Les Brown's Thoughts

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.

• You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

• Other people’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.

• Change is difficult but often essential to survival.

• One of the most essential things you need to do for yourself is to choose a goal that is important to you. Perfection does not exist—you can always do better and you can always grow.

• When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation—it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.

• Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.

Revitalizing Senior Citizens

By Zig Ziglar

In an exciting article in U.S. News & World Report, Joannie M. Schrof shares some encouraging information with the Senior Citizens of America. She cites numerous studies on aging which I find very promising. She quotes from Harvard psychologist Douglas Powell’s book, Profiles in Cognitive Aging. He says that a quarter to a third of subjects in their eighties performed as well as younger counterparts. Even the lowest scorers suffered only modest declines.

Research indicates that exercise is the factor that seems most likely to benefit the brainpower of the healthy, sick, young and old alike. Moderate exercise, such as thirty minutes of walking a day, is very beneficial. Perhaps the best news is that even if you lose part of your mental capacity you might be able to get it back again. An old brain retains an astonishing ability to rejuvenate itself. Stanley Rapoport, Chief of the neuro science lab at the National Institute on Aging, compares the brains of younger and older people engaged in the same efforts with amazing results. He finds that older brains literally rewire themselves to compensate for losses. If one neuron isn’t up to the job, neighboring brain cells help pick up the slack.

One intriguing study by Harvard’s Ellen Langer and Rebecca Levy suggests that cultural norms may be self-fulfilling prophecies. In China, where age carries no connotation of stupor, the elderly perform much higher on tests than their American counterparts. In short, your attitude and expectations are determining factors in your capacity as you grow older. Another exciting plus is that older people consistently outshine younger people on all measures of wisdom, offering more thoughtful, sophisticated advice.

But the best news of all is that there are things you can do to enliven your brain, such as: 1) Be flexible. 2) Find peace. 3) Eat right. 4) Get lots of stimulation. 5) Stay in school. 6) Seek new horizons. 7) Engage the world. 8) Take a daily walk. 9) Finally, keep control. So take the active, positive approach and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

From Making Cabinets to Making Millions: How Harrison Ford Grew into a Star

By John Maxwell

As a college junior, Harrison Ford decided to take a drama course in the hopes of meeting girls. Sure enough, a love affair ensued, only not of the variety Ford had envisioned. Rather than falling for a beautiful woman, he fell in love with acting.

Like so many aspiring actors before and after him, Ford traveled to Los Angeles in the hopes of launching a career in Hollywood. However, he found the industry difficult to enter. While he was hired for acting jobs, he appeared only in small, often unaccredited roles and seldom received a speaking part.

After five or six years, Harrison Ford was tired of performing in obscurity and in need of more steady income to support his family. Having ability as a craftsman, he took up carpentry. He worked as a stagehand for rock group, The Doors, and did odd jobs for many of the people he had met while acting in Los Angeles. One day, a man named George hired him to build cabinets. While making the cabinets Ford became acquainted with his customer who turned out to be movie director, George Lucas. Upon learning that Ford was an actor, Lucas gave him the opportunity to audition for a role in his upcoming film American Graffiti. Ford won the part, a prominent supporting role and his biggest performance to date.

After acting in American Graffiti, Ford parlayed his carpentry skill into more on-screen opportunities. Francis Ford Coppola (director of The Godfather) cast Harrison Ford in a minor role in his 1974 film, The Conversation, after Ford had helped him with an office expansion project. However, it was Ford's relationship with George Lucas that opened the door to stardom. In 1975, Lucas hired him to read lines for a space adventure screenplay. Impressed by Ford's talent Lucas cast him as major character Han Solo in Star Wars (1977). The movie, one of the highest grossing films of all-time, was a smashing success and Harrison Ford's performance was a big reason why.

Collaboration between Ford and Lucas continued in future years with the production of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983). The duo also worked together on three installments of the widely popular Indiana Jones movies in the 1980s. Amazingly, what had begun as an arrangement to build cabinets turned into one of the most lucrative partnerships in American film history!

Personal Growth Lessons from the Life Story of Harrison Ford

1) Be Open to Acquiring New Skills

When Harrison Ford wasn't going anywhere as an actor, he found another avenue to exercise his talents-carpentry. Although he didn't have formal training as a carpenter, Ford diligently worked to gain competence at his new craft. His success in acquiring a new skill not only helped him provide for his family, it positioned him to meet George Lucas.

2) Keep Growing Because You Never Know When Your Opportunity Will Appear

One would assume that Harrison Ford battled feelings of failure when he put his acting career on hold to make cabinets. His dream wasn't to be woodworking in the shop; it was to be performing on stage. Yet despite his disappointment, Ford kept hope alive and stayed sharp as an actor. When George Lucas gave him the opportunity to audition for American Graffiti, Ford was ready, and he won the part.

3) Honing Your People Skills Can Reap Big Dividends

Something about Harrison Ford caught the eye for George Lucas. I'm not sure if it was Ford's charisma, his passion for acting, or his skill as a craftsman. Whatever the reason, the key lesson is that Harrison Ford forged a relational connection with George Lucas. He conducted himself in such a way that George Lucas wanted to see him succeed and decided to give him a shot. Whether you're on the doorstep of your dream or a million miles off course from where you'd hoped to be, improving your people skills is a wise move that will attract opportunities to you.

Evaluating Your Associations, Part 2

By Jim Rohn

Last week we took a look at the power of influence in our lives and how it is possible to be nudged off course a little at a time until, finally, we find ourselves asking, “How did I get here?”

We then asked three key questions:

“Who am I around?” You've got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.

“What are these associations doing to me?” That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing, listening to, reading, thinking and feeling? You've got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.

“Is that okay?” Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.

This week, let's discuss three ways to handle associations or relationships that are holding you back.

1) Disassociate. This is not an easy decision, nor something you should take lightly, but in some cases it may be essential. You may just have to make the hard choice not to let certain negative influences affect you anymore. It could be a choice that preserves the quality of your life.

2) Limited association. Spend major time with major influences and minor time with minor influences. It is easy to do just the opposite, but don't fall into that trap. Take a look at your priorities and your values. We have so little time at our disposal. Wouldn't it make sense to invest it wisely?

3) Expanding your associations. This is the one I suggest you focus on the most. Find other successful people who you can spend more time with. Invite them to lunch (pick up the tab) and ask them how they have achieved so much or what makes them successful. Now, this is not just about financial success; it can be someone who you want to learn from about having a better marriage, being a better parent, having better health or a stronger spiritual life.

It is called association on purpose—getting around the right people by expanding your circle of influence. And when you do that, you will naturally limit the relationships that are holding you back. Give it a try and see for yourself.

Using Stumbling Blocks as Stepping Stones

By: Brian Tracy

Everyone makes mistakes and the busier you are, the more mistakes you will make. The only question is "How well and how effectively do you deal with the inevitable ups and downs of life?"

Using Stumbling Blocks as Stepping Stones
There are two ways to look at the world: the benevolent way or the malevolent way. People with a malevolent or negative worldview take a victim stance, seeing life as a continuous succession of problems and a process of unfairness and oppression. They don't expect a lot and they don't get much. When things go wrong, they shrug their shoulders and passively accept that this is the way life is and there isn't anything they can do to make it better.

On the other hand, people with a benevolent or positive worldview see the world around them as filled with opportunities and possibilities. They believe that everything happens as part of a great process designed to make them successful and happy. They approach their lives, their work, and their relationships with optimism, cheerfulness, and a general attitude of positive expectations. They expect a lot and they are seldom disappointed.

Flex Your Mental Muscles
When you develop the skill of learning from your mistakes, you become the kind of person who welcomes obstacles and setbacks as opportunities to flex your mental muscles and move ahead. You look at problems as rungs on the ladder of success that you grab onto as you pull your way higher.

Two of the most common ways to deal with mistakes are invariably fatal to high achievement. The first common but misguided way to handle a mistake is the failure to accept it when it occurs. According to statistics, 70 percent of all decisions we make will be wrong. That's an average. This means that some people will fail more than 70 percent of the time, and some people will fail less. It is hard to believe that most of the decisions we make could turn out to be wrong in some way. In fact, if this is the case, how can our society continue to function at all?

Cut Your Losses
The fact is that our society, our families, our companies, and our relationships continue to survive and thrive because intelligent people tend to cut their losses and minimize their mistakes. It is only when people refuse to accept that they have made a bad choice or decision-and prolong the consequences by sticking to that bad choice or decision-that mistakes become extremely expensive and hurtful.

Learn From Your Mistakes
The second common approach that people take with regard to their mistakes, one that hurts innumerable lives and careers, is the failure to use your mistakes to better yourself and to improve the quality of your mind and your thinking.

Learning from your mistakes is an essential skill that enables you to develop the resilience to be a master of change rather than a victim of change. The person who recognizes that he has made a mistake and changes direction the fastest is the one who will win in an age of increasing information, technology and competition.

By remaining fast on your feet, you will be able to out-play and out-position your competition. You will become a creator of circumstances rather than a creature of circumstances.

Action Exercises
Now, here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, imagine that your biggest problem or challenge in life has been sent to you at this moment to help you, to teach you something valuable. What could it be?

Second, be willing to cut your losses and walk away if you have made a mistake or a bad choice. Accept that you are not perfect, you can't be right all the time, and then get on with your life.

Third, learn from every mistake you make. Write down every lesson it contains. Use your mistakes in the present as stepping stones to great success in the future.

Finding the Best People

By Brian Tracy

There are a variety of ways that you can find the people that you need. Most business owners have used them all at one time or another. None of them are perfect, but as we say, "Cast a wide net." The more ways that you have to find good people, the more probable that you will find the people you need at the right time.

Referrals
Fully 85% of key people are found through referrals and word-of-mouth. Someone knows someone who knows someone else and recommends that person to you. The way you tap into this invisible network of possible candidates is by mentioning regularly that you are looking for good people to join your company. Your word will soon get out and people will start to phone you to recommend someone who has just become available, or to express interest themselves.

Personnel Placement Services
These companies continually advertise for candidates. They interview them and check their past histories and experience. They hire some and then send them on to you while keeping them on their payroll. You should find one or two personnel placement agencies in your community and talk with them about your present and future needs.

These companies vary in quality, so you must be selective in finding a company that you are happy working with. They may charge a little more, but they can save you many hours of time-consuming interviews and frustrating experiences in employing the wrong person.

Newspaper Advertisement
These will attract the greatest number of candidates, but you must use the ads with care. You should be very clear in your ads about the results expected, the experience required, and the work responsibility involved. Even if you're careful and clear, nine out of ten people who respond to your ads will be totally inappropriate.

It is almost as if they are applying for every job advertised in the newspaper without even reading the requirements. If you advertise in the newspaper, create a five-to-seven part questionnaire that someone, even your receptionist, can ask anyone who phones. A few questions about the specifics of your ad will screen callers very quickly.

After a few questions, it will be clear to both you and the caller if there's a possibility worth pursuing. If the applicant gives appropriate answers to these questions, ask for a resume, either by mail, in person or by e-mail.

Action Exercise
Look for candidates with successful track records doing key jobs that you need to have done. How could you attract them to work for you?

Five Ingridients of Personal Growth

By John Maxwell

As any farmer knows, the growth of a crop only happens when the right ingredients are present. To harvest plentiful fields, the farmer has to begin by planting the right seed in rich topsoil where sunlight and water can help the seed to sprout, mature, and bear fruit. If any of the ingredients (seeds, topsoil, sunlight, or water) are missing, the crop won't grow.

Growing as a leader also requires the proper ingredients. Unless the right attitudes and actions are cultivated an aspiring leader will sputter and fail rather than growing in influence. Let's look at five basic qualities essential for growth in leadership.

1) Teachability

Arrogance crowds out room for improvement. That's why humility is the starting point for personal growth. As Erwin G. Hall said, "An open mind is the beginning of self-discovery and growth. We can't learn anything new until we can admit that we don't already know everything."

Adopting a beginner's mindset helps you to be teachable. Beginners are aware that they don't know it all, and they proceed accordingly. As a general rule, they're open and humble, noticeably lacking in the rigidity that often accompanies experience and achievement. It's easy enough to have a beginner's mind when you're actually a beginner, but maintaining teachability gets trickier in the long term especially when you've already achieved some degree of success.

2) Sacrifice

Growth as a leader involves temporary loss. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, or relationships that have lost their meaning. Whatever the case, everything we gain in life comes as a result of sacrificing something else. We must give up to go up.

3) Security

To keep learning throughout life, you have to be willing, no matter what your position is, to say, "I don't know." It can be hard for executives to admit lacking knowledge because they feel as if everyone is looking to them for direction, and they don't want to let people down their people. However, followers aren't searching for perfection in their leaders. They're looking for an honest, authentic, and courageous leader who, regardless of the obstacles facing the organization, won't rest until the problem is solved.

It took me seven years to hit my stride as a communicator. During those seven years I gave some boring speeches, and I felt discouraged at times. However, I was secure enough to keep taking the stage and honing my communication skills until I could connect with an audience. Had I been insecure, then the negative evaluations of others would have sealed my fate and I never would have excelled in my career.

4) Listening

Listen, learn, and ask questions from somebody successful who has gone on before you. Borrow from their experiences so that you can avoid their mistakes and emulate their triumphs. Solicit feedback and take to heart what you're told. The criticism of friends may seem bitter in the short-term but, when heeded, it can save you from falling victim to your blind spots.

5) Application

Knowledge has a limited shelf life. Unless used immediately or carefully preserved, it spoils and becomes worthless. Put the lessons you learn into practice so that your insights mature into understanding.

Evaluating Your Associations, Part 1

by Jim Rohn

If you were to evaluate the major influences in your life that have shaped the kind of person you are, this has to be high on the list: the people and thoughts you choose to allow into your life. My mentor, Mr. Shoaff, gave me a very important warning in those early days that I would like to share with you. He said, "Never underestimate the power of influence." Indeed, the influence of those around us is so powerful! Many times we don't even realize we're being strongly affected because influences generally develop over an extended period of time.

Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you're around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you'll spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you'll do the same thing. If you are around people who don't read, chances are excellent that you won't read. People can keep nudging us off course a little at a time until, finally, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?" Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned.

With regard to this important point, let me give you three key questions to ask yourself. They may help you to make better analysis of your current associations.

Here is the first question: "Who am I around?" Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. You've got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.

The second question is: "What are these associations doing to me?" That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You've got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.

Here's a final question: "Is that okay?" Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.

It's easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man says, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." I would take another look at that. Remember, everything matters! Sure, some things matter more than others, but everything amounts to something. You've got to keep checking to find out whether your associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.

Perhaps you've heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying.

The owl said to the bird, "You are crying."

"Yes," said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye.

"Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye."

And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him."

It's easy to let influence shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let tides take us. The big question is: Are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?

Next week, we'll take a look at the three forms of disassociating from negative influences.

The Dropout with a Doctorate

By John Maxwell

A class clown who devoted more time to sports than studies, Bill Cosby flunked the 10th grade and dropped out of high school to join the Navy. While rehabbing injured Korean War servicemen as a physical therapist, Cosby took note of the ethic of personal growth in his fellow navy men. In addition to fulfilling their duties as naval officers, many of his peers were also taking high school and college courses via correspondence.

As Cosby watched his friends struggle with schoolwork that he had no trouble comprehending, he came to two realizations. First, he had above-average intelligence. Second, he was committing a "mental sin" by wasting his intellectual talent. Resolved to make use of his smarts, Cosby enrolled in a distance-learning high school program and gained his diploma.

With a high school degree in hand, Bill Cosby hoped to attend college after his four-year stint with the navy ended. His application impressed Temple University, and he gained admittance. Thanks to his exceptional athleticism (Cosby could run a 10.2 second, 100-yard dash), he was awarded a track and field scholarship.

Although his tuition was paid for, Cosby took a job as a bartender to pay for his room and board. His wit and humor connected with customers who demanded to hear more of his jokes. As word spread about the comical bartender, Cosby began receiving opportunities to entertain audiences as a paid comedian.

As his popularity grew, Cosby faced a choice: should he stay in school or pursue a career in comedy? He agonized over the choice, but decided to dropout of school for the second time in his life. He quickly attained fame, lining up performances across America in major cities, appearing on The Tonight Show, and recording a comedy album.

Bill Cosby's reputation jumped another level after he was cast in the espionage adventure, I Spy. As the show's co-star, he captured three consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Yet for Cosby, fame was never the endgame. While he enjoyed making people laugh, he felt motivated by a deeper responsibility. In particular, he was burdened by the plight of children who were poorly educated. In trying to figure out how he could contribute to education in America, Cosby felt the need to increase his understanding of how kids learn. So, as a celebrity in his mid-30s, Bill Cosby went back to school.

Despite not having completed his undergraduate studies, the University of Massachusetts admitted Cosby based on the merit of his career accomplishments. Over the course of the 1970s, Bill Cosby earned his masters degree and doctorate in education. Armed with newfound knowledge Cosby leveraged his talent like never before. He starred in the educational programs Children's Theater (NBC) and Electric Company (PBS), hosted Picture Pages and Wake Up (CBS) and then, in the 1980s, produced and acted in one of the all-time great sitcoms, The Cosby Show.

As The Cosby Show made its run, Cosby expanded his repertoire by developing his skills as an author. His comical yet poignant writing led to successful books on fatherhood, marriage, and childhood. Now in the twilight of his career, Cosby remains active, lobbying for educational reform and raising funds for educational charities.


Summary

The life story of Bill Cosby attests to the power of personal growth. Having neglected education early in life, in his twenties, Cosby dedicated himself to developing his potential. Getting his high school degree put him back on track in life. Then, even after achieving stardom, Cosby felt compelled to sharpen his mind by going back to college. He didn't rest on his success but kept pushing himself to grow. Later in life, he continued learning-gaining competence as a producer and author.

How does contemplating Bill Cosby's life impact you? Have you made a commitment to personal growth? Do you have a system to aid you in continual learning?

Facing The Enemy Within

By Jim Rohn

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some fears are brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you've read in the papers. Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o'clock in the morning. But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won't need to live in fear of it.

Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within. The first enemy that you've got to destroy before it destroys you is indifference. What a tragic disease this is. "Ho-hum, let it slide. I'll just drift along." Here's one problem with drifting: you can't drift your way to the top of the mountain.

The second enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure, there's room for healthy skepticism. You can't believe everything. But you also can't let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worst of all, they doubt themselves. I'm telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy. Go after it. Get rid of it.

The fourth enemy within is worry. We've all got to worry some. Just don't let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you've got to worry. But you can't let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner. Here's what you've got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you, you've got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you've got to push back.

The fifth interior enemy is over-caution. It is the timid approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue; it's an illness. If you let it go, it'll conquer you. Timid people don't get promoted. They don't advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace. You've got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what's holding you back, what's keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.

From Sharecropper’s Daughter to College President

By Zig Ziglar

My mother used to say, “As the twig is bent, the tree shall grow.” I believe that Ruth Simmons, once president of the highly-prestigious Smith College in Massachusetts, is the classic example of the truth of that statement. She is currently serving as President of Brown University. She is also the epitome of the American Dream and living proof that it is still alive and well in America.

As a child, Ms. Simmons told one of her classmates that someday she would be the president of a college. This was a remarkable statement coming from the twelfth child of Texas sharecroppers. Little did she know that it would be the presidency of one of the most respected schools in the country. She is the first African American woman to head a top-ranked college or university. Since women presidents – and specifically African American female college presidents – are doubly rare, let’s explore what happened.

Most success stories begin with the parents and in this particular case the emphasis is on the mother. She stressed the importance of character and moral fiber and “to value certain things with regard to the treatment of human beings.” Ms. Simmons then says, “I worked hard at everything I did, but I didn’t work hard because I was interested in good grades…or because I was looking for praise or enrichment, but because that is what I was taught.” Ross Campbell, M.D., says that 80% of a child’s character is formed by age five, and apparently Ms. Simmons’ character bears this out.

The selection committee at Smith emphasized that Ms. Simmons wasn’t selected because she was an African American woman. Peter Rose, a member of the search committee, said, “We wanted to cast the widest possible net for the best possible person. It was the strength of this woman. Her very strong academic performance. The force of her personality.”

Let me suggest that if you raise your children with strong moral values like the Simmons family did, you, too, may be nurturing a future college president! SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

The Psychology of Time Management

By Brian Tracy

The Law of Correspondence says that your outer life tends to be a mirror image of your inner life. Everywhere you look, there you are. Everywhere you look, you see yourself reflected back. You do not see the world as it is, but as you are—inside. If you want to change what is going on in the world around you—your relationships, results, and rewards—you have to change what in going on in the world inside you. Fortunately, this is the only part of your life over which you have complete control.

The Starting Point of Success
The starting point of excelling in time management is desire. Almost everyone feels that their time management skills could be vastly better than they are. The key to motivation is "motive." For you to develop sufficient desire to develop Time Power, you must be intensely motivated by the benefits you feel you will enjoy.

Gaining Two Extra Hours Each Day
Your productivity can dramatically change if you add to extra hours to your day. Two extra hours per day, multiplies by five days per week, equals ten extra hours a week. Ten extra hours a week multiplied by fifty weeks a year would give you 500 extra productive hours each year. And 500 hours translates into more that twelve, forty-hour weeks, or the equivalent of three extra months of productive working time each year. By gaining two productive hours each day, you can transform your personal and working life.

Improving Your Productivity Performance
Your productivity, performance, and income will increase by at least 25 percent over the next year. Two more productive hours, out of the eight hours that you spend at work each day, is the equivalent of at least a 25 percent increase.

Increasing Your Sense of Control
When you leverage the power of time, you will have a greater sense of control over your work and your personal life. You will feel like the master of your own destiny, and a power in your own life. You will feel more positive and powerful in every part of your life.

Take Control of your Time and Your Life
One of the keys to developing a stronger internal focus of control is to manage your time and your life better. The more skilled you become at managing your time, the happier and more confident you will feel. You will have a stronger sense of personal power. You will feel in charge of your own destiny. You will have a greater sense of well-being. You will be more positive and personable.

Having More Time for Your Family
You will have more time for your family and your personal life as you get your time and your life under control. You will have more time for your friends, for relaxation, for personal and professional development, and for anything else you want to do. When you become a master of your own time, and recapture two hours per day, you can use that extra time to chase your dreams.

Action Exercise
Figure out how you can add two hours of productivity to your day. Make a schedule of your day and find where you can squeeze two hours of time out for maximum efficiency.

Zingers Quotes

by Croft M. Pentz

- The world's work is done every day by people who could have stayed in bed, but didn't.

- Believers in the early church were either expelled or repelled.

- The man who cannot be angry at evil lacks enthusiasm for good.

- Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one.

- Enthusiasm is contagious--and so is the lack of it.

Everything Decays

From Manager's Tools

One of the things we've noticed is that managers like having a solution which solves their problem forever. We suspect you've felt this way. In the rare instance you've found the solution you thought would solve the problem forever, you've probably also discovered it's not true. The problem has come back because the situation changes. The people change. The knowledge changes. The need changes.

The fact is, everything decays. For our technical readers, it's just entropy. At work, every problem, every meeting and every relationship is decaying, right now. Now matter how good a meeting is now, in six months, left to its own devices, it won't exist (the ultimate decay) or it will be a lot less effective. The process that you've been working so hard on, and finally got just right, in six months will either be OBE (Overcome By Events) or will need significant rework. You may not have understood, up till now, why good processes that worked before begin not to work. The answer is, the situation, systems or people changed and the process didn't. Entropy. Everything decays. It's not just YOUR stuff that decays, because you're not a good manager. EVERYBODY'S stuff decays. Always.

Mark used to teach interview candidates that all interviewees remember their highest point of energy in an interview, which is in the first two minutes. He taught, as well, that interviewers remember the energy at the end of the interview. Even our energy in an interview decays! The solution is not to try to spike the energy at the end of the interview. Rather, the solution was for the candidate to remind themselves every five to ten minutes to keep their energy up. If you were to graph the energy, it would look like a sawtooth.

The solution to the decay of all things is to manage them. Assess the status of processes and change them regularly. Assess the effectiveness of the meeting periodically and adjust accordingly. Reach out to your friends more regularly than you do.

Did we just create more work for you? In the long term, we think not. The amount of work required to fix a broken process or a destroyed relationship is much bigger than the little work required to maintain those things along the way. If you've ever tried to get a referral for a job from an old old friend who you haven't kept in touch with, you'll know the regret of not keeping in touch, as there will be no energy in your relationship for him to help you solve the problem.

Building a Successful Team

By Jim Rohn

Once you've set a goal for yourself as a leader—whether it is to create your own enterprise, energize your organization, build a church, or excel in sports—the challenge is to find good people to help you accomplish that goal. Gathering a successful team of people is not only helpful, it's necessary.

So to guide you in this daunting task of picking the right people, I'm going to share with you a four-part checklist.

Number One: Check each candidate's history. Seek out available information regarding the individual's qualifications to do the job. That's the most obvious step.

Number Two: Check the person's interest level. If they are interested, they are probably a good prospect. Sometimes people can fake their interest, but if you've been a leader for a while, you will be a capable judge of whether somebody is merely pretending. Arrange face-to-face conversation, and try to gauge his or her sincerity to the best of your ability. You won't hit the bull's-eye every time, but you can get pretty good at spotting what I call true interest.

Number Three: Check the prospect's responses. A response tells you a lot about someone's integrity, character and skills. Listen for responses like these: "You want me to get there that early?" "You want me to stay that late?" "The break is only ten minutes?" "I'll have to work two evenings a week and Saturdays?" You can't ignore these clues. A person's responses are good indications of his or her character and of how hard he or she will work. Our attitudes reflect our inner selves, so even if we can fool others for a while, eventually, our true selves will emerge.

Number Four: Check results. The name of the game is results. How else can we effectively judge an individual's performance? The final judge must be results.

There are two types of results to look for. The first is activity results. Specific results are a reflection of an individual's productivity. Sometimes we don't ask for this type of result right away, but it's pretty easy to check activity. If you work for a sales organization and you've asked your new salesman, John, to make ten calls in the first week, it's simple to check his results on Friday. You say, "John, how many calls did you make?" John says, "Well..." and starts telling a story, making an excuse. You respond, "John, I just need a number from one to ten." If his results that first week are not good, it is a definite sign. You might try another week, but if that lack of precise activity continues, you'll soon realize that John isn't capable of becoming a member of your team.

The second area you need to monitor is productivity. The ultimate test of a quality team is measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time. And here's one of the skills of leadership: Be up front with your team as to what you expect them to produce. Don't let the surprises come later.

When you're following this four-part checklist, your instincts obviously play a major role. And your instincts will improve every time you go through the process. Remember, building a good team will be one of your most challenging tasks as a leader. It will reap you multiple rewards for a long time to come.

Leaders Develop Daily, Not In a Day

By John C. Maxwell

A group of American tourists walked through a quaint English village in
wonderment. They were enamored by the town's winding cobblestone streets,
the beauty of its courtyards and plazas, and the sense of history emanating
from its ancient churches. While strolling through the local park, the
tourists struck up conversation with an elderly gentleman and found out that
he had lived in the town for his entire life. One of the Americas, eager to
hear more about the town's history, asked, "Sir, have any great men been
born in this village?" "Nope," said the old man, "only babies."

*Personal Growth Is a Process*
In our twenties, we think ahead to when we'll be ideally situated in our
career, positioned to do exactly what we enjoy, and enjoying immense
influence in our occupation. Like children on the way to Disneyland, we
impatiently await arrival at our destination instead of appreciating the
journey there. However, as we age we encounter an uncomfortable truth:
growth doesn't happen automatically. We cannot coast through life hoping one
day to stumble across our dreams. Unless we set aside time to grow into the
person we desire to be, we'll not reach our potential.

Leaders develop daily, not in a day. They commit themselves to the process
of growth, and over time they reap the rewards of daily investments in their
development. In this lesson, I'd like to share five principles to encourage
you to adopt a lifestyle of personal growth.

*#1 Growth is the great separator of those who succeed and those who do not.
*
When I went to college, there was no gap between my peers and me-none at
all. We started on the same level. However, at the age of 17, I made a
commitment to spend an hour a day on my personal growth. I studied and read,
filing the lessons I learned along the way. Now, in most cases, the gap
between my former classmates and me is pretty wide. Am I smarter than they
are? Absolutely not. Many of them got better grades than I did in college.
It's the growth factor-my commitment to the process of personal growth-that
has made the difference.

*#2 Growth takes time, and only time can teach us some things.*
When it comes to personal growth, you cannot substitute for time. Yet, the
mere passage of time doesn't make you wise. Experience is not the best
teacher; *evaluated* experience is the best teacher. To gain insights from
your experience, you have to engage in reflective thinking. I have a habit
of taking ten minutes every evening to look back on the day. As I reflect on
what happened, lessons emerge, and I capture them in my notebook so that I
can learn from them.

*#3 Growth inside fuels growth outside.*
The highest reward of our toil is not what we get for it, but who we become
by it. At the age of 17, I decided that I would read, file, and begin to
prepare lessons. From that simple discipline I accumulated a wealth of
content that fueled my speaking and writing. I never set out to be a
leadership specialist; I was simply diligent about reading, filing, and
studying. With respect to personal growth, take the long view on results.
The most important question to ask is not "What am I getting?" from the
discipline of personal growth, the most important question is, "Who am I
becoming?"

*#4 Take responsibility for your own growth.*
For 15 to 20 years, the school system holds us responsible for growth.
Educational curriculum clearly spells out, "here's what you do next," and
"here's the next step." Then we graduate with diplomas and certificates, and
we no one longer have anyone to map out the next step for us. If we want to
continuing growing, we have to do it ourselves. We have to put together a
game plan so that we become students of life who are always expanding our
minds and drawing upon our experiences.

*#5 Determine the areas of your life in which you need to grow.*
You've probably heard someone say, "You can do anything as long as you put
your mind to it." Sadly, as nice as that sounds, it simply isn't true. In
watching people grow, I have discovered that, on a scale of 1-10, people can
only improve about two notches. For instance, I love to sing; that's the
good news. The bad news is that I can't carry a tune. Now, let's be generous
and say that, as a singer, I'm a "two." If I put lots of money, effort, and
energy into developing my voice, perhaps I can grow into a "four." News
flash: on a ten-point scale, four is still below average. With regards to my
career, it would be foolish for me to focus my personal growth on my voice.
At best, I'd only become an average singer, and no one pays for average.

Don't work on your weaknesses. Devote yourself to fine-tuning your
strengths. I work exceptionally hard on personal growth in four areas of my
life. Why only four? Because I'm only good at four things. I lead,
communicate, create, and network. That's it. Outside of those areas, I'm not
very valuable. However, within those areas of strength I have incredible
potential to make a difference.

Do What You Do Best; Delegate the Rest

By Brian Tracy

There is a strong likelihood that the things you do best are those for which you would pay another person your hourly rate. Another way of stating this is, "delegate any tasks that can be performed by a person earning less than your hourly rate—or your desired hourly rate."

Delegate to a Person with Demonstrated Competence
Having determined what to delegate, the next step is to select the person to whom you will delegate the task. If you delegate an important task to a person who is incapable of performing adequately, you are setting that individual up for failure while inviting disappointment and frustration on your part. This is not to say the person has to be as capable as you. But he must have sufficient skills and experience to effectively perform the delegated task. Choose carefully. It is in the best interest of the person to whom you are delegating and of course, in your own best interest as well.

Define the Task Clearly
Be clear as to your intended outcome. What is the end result you want to achieve when the delegated task has been completed? Make every effort to describe this clearly to the person to whom you are delegating the task. Then ask her to repeat her understanding of the assigned task. If her description is not an accurate summary of what you want to accomplish, explain the differences in detail and ask her to again feed back to you her understanding of the assignment. If the two of you do not start out on the same page, there is little likelihood of success.

Set a Deadline
Set a clear deadline for completion of the delegated task. Do not be vague. An ambiguous target such as "sometime next week," or "as soon as you can get it done" will not serve either of you well. Without a clearly defined completion date, there will be no sense of urgency, and the job may very well drag on ad infinitum, frustrating you both.

Establish Benchmarks
It will be important for both of you to be able to gauge the progress being made as the delegated task is carried out. Specifically, how will you measure this progress? Reach agreement on the yardstick by which you will make such judgments.

Agree on Consequences
What will be the consequences of the person successfully completing the delegated task? Are these consequences known by the person charged with the responsibility of carrying them out? Are they important to him? Will they serve to motivate him? The consequences do not have to be enormous, but they should be meaningful to him. Otherwise they will have little effect. Their emotional import is what will have the greatest affect.

Put it in Writing
Before the delegated assignment is launched, there is one additional important step. Have the entire process described to this point documented in a written agreement. Then, have each of you sign it. Psychologically, this final step transforms your mutual understanding into a commitment.

Action Exercise
What one activity or task that does not represent the highest and best use of your time, but that is nevertheless important to the success of your business, will you delegate?

4 Ways Effective Leaders Respond in Difficult Times

By Dr Tim Irwin

Some years ago, my wife, Anne, and our two sons enjoyed a several day stopover in Hawaii after I had spoken at a meeting in Singapore. At the magnificent beach in front of our hotel, the boys and I had fun surfing on boogie boards, while Anne read under a thatched beach cabana. At one point, I was the only one in the water. As I walked toward the beach I looked up to see Anne and the boys transfixed on me with their mouths agape. They seemed unable to speak or even gesture. At that instant a towering rogue wave struck me and threw me to the ocean floor with such force that it knocked the breath out of me. It then felt like I was in the spin cycle of a giant washing machine for what seemed like five minutes. Everyone on the beach rushed to my side and then gawked at my bright red sand-blasted skin. The boys later told me the wave was at least ten feet over my head when it hit.

During this current recession (aka “The Great Recession”), the headlines tell of many companies, in some cases, industry leaders, which were hit with a financial tsunami. In some cases these companies were swept out to sea and lost, rather than merely sandblasted on a rough sandy beach. I have walked the corridors of some of these organizations which were struggling to survive. The eyes of many employees conveyed the anxiety and uncertainty that most felt. Would a rogue wave roll over their company…and their jobs? You and I have wondered the same. Some of us have been personally impacted through job loss or other consequences of the downturn.

Many leaders with whom I have spoken seemed as shell-shocked as their employees. They appeared to be transfixed by the towering waves washing over their organization. In an effort to be transparent, these leaders have often attempted to communicate to their organization’s employees the seriousness of these dire challenges. As these grimfaced workers return to their jobs, they are often disheartened and distracted but still are better off than the employees of Lehman Brothers who packed their personal effects in cardboard boxes, turned in their IDs and walked to the subway in a stupor.

How do great leaders respond to a crisis?

There are several possible messages leaders can send:

“All is lost…good luck.”

“Stay the course, persevere, carry on.”

“It’s tough now but we will get through this…keep up your courage.”

A crisis cries out for great leadership, and the last of the three possible messages above is what is needed. Our present economic challenges call for inspired direction, both corporately and individually. We need to be encouraged to achieve… not driven to avoid failure.
Today’s difficulties represent a unique opportunity for leaders to lead… to get out in front. In crisis, tossed to and fro, employees need four things that can only come through competent, capable leaders:

1. Hope – “Things are tough but we will get through this.”

2. Direction – “Here’s where we are going… this is our compass heading.”

3. A Plan for Moving Forward – We need to know what to do – how to behave – who does what.

4. Trusted Leaders – Leaders with the character, competence and concern needed to coordinate the effort and encourage the rest of us.

If we serve in any leadership role, whether the CEO, a department leader, or head of the mail room, we must provide these four elements. For those who may not be in a formal leadership role, we have the opportunity to lead ourselves. We can provide inspired direction and generate hope in others through our own individual actions. Hope is contagious, regardless of our role in the organization.

In today’s turbulent economic environment, we all may be feeling a little sand blasted, and this is a normal reaction; however, our response after the wave hits is what ultimately defines us. We might even say it brands us and determines how we will be remembered in the years ahead.

How great it would be if we could seize this moment to be stronger, to grow in our character and become more hopeful. How great it would be for our organizations, if our leaders would move us collectively to this shared optimism and expectation. How great it would be if you and I chose to rise above and lead the way.