nobody understands completely. It magnetizes people and makes everybody feel stronger, more powerful, more beautiful and more successful. It’s a kind of magic that pulls people in,” says psychologist Dr. Doe Lang, author of “The New Secrets of Charisma: How to Discover and Unleash Your Hidden Powers.”

One of the most intriguing aspects of charisma is that we all have it.

“It’s part of our birthright,” Lang says. “Many people don’t know they have it and can barely imagine having it.”

The good news is you can develop your own charisma.

“All of us have a secret garden of the heart, which is charisma. “We have it when we resonate with love as an energy and a talent. This is our own best self,” Lang says.

We can generate charisma when we make a difference in other people’s lives.
“To have real charisma is to connect with other people. In order to become more charismatic, first cultivate self-acceptance and then compassion for others, Lang advises.

“Have gratitude for what you have and for what you can do for others,” she says. It gives you a greater sense of authenticity.

If you can truly embrace that and give your gift to other people, nothing can stop your radiance. People will want to be with you and need you.”

Another component of charisma is confidence.

One way to increase confidence is to find out what you are really passionate about and do it.

“A lot of people only think of what they should do and never ask ‘what will give me a big charge?’ Follow your bliss and you bring other people with you,” Lang says.

Composure is another component of charisma. All too often though, our hectic lives create too much stress, which kills charisma.

“When you are stressed, you are so busy monitoring your own lack of composure you can’t tell what other people are feeling,” Lang says.

A great way to become calmer is to slow your breathing.

If you are breathing more than 18 times a minute you are under stress. Also, you are breathing from the top of your lungs, which does not release stress hormones, according to Lang.

When you slow you your breathing to seven times or less, the pineal gland in the brain becomes more active.

“You become more creative and instinctively know what do in a situation. You instinctively know what other people are feeling,” Lang says.

Another stress reducing technique is what Lang calls the Emotion Cooler.

To do this technique, put your thumb on your right nostril. Exhale a long, slow breath. Imagine that you are exhaling a black cloud of negativity. As you inhale, imagine a golden globe of light around you. Slowly inhale that light through your left nostril.

This technique accesses the right side of the brain, which the region of creativity and holistic thinking.

“If you do this 26 times, it will give you a sense of control and puts you into an optimal state,” Lang says.

Another key component of charisma is to become aware of your own value.
When you truly value yourself, others will value you.

“Very often, in this competitive society, people get stuck in comparisons. They are not as rich, as bright or as pretty as someone else. They lose sight of their uniqueness. They feel envious, resentful,“ Lang says. “It is very important to recognize that each of us has our own path and can produce our own destiny.”

So follow your own path. Honor yourself and others, and you will have charisma.

To learn more ways to increase your personal magnetism, buy “The New Secrets of Charisma: How to Discover and Unleash Your Hidden Powers," click
on the link below (Charisma 1).
Charisma 1

****************************************************
PERDUADE ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

Read "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business."

To find out more and learn how to get $2,000 in free personal development products, visit http://www.power-persuasion.com/book

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DO YOU WANT TO BE FAMOUS ?

Learn how to get FREE PUBLICITY at http://publicityleader.blogspot.com

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2007-04-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Newest articles:

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
Revitalize Your Brain

Before you read the articles below,
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2007-04-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

The high tech age has created a new form of crime known as identity theft. Basically, identity theft is the use of your name, social security number and other personal information to steal money from you or to commit some other form of fraud.

Identity thieves will open credit card accounts in your name, steal from your bank accounts and ruin your credit rating and reputation. Victims of identity theft have been refused loans, turned down for jobs and in some cases arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.

HOW IT OCCURS

Identity thieves can gain access to your sensitive personal information in several ways.

They can obtain information from businesses and other institutions, such as schools, by stealing records from their employers, bribing employees to steal it and by hacking into computers.

They can “dumpster dive,” that is, rummage through your trash can or the trash of businesses.

They can use a technique known as “skimming” to steal your credit card number when your card is processed at a store.

They can use their employer’s access to credit reports to get your confidential information. Or, they may contact credit reporting agencies and pose as an employer or landlord.

They steal wallets and purses, which usually contain driver’s licenses, credit and debit cards.

They will steal your mail, looking for bank and credit card statements, tax documents, new checks and offers for pre-approved credit cards.

They steal personal information from your home.

CONTINUED BELOW

***************************************************

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM ID THEFT NOW -- GURANTEED
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LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention

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Protect Yourself

Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Contact:

Equifax www.equifax.com 1-800-685-1111

Experian www.experian.com 1-888-EXPERIAN

Transunion www.transunion.com 1-800-916-8800

If there are no unauthorized activities on your credit reports, there is a good chance that you have not been a victim. Yet. So you must be diligent and cautious about when and how you reveal any information about yourself.

Here are some other steps to take:

Put passwords on your bank accounts, credit cards and phone accounts. It’s best not to use information that can be easily obtained such as your birth date, your mother’s maiden name, the last four digits of your social security number or your phone number

Make sure that all of your personal information in your home is in a secure place, especially if you have roommates or if you have outside people such as contractors or cleaning service staff work in your home.

Do not give out any information over the phone or on the internet unless you are the one who initiated contact and you know who you are dealing with.

When filling out applications, ask how your personal information will be used and secured, and if it will be shared with others. Ask if you can have the info be kept confidential.

Protect your mail. Don’t put outgoing mail in your personal mailbox to be picked up. Instead take it to the post office or drop it in an official mailbox

Buy a shredder. Shred all mail and other pieces of paper that contain personal information before putting it in the garbage. This includes mailing labels on magazines, receipts, insurance forms, doctor’s statements, bank statements, checks and credit card statements. If you aren’t able to obtain a shredder, thoroughly tear up all of these items.

Only give out your Social Security Number(SSN) when absolutely necessary and keep your Social Security card in a safe place. Ask to use other ways to identify yourself. Often, employers and financial institutions will want your SSN for tax reporting purposes so you will probably have to give it to them.

When you leave home, keep on your person only those credit cards and types of identification that you will need with you.

Stay on top of your billing cycles. If your bills don’t arrive on time, contact your credit card companies to see if there has been unauthorized use of your card.

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PERSUADE ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

Find out more about Power Persuasion and how you can get $2,000 in FREE Personal Development products. Click the link below.

http://www.power-persuasion.com/book.html

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2007-04-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Revitalize Your Brain
By Dr. Brian Walsh

Have you ever written an email, and hesitated sending it because you wanted it reviewed first? What if no one else was available to help you? Understanding a little-know aspect of brain functioning will increase your effectiveness at home, work, or school. This is an excerpt from the bestseller, "Unleashing Your Brilliance."

There is a biorhythm operating 24/7 in our body known as the Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC). While some biological cycles last for many days, the BRAC oscillates consistently at between 90 and 120 minutes.
Rest portion: During this healing response portion of the cycle, there is more right hemispheric electrical activity, a spatial cognitive mode, and a settling down of the autonomic nervous system. Midway through the rest cycle is a trough of about twenty-minutes. This is when many cells of the brain that hold critical messenger molecules, such as adrenaline, are nearing empty. At this point, all the cells in the body are taking time out to replenish, rejuvenate, and rebalance. It is during this part of the cycle that people daydream, and can be most creative.

Active portion: During this peak performance period of the cycle, there is greater electrical activity in the left hemisphere, a verbal cognitive mode, and the autonomic nervous system is in a phase of sympathetic predominance. This means that it is "open for business." Heightened physical activity, mental alertness, and energy means that logic, rationality, and a black and white approach are being exercised.

People who are continuously over-stimulated do not have the opportunity to recharge their internal batteries. The Central Nervous System, having to contend with the ever-constant activity, will suppress the resting period, resulting in exhaustion in the short-term, and burnout in the long-term.
(Continued below)
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Capture, Share and Preserve Your Family's Stories on OurStory.com

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To better equip a person in dealing with stress, techniques exist to maximize the resources of each side of the brain. An interesting indicator of which side is dominant at any given time, is to simply breathe in through the nostrils. The nostril that draws in the greater amount of air is a contra-lateral indicator of the dominant side. In other words, if the right nostril draws more air, then the left hemisphere is dominant, indicating that the person is presently in the active part of the cycle. One technique to alter the dominance is uni-nostril forced breathing. In this case, to switch dominance to the right, the person would block the right nostril, and force breathing in and out of the left nostril.

This would be appropriate if someone wanted the right brain active for a brainstorming exercise or any other creative endeavor.

In the long-term, encourage whole-brain activity through specific kinesthetic activities. Examples are cross-lateral physical exercises, and eye pattern movements. You can also enrich inter-hemispheric communication by using your non-dominant hand to hold a cup, or brush your teeth. Drive a new route to and from work. Experiment with your eyes closed, while dressing, or navigating around your home. Do a blind taste-testing of a beverage.

OK. What about writing a letter or email? Here's a great technique to use if you have no one else to proof-read what you've written. Just wait about 30-45 minutes. Let's say that you wrote it during your active (logical) cycle. By reading it just a bit later, you may be in your rest cycle, when you are naturally more creative. This means you could scan for readability, flow, and sensitivity. Of course, if you wrote it in a creative mind, you would want your logical side checking the details for exactness. How great is that?

Bestselling author and international speaker, Brian E. Walsh retired from a 30-year management career to further his earlier interest in NLP and hypnotherapy. He returned to formal study, and within four years had achieved his PhD.
Dr. Walsh regularly conducts workshops and teleclasses on enriched learning. He is a master practitioner of NLP, an acupuncture detoxification specialist, an EFT practitioner, and a clinical hypnotherapist.
His eZine, “Enriched Learning” has subscribers around the world. His most recent release is a 90-miniute DVD of his presentation, “Enriched Learning”. He has also co-authored with John Gray and Jack Canfield in the self-help book, “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life: Volume 2.”
His websites are http://www.UnleashingBrilliance.com & http://www.Walsh-Seminars.com

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2007-03-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a guest article from one of the masters of negotiation, Roger Dawson.

Learn to Play the Reluctant Buyer When You're Purchasing
Roger Dawson

Let's say that you're in charge of buying new computer equipment for your company. How would you get a salesperson to give you the lowest possible price? I would let the other person come in and have her go through her entire presentation.

I would ask all the questions I could possibly think of and when I finally couldn't think of another thing to ask, I would say, "I really appreciate all the time you've taken. You've obviously put a lot of work into this presentation, but unfortunately it's just not the way we want to go; however I sure wish you the best of luck." I would pause to examine the crestfallen expression on the salesperson's face. I would watch her slowly package her presentation materials.

Then at the very last moment, just as her hand hit the doorknob on the way out, I would come back with this magic expression. There are some magic expressions in negotiating. If you use them at exactly the right moment, the predictability of the other person's response is amazing. I would say, "You know, I really do appreciate the time you took with me. Just to be fair to you, what is the very lowest price that you would take?"

Would you agree with me that it's a good bet that the first price the salesperson quoted is not the real bottom line? Sure, it's a good bet. The first price a salesperson quotes is what I call the "wish number."

This is what she is wishing the other person would do. If the other person said okay to that, she would probably burn rubber all the way back to her sales office and run in screaming, "You can't believe what just happened to me. I was over at XYZ Company to make a bid on the computer equipment they need for their new headquarters. I went over the proposal and they said, 'What's your absolute bottom line price?' I was feeling good so I said, 'We never budge off list price less a quantity discount, so the bottom line is $225,000,' and held my breath. The president said, 'It sounds high, but if that's the best you can do, go ahead and ship it.' I can't believe it. Let's close the office and go celebrate." So, the first price quoted is what I call the wish price.

Somewhere out there, as the song says, there's a "walk-away" price. A price at which the salesperson will not or cannot sell. The other person doesn't know what the walk-away price is, so he or she has to do some probing, some seeking of information. He or she has to try some negotiating Gambits to see if they can figure out the salesperson's walk-away price.

When you play Reluctant Buyer, the salesperson is not going to come all the way from the wish price to the walk-away price. Here's what will typically happen. When you play Reluctant Buyer, the salesperson will typically give away half of his or her negotiating range. If that computer salesperson knows that bottom line is $175,000, $50,000 below the list price, he will typically respond to the Reluctant Buyer Gambit with, "Well, I tell you what. It's the end of our quarter, and we're in a sales contest. If you'll place the order today, I'll give it to you for the unbelievably low price of $200,000." He'll give away half his negotiating range, just because you played Reluctant Buyer.

Remember that when people do this kind of thing to you, that it's just a game that they are playing on you. Power Negotiators don't get upset about it. They just learn to play the negotiating game better than the other side.

Key points to remember:

Look out for the Reluctant Buyer.
Playing this Gambit is a great way to squeeze the other side's negotiating range before the negotiation even starts.
The other person will typically give away half his or her negotiating range just because you use this.

Roger Dawson is a professional speaker and the author of two of best selling books on negotiating: Secrets of Power Negotiating and Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople, both published by Career Press. He was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in 1991. You can contact him at rogdawson@aol.com.

2007-03-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

2007-03-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Do you own a small business?

Then be sure to read the new blog, "Small Business Goldmine" for tips on how to make big profits. Visit http://smallbusinessgoldmine.blogspot.com

2007-02-27T00:49:00.000-08:00

Create Instant Rapport on the Phone

One of the goals in any social or business situation is to create rapport.

When you are in rapport with someone, they are more open to your ideas and suggestions. Communication flows more smoothly. Persuasion is much more likely.

Many of you are familiar with the basic rapport techniques of matching someone elese's body language. But how do you create rapport on the phone, when you can't see the other person?

You match their voice and the sensory words they use. All of us have a preferred sensory mode --sight, sound or body sensations -- and we tend to use words that reflect our preference.

The communication technique known as Neurolinguistic Programing (NLP) refers to them as Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic.

Visuals might say, "I see what you mean." or "that's not clear to me."

Auditories might say, "That sounds good or "It rings true."

Kinesthetics will tell you how they feel about something, "That grabs me." or "That feels right."

So when talking on the phone, listen for these verbal cues and use words in the same sensory mode.

For example, You might say to a Visual, "I want you to get a picture of this." To an Auidtory, you might say, "Does that sound good? To a Kinesthetic, you might say, "I'd like you to wrap your thoughts around this idea."

As I mentioned above, you can also match someone's voice in terms of speed and volume, that is, how fast and loud they speak.

Why do these techniques work? They work becuase on a subconscious level, the person on the other end of the line thinks you are just like them. And all of us tend to be more open to people who are like us.

So next time you make an important phone call, use these powerful NLP techniques. The other person will more likely see things your way, listen to your ideas, and feel good about agreeing to them.

Learn more about Instant Rapport and other hypnotic influence techniques, read "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business," by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus.

2007-02-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

GUEST COLUMN -- SUCCESS GURU BRIAN TRACY

I started this blog because I want to share ideas from some of the best people in the fields of personal devleopment, business, success, health, relationships and more.

If you read many of the posts, you'll see that a lot of them are based on my interviews with these experts.

Fortunately, there is a gold mine of informaiton out there. Unfortuately, doing the interviews and then picking out the best nuggests and writing a column based on them is a lot of work.

In order to bring y0u more winning secrets more often, I'll let some of the experts share the mother lode with you directly.

So let's begin with some great inspiration from someone I admire.

The Courage to Take Action
By: Brian Tracy

Perhaps the greatest challenge that you will ever face in life is the conquest of fear and the development of the habit of courage.

Winston Churchill once wrote, “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” Fear is, and always has been, the greatest enemy of mankind.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” he was saying that the emotion of fear, rather than the reality of what we fear, is what causes us anxiety, stress, and unhappiness.

When you develop the habit of courage and unshakable self-confidence, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for you. Just think—what would you dare to dream, or be, or do, if you weren’t afraid of anything in the whole world?Fortunately, the habit of courage can be learned just as any other success skill is learned. To do so, we need to go to work systematically to diminish and eradicate our fears, while simultaneously building up the kind of courage that will enable us to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of life unafraid.

Syndicated columnist Ann Landers wrote these words: “If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.’”

This is the kind of attitude that leads to victory.The starting point in overcoming fear and developing courage is, first of all, to look at the factors that predispose us toward being afraid.

As we know, the root source of fear is childhood conditioning that caused us to experience two types of fear: the fear of failure, which causes us to think, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t”; and the fear of rejection, which causes us to think, “I have to, I have to, I have to.”

Based on these fears, we become preoccupied with the idea of losing our money, or our time, or our emotional investment in a relationship. We become hypersensitive to the opinions and possible criticisms of others, sometimes to the point where we are afraid to do anything that anyone else might disapprove of.

Our fears tend to paralyze us, holding us back from taking constructive action in the direction of our dreams and goals. We hesitate, we become indecisive and we procrastinate; we make excuses and find reasons not to move ahead. And finally, we feel frustrated, caught in the double bind of, “I have to, but I can’t,” or, “I can’t, but I have to.”

Fear is also caused by ignorance. When we have limited information, we tend to be tense and insecure about the outcome of our actions. Ignorance causes us to fear change, to fear the unknown and to avoid trying anything new or different. But the reverse is also true. The very act of gathering more and more information about a particular subject causes us to have more courage and confidence in that area.

There are parts of your life where you have no fear at all because you feel knowledgeable and completely capable of handling whatever happens.Another factor that causes fears is illness or fatigue. When we are tired or unwell, or when we are not physically fit, we are more predisposed to fear and doubt than when we are feeling healthy and happy and terrific about ourselves.

Once we’ve recognized the factors that can cause fear, the second step in overcoming fear is to sit down and take the time to objectively identify, define and analyze your own personal fears.

At the top of a clean sheet of paper, write the question, “What am I afraid of?”Now, before you begin, I need to make an important point: All intelligent people are afraid of something. It is normal and natural to be concerned about your physical, emotional and financial survival. The courageous person is not a person who is unafraid. As Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”It is not whether or not you are afraid. We are all afraid. The question is, how do you deal with the fear? The courageous person is simply one who goes forward in spite of the fear.

And here’s something else I’ve learned: when you confront your fears and move toward what you are afraid of, your fears diminish and your self-esteem and self-confidence increase.However, when you avoid the thing you fear, your fears grow until they begin to control every aspect of your life. And as your fears increase, your self-esteem, your self-confidence and your self-respect diminish accordingly.

Begin filling out your list of fears by writing down everything, major and minor, over which you experience any anxiety. The most common fears, of course, are the fear of failure and the fear of rejection.Some people, compelled by the fear of failure, invest an enormous amount of energy justifying or covering up their mistakes. And some people, compelled by the fear of rejection, are so obsessed with how they appear to others that they seem to have no ability to take independent action at all. Until they are absolutely certain that someone else will approve, they refrain from doing anything.

Once you have made a list of every fear that you think may be affecting your thinking and your behavior, organize the items in order of importance. Which fear do you feel has the greatest impact on your thinking, or holds you back more than any other? Which fear would be number two? What would be your third fear? And so on.

With regard to your predominant fear, write the answers to these three questions:1. How does this fear hold me back in life? 2. How does this fear help me, or how has it helped me in the past? 3. What would be my pay-off for eliminating this fear?

Some years ago, I went through this exercise and concluded that my biggest fear was the fear of poverty. I was afraid of not having enough money, being broke, perhaps even being destitute. I knew that this fear had originated during my childhood because my parents, who grew up during the Depression, had continually worried about money. My fear was reinforced when I was broke at various times during my 20s. I could objectively assess the origins of this fear, but it still had a strong hold on me. Even when I had sufficient money for all my needs, this fear was always there.

My answer to the question, “How does this fear hold me back?” was that it caused me to be anxious about taking risks with money. It caused me to play it safe with regard to employment. And it caused me to choose security over opportunity.My answer to the second question, “How does this fear help me?” was that, in order to escape the fear of poverty, I had a tendency to work much longer and harder. I was more ambitious and determined. I took much more time to inform myself on the various ways that money could be invested. The fear of poverty was, in effect, driving me toward financial independence.When I answered the third question, “What would be my pay-off for overcoming this fear?” I immediately saw that I would be willing to take more risks, I would be more aggressive in pursuing my financial goals, I could and would start my own business, and I would not be so tense and concerned about spending too much or having too little. I would no longer be so concerned about the price of everything.

By objectively analyzing my biggest fear in this way, I was able to begin the process of eliminating it.You can begin the process of developing courage and eliminating fear by engaging in actions consistent with the behaviors of courage and self-confidence. Anything that you practice over and over eventually becomes a new habit. So let’s focus on some of the areas where you can practice to develop the habit of courage.

The first and perhaps most important kind of courage is the courage to begin, to launch, to step out in faith. This is the courage to try something new or different, to move out of your comfort zone, with no guarantee of success. John Ronstadt, a professor at Babson College who taught entrepreneurship for 12 years, conducted a study of those who took his class and later became successful. He could only find one quality that they had in common: their willingness to actually start their own business in the marketplace. He calls this the “Corridor Principle.” He said that as these individuals moved forward, as though proceeding down a corridor, doors opened to them that they would not have seen if they had not been in forward motion. It turned out that the graduates of his entrepreneurship course who had done nothing with what they had learned were still waiting for things to be just right before they began. They were unwilling to launch themselves down the corridor of uncertainty until they could somehow be assured that they would be successful¾something which never happened.The future belongs to the risk takers, not the security seekers. Life is perverse in the sense that, the more you seek security, the less of it you have.

But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire. One way to get the courage to begin, from which everything else flows, is to plan and prepare thoroughly in advance. Set clear goals and objectives, then gather information. Read and research in your chosen field. Write out detailed plans of action, and then take the first step.The second kind of courage is the courage to endure, to persist, to stay at it once you have begun. Persistence is a form of courageous patience, and it is one of the rarest types of courage. Courageous patience is having the ability to stand firm after you have taken action and before you get any feedback or results from your actions. When you plan your work and work your plan through patient persistence, even in the face of disappointment and unexpected setbacks, you will build and develop the quality of courage within you.Whenever you feel fear or anxiety, and you need to bolster your courage to endure, switch your attention to your goals.

Create a mental picture of the person that you would like to be, performing the way you would like to perform. There is nothing wrong with thoughts of fear as long as you temper them with thoughts of courage and self-reliance. Whatever you dwell upon, grows . . . so be careful.

The last type of courage is the courage to conquer worry—a form of negative goal-setting. It is dwelling upon, talking about, and vividly imagining exactly what you don’t want to happen. If you worry long enough and hard enough about something, you are going to attract it into your life. The great tragedy is that even if the situation you are worrying about does not materialize, your health and your emotions will suffer just the same. And the fact is that most of things that people worry about never happen.The only real antitode to worry is purposeful action toward a predetermined goal or solution.

Since the conscious mind can only hold one thought at a time, when you get busy doing something to resolve your problem, you will not have the time or the mental capacity to worry. And before you know it, your worrysome situation will have been resolved.The mastery of fear and the development of courage are essential prerequisites for a happy, successful life. With a commitment to acquire the habit of courage, you will eventually reach the point where your fears no longer play a major role in your decision-making. You will set big, challenging, exciting goals, and you will have the confidence of knowing that you can attain them. You will be able to face every situation with calmness and self-assurance.

And the key is courage.

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.

2007-02-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

BE SURE TO FORGET ABOUT IT

Or as they say in gangster films, "fuhget about it."

Why am I writing about this topic today? Here's why.

How many times has someone said to you, "Don't forget to ... (fill in the blank)."

And how many times did you forget to do it?

Don't worry, it's not completely your fault.

How many times did you tell someone to "not forget" to do something and they did? Well, it really was all their fault. It can't be yours, right? Just kidding.

The reason that many of us often forget to do something is that we have, in reality, been told to forget it.

It has to do with the subconscious mind. It records everhting you see, hear and experience. It tends to be very literal in it's interpretation of things it is told. It does not understand the opposite of an idea. When it it told to "not" do something, it doesn't compute. Instead, it deletes the word not. So when you say to someone, or to yourself, "don't forget to X", it hears the instruction as "forget to X." So it does. Then you get mad at yourself or at the other person because you or they forgot to do something important.

They way out of this trap is to change your language. Instead of saying, "don't forget to ..." replace it with such phrases as "remember to ..." or "be sure to ..." and so on.

That way, you and others will be more likely to remember.

If you don't take my advice, two big guys will show up at your house at midnight to persuade you to remember.

***************************************************************************
And speaking of persuasion, check out the book, "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus.

Here are just a couple of the rave reviews:

"Power Persuasion offers the detailed specifics of what to say, how to say it and the mental attitude that will make you a powerful person of influence in every situation. Awesome stuff!"
~Mike Litman –#1 Best-Selling Author –"Conversations with Millioniares"http://www.mikelitman.com
==
"Not only did Power Persuasion teach me to use hypnotic influence in common situations; it was fun and exciting to read. It's the first hypnosis-related book where the command should be "You are not getting sleepy." And you won't while you're reading it!"
~ Malcolm Kushner author of "Presentations for Dummies" and "Public Speaking for Dummies"

***************************************************************************

2007-02-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

Want to Sleep Better Tonight? Forget About Tomorrow

Have you ever tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep because you can't stop thinking about all the things you have to do the next day?
I know I have.
Then someone gave me a tip for shutting off my mind: Make a list of everything you have to do and then number the tasks in order of importance. If necessary, list the action steps you have to take for each item. Make a commitment to yourself that you will do each item in order, from the most important to the least important. Next, put the list where you'll be sure to see it first thing in the morning.
Doing this can help you to relax because you know that you won't forget to do anything important -- you have the list -- and you know what you will do from start to finish. Your day is planned.
Then, go to bed. Many people have found that this technique really does help them to slow down their racing minds. And because they slept better, they had the energy to get more things done.
Try it to see if it works for you.

2007-02-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

GET WHAT YOU WANT WITH A SINGLE WORD

When you were young, your parents probably taught you about the power of the words please and thank you.
Today, as an adult who wants something -- to make as sale, get a date, get somebody to accept your suggestion -- one of the most powerful words you can say is because.
The reason has to do with something called default logic.
It is a type of logic that is not necessarily logical. In fact, all you really have to do is say because. When you say because the mind tends to agree because you are giving a reason, even though the reason may have nothing to do with reality.
Studies were done in which an experimenter asked to cut in line at busy copy machines. He would simply ask something along the lines of , “May I go ahead of you? I want make some copies.” Very few people said yes.
When he asked “May I go ahead of you because I want to make some copies?” many people willingly let him go ahead of them.
It didn’t matter that he wanted to cut in line at the copy machine because he wanted to make some copies. So did they. But to their subconscious minds, whatever followed the word because seemed like a valid reason for letting him get in front of them.
So next time you’re trying to persuade somebody to do something, be sure to tell them it’s because of something.

Adapted from the book, "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business," by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus

2006-10-29T13:49:00.000-08:00

Persuade Anyone to do Anything, Anytime.

Read "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business," by David R. Barron and Danek S. Kaus.

Available at Robert D. Reed Publishers www.rdrpublishers.com

2006-10-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

Shake That Brain!
Need a new idea to make your small business grow? Want to find a better job or improve your relationship?

Maybe you just need a good shaking.

According to speaker, consultant and best-selling author Joel Saltzman, whose latest book is Shake That Brain!, there is a 12-step process for creating better solutions to life’s challenges.*

1. BE OPTIMISTIC
The more you believe you can solve your problem, the more you'll keep at it. Know that it may take some time, but eventually you'll discover one or more solutions — maybe even some extraordinary ones.
2. BE CLEAR
Never try to solve a problem before you know what it is: Write down your problem in the form of a clear, precise question and you're halfway to the answer. Then again: Always pose your question at least two very different ways. For example ...
3. ASK, "WHAT'S THE 'OPPOSITE' OF MY QUESTION?"
Remember Tom Sawyer and the fence that needed mending? Instead of asking, "How can I do this work?" he asked: "How can someone else do all this fun?"
4. QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS
Make a list of everything about your situation that you know to be true -- no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Now go back and question every assumption you've made. "Is that really so? Does it have to be that way? How could it be done some other way?"
5. PRACTICE PIE-IN-THE-SKY THINKING
Allow yourself to look for wild, outlandish ideas -- even if they seem impossible at first. As Einstein put it: "If at first an idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."Most of us would go, "That's a crazy idea -- forget about it." To which Einstein would counter: "Got a crazy idea? Let's take a look at it!"
6. THINK OF YOUR ABSOLUTE WORST IDEA
Why worry about trying to come up with a great idea when it's so much easier to come up with a rotten idea! Freed from trying to come up with the greatest idea ever, you might just discover that a terrible idea can be "tweaked" into greatness.
7. BE PERSISTENT -- NEVER TAKE "YES" FOR AN ANSWER
Instead of saying, "Yes, that's it!," learn to say, "Well, that could be it." Then go find some more ideas. As Walter Lippmann put it: "For every human problem there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." Remember: The best way to get a great idea is to get lots of ideas! Just keep at it.
8. REFUSE TO ACCEPT "EITHER OR" THINKING
"Either Or" thinking hems you in, limiting your options way too severely. Always look for a third, fourth, even fifth alternative. Then keep looking for more solutions. And think of a way to combine solutions. For example, instead of a gasoline powered car or an electric car, there's the hybrid car, where two solutions -- gas and electric -- work together.
9. ASK YOURSELF, "WHAT WOULD __________ DO?"
Fill in the blank with the name of a famous person: Groucho Marx, Donald Trump, Madonna. Or think of someone you personally know and admire. Try their way of thinking... and see where it gets you.
10. ASK SOMEONE ELSE
Want some fresh, new ideas? Ask other people what they would do! No one said you had to go it alone.
11. WALK AWAY FROM IT
Take a walk, do the treadmill, take a shower. "You go back to it," says novelist John Irving (The Cider House Rules), "and you suddenly see something that if you'd been rushing and pushing, you wouldn't have seen." Finally ...
12. HAVE FUN WITH IT
Let's get serious: Problem solving demands a sense of fun. That's what loosens us up and gets our creative juices flowing. Remember: Most of all, problem solving ... is a game!
*Used with permission.

2006-10-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Shake That Brain!

Need a new idea to make your small business grow?
Want to improve your relationship or to find a better job?

Maybe you just need a good shaking.
According to speaker, consultant and best-selling author Joel Saltzman, whose latest book is Shake That Brain!, there is a 12-step process for creating better solutions to life’s challenges.*

1. BE OPTIMISTIC
The more you believe you can solve your problem, the more you'll keep at it. Know that it may take some time, but eventually you'll discover one or more solutions — maybe even some extraordinary ones.
2. BE CLEAR
Never try to solve a problem before you know what it is: Write down your problem in the form of a clear, precise question and you're halfway to the answer. Then again: Always pose your question at least two very different ways. For example ...
3. ASK, "WHAT'S THE 'OPPOSITE' OF MY QUESTION?"
Remember Tom Sawyer and the fence that needed mending? Instead of asking, "How can I do this work?" he asked: "How can someone else do all this fun?"
4. QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS
Make a list of everything about your situation that you know to be true -- no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Now go back and question every assumption you've made. "Is that really so? Does it have to be that way? How could it be done some other way?"
5. PRACTICE PIE-IN-THE-SKY THINKING
Allow yourself to look for wild, outlandish ideas -- even if they seem impossible at first. As Einstein put it: "If at first an idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."Most of us would go, "That's a crazy idea -- forget about it." To which Einstein would counter: "Got a crazy idea? Let's take a look at it!"
6. THINK OF YOUR ABSOLUTE WORST IDEA
Why worry about trying to come up with a great idea when it's so much easier to come up with a rotten idea! Freed from trying to come up with the greatest idea ever, you might just discover that a terrible idea can be "tweaked" into greatness.
7. BE PERSISTENT -- NEVER TAKE "YES" FOR AN ANSWER
Instead of saying, "Yes, that's it!," learn to say, "Well, that could be it." Then go find some more ideas. As Walter Lippmann put it: "For every human problem there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." Remember: The best way to get a great idea is to get lots of ideas! Just keep at it.
8. REFUSE TO ACCEPT "EITHER OR" THINKING
"Either Or" thinking hems you in, limiting your options way too severely. Always look for a third, fourth, even fifth alternative. Then keep looking for more solutions. And think of a way to combine solutions. For example, instead of a gasoline powered car or an electric car, there's the hybrid car, where two solutions -- gas and electric -- work together.
9. ASK YOURSELF, "WHAT WOULD __________ DO?"
Fill in the blank with the name of a famous person: Groucho Marx, Donald Trump, Madonna. Or think of someone you personally know and admire. Try their way of thinking... and see where it gets you.
10. ASK SOMEONE ELSE
Want some fresh, new ideas? Ask other people what they would do! No one said you had to go it alone.
11. WALK AWAY FROM IT
Take a walk, do the treadmill, take a shower. "You go back to it," says novelist John Irving (The Cider House Rules), "and you suddenly see something that if you'd been rushing and pushing, you wouldn't have seen." Finally ...
12. HAVE FUN WITH IT
Let's get serious: Problem solving demands a sense of fun. That's what loosens us up and gets our creative juices flowing. Remember: Most of all, problem solving ... is a game!
*Used with permission.

2006-10-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Shake That Brain!
Need a new idea to make your small business grow? Want to improve your relationship or find a better job?
Maybe you just need a good shaking.

According to speaker, consultant and best-selling author Joel Saltzman, whose latest book is Shake That Brain!, there is a 12-step process for creating better solutions to life’s challenges.*

1. BE OPTIMISTIC
The more you believe you can solve your problem, the more you'll keep at it. Know that it may take some time, but eventually you'll discover one or more solutions — maybe even some extraordinary ones.
2. BE CLEAR
Never try to solve a problem before you know what it is: Write down your problem in the form of a clear, precise question and you're halfway to the answer. Then again: Always pose your question at least two very different ways. For example ...
3. ASK, "WHAT'S THE 'OPPOSITE' OF MY QUESTION?"
Remember Tom Sawyer and the fence that needed mending? Instead of asking, "How can I do this work?" he asked: "How can someone else do all this fun?"
4. QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS
Make a list of everything about your situation that you know to be true -- no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Now go back and question every assumption you've made. "Is that really so? Does it have to be that way? How could it be done some other way?"
5. PRACTICE PIE-IN-THE-SKY THINKING
Allow yourself to look for wild, outlandish ideas -- even if they seem impossible at first. As Einstein put it: "If at first an idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."Most of us would go, "That's a crazy idea -- forget about it." To which Einstein would counter: "Got a crazy idea? Let's take a look at it!"
6. THINK OF YOUR ABSOLUTE WORST IDEA
Why worry about trying to come up with a great idea when it's so much easier to come up with a rotten idea! Freed from trying to come up with the greatest idea ever, you might just discover that a terrible idea can be "tweaked" into greatness.
7. BE PERSISTENT -- NEVER TAKE "YES" FOR AN ANSWER
Instead of saying, "Yes, that's it!," learn to say, "Well, that could be it." Then go find some more ideas. As Walter Lippmann put it: "For every human problem there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." Remember: The best way to get a great idea is to get lots of ideas! Just keep at it.
8. REFUSE TO ACCEPT "EITHER OR" THINKING
"Either Or" thinking hems you in, limiting your options way too severely. Always look for a third, fourth, even fifth alternative. Then keep looking for more solutions. And think of a way to combine solutions. For example, instead of a gasoline powered car or an electric car, there's the hybrid car, where two solutions -- gas and electric -- work together.
9. ASK YOURSELF, "WHAT WOULD __________ DO?"
Fill in the blank with the name of a famous person: Groucho Marx, Donald Trump, Madonna. Or think of someone you personally know and admire. Try their way of thinking... and see where it gets you.
10. ASK SOMEONE ELSE
Want some fresh, new ideas? Ask other people what they would do! No one said you had to go it alone.
11. WALK AWAY FROM IT
Take a walk, do the treadmill, take a shower. "You go back to it," says novelist John Irving (The Cider House Rules), "and you suddenly see something that if you'd been rushing and pushing, you wouldn't have seen." Finally ...
12. HAVE FUN WITH IT
Let's get serious: Problem solving demands a sense of fun. That's what loosens us up and gets our creative juices flowing. Remember: Most of all, problem solving ... is a game!
*Used with permission.

2006-09-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

How to Get a Good Night's Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep?
Does it take you a long time to fall asleep or do you wake up after a few hours, unable to go back to sleep?
If so, you may have a sleep disorder.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 70 million Americans of all ages suffer from some form of insomnia.
The lack of sleep takes its toll in many ways. In addition to being tired and less alert, inadequate sleep makes people more prone to accidents.
Every year, sleepy workers cost American businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity and errors.
Students who are sleep-deprived have difficulty learning.
Inadequate sleep can lead to stress, irritability, mood swings and health problems.
Fortunately, there are things you can do that will increase your chances of falling asleep and staying asleep for seven to eight hours.
Here are a few tips that may help you:
Reduce stress. Regular exercise, yoga, meditation, self-hypnosis, listening to CDs of nature sounds such as streams and ocean waves can all calm your mind.
If you decide to exercise, don’t do it for at least five to six hours before sleeping.
Turn down the lights an hour or so before bedtime. Bright light produces chemicals in the body that tend to keep you awake. Dim light increases production of chemicals that make you sleep.
Keep your bedroom dark and quiet. If there is too much light coming in the window, consider wearing a sleep mask. If there is too much noise, you may want to try earplugs designed for noise reduction.
Recondition yourself. Don’t read, watch TV, study or work in bed. You want your subconscious mind and body to associate the bed with sleep, so only use the bed for sleep and sex.
Slow down. Don’t exercise at least three hours before bedtime. Don’t do activities that are mentally stimulating such as studying, playing video games or doing work from the office at least an hour before bedtime. If you want entertainment, read a novel. It is less stimulating than watching TV.
Stop trying. If you don’t fall asleep in about 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something else (not too stimulating) for a while. If you stay in bed when you are unable to fall asleep, you can condition your body to not sleep when it is in the bed. Once you begin to feel sleepy, go back to bed and see what happens.
Stop eating. Stop all food intake, including snacks, at least three hours before bedtime. The process of digestion tends to keep the body awake.
Don’t sleep or drink coffee late in the day or at night. Caffeine and nicotine stay in your body and may keep you awake.
Avoid alcohol. Although many people think that a drink will relax them, alcohol can keep you from falling asleep. Even if you do sleep after drinking, alcohol can prevent you from entering the deepest, most restful and rejuvenating stage of sleep.
Create a sleep routine. Do the same thing to each night to help you wind down, such as reading a book, taking a bath or listening to soothing music or nature sounds.
Consult a physician. If these techniques don’t work for you, it may be time to seek professional help for your sleep problems. If you don’t want to take drugs, you may want to visit a sleep disorder clinic or a specialist in sleep disorders.
The bottom line is, good sleep is essential to a healthy, happy and productive life. Take action now to get the sleep you need, and --pleasant dreams!

2006-07-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Want to Get Really Motivated? See the BIG Picture
Okay, you’ve got a great idea for a small business or home-based business, but for some reason, you just can’t seem to take the first step.
Or maybe you’ve started, but you lose steam. Something always comes up and you stop putting time into your business.
This doesn’t have to happen to you.
One of the reasons that people have trouble getting and staying motivated is that they haven’t created a really compelling image of what they want to achieve.
Neuro Linguistic Programming, better known as NLP, is a series of techniques based on the relationship between the brain and language. It offers many techniques for programming yourself to do just about anything, including having unstoppable motivation.
Try this yourself.
Close your eyes and think about that small business or home business you want to start or build. What does the image look like? What do you hear and feel?
Chances are, the image is far away, perhaps small, with dull, indistinct colors. Maybe it’s even kind of dim. There probably aren’t any sounds or emotions associated with it.
Who could get motivated when your goal seems far away, and not really all that exciting?
What you need to do is make the image big and bright. BRING IT UP CLOSE AND BIG, as though you’re sitting in the front seat of a movie theater.
Now add some sound. How about a song that really inspires you? Or the praise of the important people in your life. Or both?
Next imagine how it will feel when you reach your goal and hear that praise. Pretend you already have the rewards of success.
Feels good, doesn’t it?
If it doesn’t, adjust the picture and the sound. Create an even more exciting image. Make it brighter, perhaps. Or make it a moving image. It could be a movie starring YOU.
Play the song louder or pick another one.
Imagine an entire stadium full of people cheering for you.
Imagine even bigger rewards.
Check out your feelings again.
Feel better? Ready to run with your idea?
Practice this technique for a while until you get it just right.
Then we you feel like loafing instead of building your dream, SEE, HEAR AND FEEL your big picture.
Then get to work.
And reap the rewards.
********************************************
BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH FREE PUBLICITY
Learn more by writing to Dan at dkaus@sbcglobal.net
*********************************************

2006-02-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

How To Start A Conversation

Many of us find starting a conversation with a stranger difficult.
According to Don Gabor, author of “How To Start A Conversation and Make Friends,” it is as if there is an “invisible barrier” that keeps us from walking up to someone and striking up a conversation.
Some people can break through this barrier and start the next step, but too many of us tend not to connect and stand on the sidelines, isolated and alone, watching others make a new business contact or get a date with an attractive stranger.
The good news is, you can master the art of starting a conversation and it’s easier than you think.
Gabor says that one of the best ways to overcome conversational hesitancy is to think of some possible things to talk about before you go to that party or business networking meeting.
The topics you choose for possible conversation should be determined by the nature of the situation.
If you’re planning to attend a party where you already know some of the people, Gabor suggests considering about a half a dozen topics, including family, work, social life and hobbies. If you don’t know anyone, it’s better not to start with family and current events, Gabor advises. Start with talking about hobbies and interests. It’s also wise to refrain from talking about personal problems with strangers.
Regardless of the nature of the gathering, there are some topics to almost always avoid. Among these are sex, politics and religion.
One of the best ways to launch a conversation is to ask questions such as:
How do you know our host?
Do you work in the neighborhood?
Anything new or exciting happening?
How was you day?
Gabor says this is one of the best conversation starters.
In addition to asking questions, be willing to share information about yourself. “There should be a 50-50 balance of sharing information,” Gabor says.
Once you’ve got the conversation started a great way to keep it going, or more importantly, take it to a deeper level, is to listen for what Gabor calls “free information.”
“They will reveal this information by the way the answer the questions or the things they mention along the way,” Gabor says. “This free information, tells you what they want to talk about.”
It is also important to realize that a conversation is more than gathering a collection of facts about someone.
“It’s the feelings behind the facts that are important,” Gabor says. “What people are really looking for is connections and more meaningful relationships on a personal or professional level.”
And if you’re concerned that you lack the verbal skills or charisma to be an interesting conversationalist, take heart.
A survey on conversation (“Conversations That Matter”) conducted by Grand Marnier, determined that the most highly valued trait is being a good listener. Being charming was a distant fifth.
So don’t worry about impressing someone. In fact, trying too hard to impress by bragging about yourself is a turn-off.
But the biggest conversational mistake is not starting.
“People are afraid of saying the wrong thing and of offending,” Gabor says. “When they are unsure, they tend not to take the risk of talking with someone.”
He adds that there is a framework for starting conversations and most of us already know it. “If you show interest in other people and a desire to listen and connect with them about things that matter to them, your business and personal relationships will improve.”
Don Gabor is the author of several books, including “Words That Win: What To Say To Get What You Want.”
Want to learn more? Get the free tip sheet “50 Ways To Improve Your Conversation.”
Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Don Gabor, P.O. Box 715, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

2005-09-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

How to Save Gas Part 1
The recent tragedy in the Gulf Coast has caused gas prices to jump dramatically.

As gasoline gets more and more expensive, and less available, the need to conserve it increases, both to save money on a personal level and to help avoid a repeat of the energy crisis of the 1970s. Those of us who endured long gas lines and only being allowed to buy gas on certain days of the week know how much of a hassle it can be and how many problems it can create.

Though there can be no comparison to the misery of the hurricane victims, we owe it to ourselves as a nation to use less gas. Gas shortages and long lines also reduce the overall productivity of our nation. Hours spent waiting in line instead of working or running a business can drag down the economy.

In the first part of this two-part series, I want to focus on ways to reduce your gas consumption on your daily commute.

To begin, examine your driving style. Though most of us hate speed limits, driving at the limit uses less gas. Speeding uses more. It is a simple formula. Whenever possible, and safe, accelerate slowly. Anticipate stops and reduce speed gradually, rather than stomping on the brake. But once again, do so only when safe.

Maintain your vehicle. Do all of the scheduled maintenance on time. Your car will not only operate more efficiently, thereby using less gas, it will also last longer and perform better.

Use the air-conditioning only when you need it. AC uses a lot of gas.
Look at your commute schedule. If you leave earlier in the morning and come home later you waste less gas sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Find out if your company offers flex time or telecommuting. Cutting back on commuting even one day a week can save a lot money and reduce stress.
Use public transportation. Many communities offer excellent public transportation (and many don’t). Check out the possibilities. If you don’t want to ride the bus or train every day, consider doing it once or twice a week. In addition to saving gas, it can save wear and tear on your car and on your nerves.

Form a carpool or find out if your company facilitates carpooling. Some businesses provide vans for that purpose. Check with you supervisor or HR person.

If you form your own carpool, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Carpooling can create some legal issues. Check with your insurance agent about your liabilities as a carpool driver and your rights as a passenger in the event of an accident.

Look for compatible people. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with these new “friends” in a very small space, so try to fine people you can get along with.

Establish rules. You can reduce misunderstandings and the possibility of conflicts by having firm rules that all must adhere to. Some of the things to consider are:

Arrival and departure. When do you leave for the office and when do you come back home.

Waiting. How long will you wait for someone who is late?

Radio and stereo. Will you play the radio or CD player? Who gets to decide what music you will listen to?

Eating and drinking. Will you allow food and drink to be consumed in the car?
Determine which car you will use and when. Will you use one person’s car each week, or a different car each day? Set up your schedule ahead of time and put it in writing so there can be no misunderstandings and no excuses. And everybody gets to work on time.

A CLOSING THOUGHT:

The possibility of gas shortages, short-term or long-term, may cause millions of us to make adjustments in our lives. It's too early to tell.

If there should be shortages, the added expense and changes to our lifestyles are miniscule compared to the suffering of the hurricane victims. Even once their initial suffering has been relieved, for most of them, their lives will never be the same.

For hundreds of thousands of Americans, homes, businesses, jobs, communities and loved ones are gone forever.

Who knows what the ultimate solutions for these people will be. I certainly don’t. But at least for now, we can each give little, even if it’s only a couple of dollars, to the many worthy relief agencies that are doing so much to help the victims.

Please consider doing whatever you can.

Thank you,

Danek S. Kaus

2005-08-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

GREAT WORDS TO INSPIRE GREAT DEEDS

To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Persuade Anyone to Do Anything, Anytime

Read "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business." www.power-persuasion.com/book

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2005-08-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

Motivational Quote of the Day

Great Thoughts to Inspire Great Deeds

To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

*************************************************************************
Persuade Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere
Read "Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love and Business. www.power-persuasion.com/book

**************************************************************************

2005-08-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

One-Minute Workouts You Can Do at Work
By Danek S. Kaus
Sitting at a desk all day can add on the pounds and reduce your energy level.
Now you can lose weight and get into shape at the office in only one minute at a time, thanks to the book Gotta Minute? The Ultimate Guide of One Minute Workouts for Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime!, by Bonnie Nygard, M.Ed. and Bonnie Hopper, M.Ed.
Here are just a few tips to begin sculpting your new Olympian body at work:
Create ways to do more walking. Make time to walk in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon. Although five minutes would be better, one minute is still good. If you think you can’t spare a minute, or that it might look odd, find some excuses to walk. For example, instead of going to the closest bathroom, use one farther away, perhaps on a different floor. Then you can walk up and down the steps as well.
Instead of discussing something with a co-worker on the phone, walk to their office. If they are of like mind, you can even suggest that you have a walking meeting. The same can be true of your breaks, instead of sitting in a lunch room, take a walking break with a friend.
You can even walk back and forth while talking on the phone. If the cord is too short, buy a longer one. One word of caution: running or jogging in place can damage your joints, so please limit your one-minutes workouts to walking.
There are also a number of great exercises you can do while sitting to tone and stretch your body.
To stretch your pectoral (chest) muscles, simply reach your arms around the back of the chair and expand your chest.
While seated, alternately extend each leg in front of you, which works the quadriceps.
You can work your inner thighs and hips by doing a seated jumping jack motion, that is, lifting your feet in the air, spreading them apart and then back together.
When you have the chance, stand up and do push-ups against your desk or a wall. Be sure to hold your arms shoulder width apart and wear non-slip shoes.
So remember, whatever your fitness goal is -- to lose weight, slim down, get in shape, have more energy or simply feel better, you can do it one minute at a time.
Remember also, to consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
There are lots of other quick and easy ways to keep in shape at home, in the car or at the office in Gotta Minute? The Ultimate Guide of One-Minute Workouts, published by Robert D. Reed Publishers. So walk to your local bookstore and pick one up.
********************************

2005-08-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

The Lies That Hold You Back
By Danek S Kaus
What lies do you tell yourself that keep you from living your dreams?
According to Steve Chandler, author of the best-seller “17 Lies That Are Holding You Back & the Truth That Will Set You Free,” we tell ourselves lies because we are afraid.
We are afraid of the unknown. We are afraid of our own power. We are afraid of being great.
And what are some of these lies? One of the biggest ones is that we don’t have enough time to take steps toward our dreams.
“You have all the time that Bill Gates has,” Chandler says. “You can do anything you want with the 24 hours you have each day. You need to tell stop telling yourself that you don’t have enough time. It’s a horrible suggestion to give your subconscious mind.”
Another lie is “it’s who you know.” Before becoming a success coach and business consultant, Chandler was part of a songwriting team. They spent countless hours trying to make the right contacts. “It was just an excuse to avoid the hard work of writing,” Chandler says.
Ultimately, he and his writing partner had their greatest success having songs recorded by performers who didn’t know them.
For many Baby Boomers, one of their favorite lies already is or may soon be “I’m too old for that.” Many who dream of starting their own small business never begin because they think that it’s too late. It’s never to late to start a new business venture.
One friend of Chandler’s began a lucrative career as a comedian at the age of fifty-two. At seventy-three, retired teacher Norman Maclean wrote the beautiful novel made into a movie, A River Runs Through It.
“The key to changing your life is to see the lies,” Chandler says. “Knowledge is power.”
Take the four-minute mile. People once thought that the human body was not designed to run a mile in under four minutes. When Roger Bannister broke the four-minute barrier, running a mile under that time became commonplace
“Humans are learning to stop lying about their limits,” Chandler says. He believes it’s time to replace the lies with dreams. “It’s the same imagination that creates both, so why not take the dreams?”
“17 Lies That Are Holding You Back & The Truth That Will Set You Free” is published by Renaissance Books. Chandler’s other books include “Reinventing Yourself,” 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself” and “The Joy of Selling.”

2005-08-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

YOU’VE GOT 10 SECONDS TO Get Free Publicity -- GO!
By Danek S. Kaus
That’s how much time you have to catch the interest of an editor or reporter.
10 seconds. Sometimes less.
The key tool for promoting your small business or home based business to the media is a press release, also known as news release by TV and radio reporters.
Most news releases get thrown in the trash.
Here’s how to make sure yours gets read, and more importantly, gets your small business the free publicity you deserve.

Use Press Release Format -- because reporters and other decision makers are bombarded by releases and other written requests for a story (some on scraps of paper, others in illegible handwriting) your release must follow some general guidelines to make it easy to learn what the story is about.
If you are sending hard copy (not an email) your name or company name with all contact info should be at the top of the page. Usually, your letterhead will do the trick. If you are sending an email release, letterhead is not necessary, but it can be helpful.
Include Release Info -- this goes on four separate lines (double-spaced) below the letterhead. First line is the date you send the release. The second line is simply the words NEWS RELEASE (in caps) The third line should be when you want the press to publish any information from the release. If you want to get publicity as soon as possible, write FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (in caps). Sometimes you may want the info published at a later date, perhaps to coincide with a new product release or event. In this case write FOR RELEASE August 25, 2005, etc.
The fourth line should say CONTACT: John Smith 408-555-1212. This is the person you want all calls directed to. You may want to include the email address after the phone number.

Write A Great Headline -- it goes one to two inches below the contact info. THE HEADLINE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE NEWS RELEASE!!!
A good headline will make the reporter want to learn more and continue reading. IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN CAPS.

Write the text (also known as “copy”) -- this first paragraph is crucial to the success of your release. It should be just a few sentences that explain or backup the headline. This paragraph is the main idea you are trying to communicate.
The second and succeeding paragraphs should elaborate on the headline and first paragraph, in descending order of importance.
Use quotes -- the second or third paragraph is a good place to put a strong, RELEVANT quote from you or an official of your company. You may use quotes later in the release, as well. Quotes liven up copy so be sure to use them if you can. Many releases wrap up with a good quote.
Include Your Contact Info again. End the release with something like “for more info call or e-mail …” etc. If your release is well-written and useful to the publication, they may publish it as an article, so you want to be sure that readers know how to find you.
Write in Newspaper Style -- even if you are sending the release to a radio or TV station. Study “hard news” stories such as politics, crime, business, etc to see how this is done. “Soft News” stories, also known as features, follow different rules. Features are generally human interest stories, entertainment or profiles of famous and not-so-famous people who have an interesting story to tell. Your story may make a good feature, but pitch it with a hard news style press release.
Keep it short -- 400 to 600 words is the norm. If reporters want to know more, they’ll ask you. You may want to add supporting material such as a short bio or company history, a fact sheet or FAQ as separate documents. The purpose of the press release is to sell the story so that reporters will want to do an interview with you.
Don’t Use Jargon -- reporters hate this, especially if they don’t know what the jargon means.
Use Everyday Language -- don’t try to impress anyone with your vocabulary. Your purpose is communicate, not confuse.
Use Short Sentences -- long-winded sentences that start in San Jose and finally end up somewhere near Reno are boring and confusing. Don’t make the reporter hunt through tons of words to try to discover what you mean.
Keep Paragraphs Short -- forget what your English teacher taught you. This is the real world.
Double Space -- it makes your copy easy on the eyes of reporters who must read thousands of words a day. Single spaced email releases are OK.
Be Accurate -- check for typos. If you use statistics or other facts, make sure they are correct.
I hope this information is helpful in your quest for free publicity. If you ever have any questions, feel free write.

Dan Kaus dkaus@sbcglobal.net

2005-07-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

A NEW BLOG ABOUT WINNING

Winning what?

Whatever you want.

I've written hundreds of articles on business, personal development, motivation, success and more that have appeared in about 75 magazines and newspapers.

So who am I to write about success? What makes me so smart?

Fortunately, I don't have to be. Most of the success and personal develoment articles I have written were based on what experts have told me. Many of the people I have interviewed are best-selling how-to authors. Others are less well known, but just as rich and savvy.

And I'm going to share their secrets with you.

The first secret is the power of Modeling.

Modeling is based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), which is the study and use of the relationship between the brain and language.

NLP began it's life as a form of thearpy. It has morphed into an ever-expanding set of tools that people can use to actually reprogram their brains in minutes to create whatever kind of changes they want.

NLP creators Bandler and Grinder wanted to know what made some therapists so good at helping people while others just flat out stunk, and often made people worse than when they started therapy. These men were not therapists. If I remember correctly, one was a linguist and the other a mathmetician. (Forgive me B & G, if I got that wrong)

So they studied the best therapists they could find. Among them were Milton Erickson and Virginia Satir. Erickson was one of the best hypnotists of the 20th Century, if not the best. Satir was a counselor with an amazing success rate.

What was perhaps most amazing is that when asked, the therapists could not say why they were so good at helping people. They just did what they did and it worked. Often, they were unsure of just what it was they really did do.

Bandler and Grinder got permission to study Erickson and Satir, and a few others, in action. They observed everything they did. How they sat in a chair, how they spoke, the words they used. Then they asked them about their thought processes, the pictures in their minds, the thoughts they thought, their feelings.

After they learned what they could, Bandler and Grinder started doing the same things that these therapists did and they got the same results -- without any training in therapy.

They had effectively created a model for therapeutic success. And in so doing, they devloped a powerful technique for creating success in any field.

B & G had developed a technqiue called M0deling.

Is there something you would like to do better? Make more sales, be more successful with the opposite sex? Then find somebody who is very good at what you want to do and model them.

For example, ask that top sales pro how they do what they do -- on an internal level. What images do they have? What is the first thing that comes to mind when they walk in the prospect's office. What's the next thing they think of, and the next? Find out what their internal images, dialogue and feelings are and the sequence in which they have them.

Do they first have an image? What is it? Then do they say something to themselves? What do they say? Is that followed by a feeling? What do they say and where do they feel it?

What do they think when they get an objection? What gives them the strength to do what they do, even during slumps that every sales pro goes through? What makes them knock on that next door, make that next cold call on the telephone?
Ask to observe them in action. Most sales organizations usually have a newbie go along to observe the "heavy hitter" in action. Watch how this heavy hitter acts. How does she or he stand, sit, shake hands, smile, speak? When you adopt another person's physiology, you become like them on internal level. More about this in another blog.

And when you model their thought proccesses, you start to use your brain the way they use theirs, in a sales context. You start making more sales.

So decide what it is you would like to be better at and then find somebody to model.

You'll be glad you did.

Do you have questions about sucess or creating a better life? Chances are, I've already interviewed an expert on that subject. If not, I'll find the expert.

That's all for now, and thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing from you.

Dan Kaus