Set Goals – Think Like A Leader (day38/365)

Last day today reading “The Magic Of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz.

New year. What a great time to be reminded of the energy and purpose that setting goals gives to us. Can I encourage you to sit down and think and write the things you would like to achieve this year, over the next 5 years, 10 years. Write down everything you want to do, be, have.

As your mind thinks about the goals you have it will help you do what is required to reach them. Take action hour by hour, day by day, step by step; accept the discipline and progress.

As a leader (the one encouraging others to reach their potential) there are some things to keep in mind.

# Put yourself in others shoes. How do they feel, think, react to your ideas?
# Be Human. Put other people first.
# Think, believe and push for progress. High standards of your own will attract the same from your family, work colleagues, friends.
# “Alone” time. Essential to take time out to think. Give yourself space.

Well I pray for an abundance of good things in your life this year. I encourage you to take the time to evaluate where you are and plan where you want to be. Set the goals, take the action. Even amidst fear. Feel the fear and do it anyway! Do a workshop, read a book, whatever you need to do, do it!

Blessings for 2010.

Action And Victory (day37/365)

Well, we are nearing the end of “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz and tonight we cover another two great topics.

Firstly ACTION.

# Be an activationist. Be a Do-er NOT a don’t-er.

# Don’t wait for perfect conditions. They never will come. We can procrastinate forever if we wait for perfection.

# Ideas alone won’t bring success. It doesn’t matter how many great ideas we have. If we don’t action them they will be wasted.

# Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Do what you fear and fear disappears.

# Start your mental engine mechanically. Don’t wait for the inspiration. Kick start your mind. Dig in and it will get switched on.

# Start NOW. Not next week, later, tomorrow. Don’t waste time being over prepared.

# Seize the initiative. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for opportunities and take them.

Now to turn your lemons into lemonade, your defeat into victory.
The difference between success and failure is found in one’s attitude towards setbacks, handicaps, discouragements.

# Study setbacks. Learn from your mistakes.

# Be a constructive critic. Correct your faults and weaknesses.

# Stop blaming luck. Examine reasons instead.

# Persistence and experimentation. Stay with your goal. Try different approaches.

# Remember, there is a good side to every situation.

Attitudes And Allies (day36/365)

Here goes another two chapters of “The Magic Of Thinking Big“, by David J. Schwartz. Buckle up for some more great tips.

# Grow the “I’m activated” attitude. Enthusiasm = Results. Learn about things to get enthused about them. Act alive. Spread good news wherever you go.

#Grow the “You are important” attitude. Treat others as important (special) and they’ll do more for you. Show your appreciation for them. Call them by name.

#Grow the “Service first” attitude. Put service first and money takes care of itself. Give people more than they expect.

# Be the kind of person other people like to be around.

# Build friendships. Phone, write a note.

# Accept human differences and limitations. Different is not necessarily wrong. Be tolerant. No-one is perfect.

# Think (and say) positive things about other people and get positive results.

# Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about their view, their opinions, their accomplishments.

# Be courteous. It makes others and yourself feel better.

# Don’t blame others for a setback. How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win!

Is any of this stuff helping anyone out there? Drop me a line if it is. I’d be delighted to know. I know I’ve done a lot of reading from the “Mental” category. Maybe I needed to get my positive thinking happening more. I think however I may just tackle something from the “financial” world once I have finished this current book. Stay tuned.

Your Thinking And Your Environment (day35/365)

We have heard over and over again that our thinking is where our future is created. David J. Schwartz also agrees that we are (and become) what we think. In “The Magic Of Thinking Big”, he gives the following points.

# Look important/successful. Dress confidently. Dress for success.

# Think your work is important. Others will also respect your work.

# Give yourself regular pep talks. Sell yourself to yourself.

# In difficult situations ask yourself “Is this how someone successful/important thinks (and deals with the situation)?”

Schwartz also stresses the importance of our environment.

# Be environment conscious. Prolonged association with negative people, makes us think negatively.

# Make your environment work for you, not against you. Spend lots of quality time with positive/uplifting people.

# Take your advice from successful people.

# Get plenty of psychological sunshine. Mix with new and interesting people. Find stimulating things to do.

# Ensure you do not gossip.

# Go first class in everything. Having one pair of good quality shoes is better than having 3 pairs of junky shoes.

This stuff makes sense doesn’t it?

Think Creatively (day 34/365)

Some books need to be absorbed. I am enjoying reading “The Magic Of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz one chapter at a time.

Today I want to share some ideas that help us to think creatively.

# Believe it can be done. When we truly believe something can be done, our subconscious gets creative and sees to it that we do what is required to achieve.

# Don’t let tradition paralyze your mind. At the risk of feeling that we have abandoned tradition, we need to open our mind to new, progressive ideas and approaches. From fresh, new ideas, breakthroughs are made.

#Ask yourself “How can I do Better?” When we focus on this question, our mind does not disappoint. Why limit our self-improvement? We don’t have to stop getting better and more creative. Dare to be progressive and experimental.

# Ask yourself “How can I do more?” It’s the already busy people who fit in extra activities. They have learned to prioritize, delegate, multi-task.

# Practise asking and listening. Some great ideas come from other people’s ideas. Big people listen. Small people talk. We won’t learn anything while we are talking. We already know what we are saying.

# Stretch your mind. We can stimulate our mind by associating with people from different areas of life. Other people feel important when their ideas or new ways are listened to. When we are open to other’s ideas, our mind sparks with more ideas of our own.

So as we take advantage of some of the above ideas, remember to write down all the little sparks you have. Keep a small notebook in your pocket or bag and immediately record each valuable idea. Go over them weekly to see what you can implement.

Grow Big By Thinking Big (day 33/365)

As I continue to read “The Magic Of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz I would like to share with you the tips given in chapter 4.

# Don’t have an inferiority complex. We all have assets. Focus on those positive areas rather than your negative liabilities.We are better than we think we are.

# Use a big thinker’s vocabulary. Avoid words that limit your future to failure and defeat. Use words that inspire hope, happiness, victory, fulfillment, pleasure.

# Stretch your vision. Look beyond what is. Picture what can be. Add value to yourself, other people, things.

# Get the big view of your job. Treat your current job as important. Your next job depends on how you think towards your current one.

# Think above trivial things. Before getting involved in a petty matter, ask yourself, “Is it really that important?” Focus your attention on big objectives.

So again it comes down to positive thinking. When the lemons roll into your life, turn them into lemonade, enjoy sharing the refreshment with others and move on to do something else big and exciting in your life.

Overcome Fear, Build Confidence (day32/365)

Many authors speak of the detrimental power of fear. In “The Magic Of Thinking Big”, David J. Schwartz gives us some tips to overcome the debilitating power of fear.

# Action cures fear. Hesitation only magnifies the fear, so take a deep breath and go for it. Feel the fear and do it anyway! NOW!

# Put positive thoughts into your memory. Negative mind picture replays grow into mental monsters. Choose to play the positive mind pictures.

# Put people in proper perspective. Others are just a bag of bones like us. We are far more alike than we are different.

# Do what your conscience says is right. No poisonous guilt trips to smash your confidence to pieces.

# Let your attitude say “I am confident”.
Be a front seater.
Make eye contact.
Walk 25% faster.
Speak up…….. even when you feel scared.
Smile big……….even in the face of adversity.

We are not born with confidence. It is acquired and developed.

A little effort and we can all be a little more confident. Fake it til we make if that is what it takes.

No More Excusitis (day31/365)

According to David J Schwartz in “The Magic Of Thinking Big” there seems to be a common thread running among those people who have been unsuccessful in life. He says they have suffered from a mind deadening disease called “excusitis”. They are very fast to tell others why they haven’t, why they don’t, why they can’t, and why they aren’t.

These same excuses could be, but are not, made by the successful person. Successful people have learned to vaccinate themselves against this deadly disease of the failures.

The four most common forms of excusitis follow:-

1/ But my health isn’t good. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and resolve to live until you die.
2/ But you’ve got to have brains to succeed. Interest,enthusiasm and stickability are far more useful tools than IQ.
3/ I’m too old (or too young). Say I’m going to start now. The best days are ahead of me.
4/ But my case is different. I attract bad luck. Continue to learn and profit from setbacks. Consistent work attracts good luck.

We can become experts in why we can’t succeed and our subconscious will bring that to fruitition or we can be determined to succeed and our subconscious will direct us in the right path to achieve that.

No more excuses. Get on with it.

The Power of Belief (day30/365)

So what is belief? It’s the “I’m positive I can” attitude that many of us have lost and need to find again. Once we’re back on track, we will discover all the power, skill and energy we need to succeed in our lives.

David J. Schwartz in his book, “The Magic Of Thinking Big”, talks about the biblical concept that faith can move mountains. Those who believe they can move mountains, do so. It’s as simple as that. Those who believe they can’t, cannot. Belief is the power that makes the difference.

Belief is the thermostat that regulates what we accomplish in our life. Belief in ourselves, the worthiness of our goals, the support of people around us is extremely important. It’s definitely worth noting that we need to believe in ourselves before others will respect us and believe in us. We have to know that we know that we are going somewhere, to encourage the confidence of those around us.

Here are three ways to develop the power of belief.
1/ Think success, don’t think failure. (I’ll win, I’m equal to the best, I can do it, I will succeed.)
2/ Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Successful people are just regular people who believe in themselves.
3/ Believe big. It takes no more time or effort to think big than it does to think little.

Are you catching the excitement of 2010 being an abundant, expectant and fulfilling year? I hope you do soon. It is almost here.