Monday, November 30, 2009

Internal Controls

What really shapes your life? Who holds the controls for your future? You do. Your internal controls, your programming control your future.

Ability constitutes a significant portion, but ability alone will not carry you to success. History abounds with highly intelligent people who have wasted their lives. Intelligence and talent assist one in achieving success; however, those qualities alone are not sufficient.

Opportunity contributes another major piece to the success puzzle. Being in the right place at the right time certainly should not be overlooked. You must make yourself and your talents known. You must be available to participate when opportunity knocks.

Knowledge forms another portion of the success equation. Highly educated individuals have been known to work very menial jobs. Education and specific training enhance the probability of success but those qualities alone do not insure success.

Ability, opportunity, and knowledge contribute toward success. None of those three outshine “passion” as the key ingredient for achievement.

When John C. Maxwell was a new pastor, he was sent to a “wide spot in the road” size town. The first Sunday there were 3 people and 2 of them were John and his wife Margaret. He loved people, worked hard and built the congregation to about 100. As a 23 year old pastor, he was quite proud of his accomplishment. One Sunday in the summer he decided to stretch the congregation to the unfathomable goal of 300 for the first Sunday in October. Some of the folks in that small valley had never seen 300 people but they agreed to help. They each asked everyone in the valley several times; there were not that many people in the valley so each one received several invitations.

The first Sunday in October arrived and people swarmed to the tiny church. The windows were open and people were inside, outside and everywhere. The head usher stood and announced that there were 299 people. Pastor John said, “Our goal is 300.” He found himself declaring that he would not speak until he found the 300th person to complete the goal. Betty stood up to lead a couple of songs while he located the 300th person.

John was so pumped and excited and the congregation patted him on the back as he marched down the isle and out to find the 300th person. His excitement was extreme until he stood outside and thought, “Now what do I do?” He walked across the street to the only service station in town. There he found the owner and the mechanic. His question to them was, “Which one of you wants to be a hero to the entire valley by becoming the 300th person and fulfilling our goal.”

Note the question, “Which one of you wants to be a hero to the entire valley?” Long story short, they hung a closed sign on the service station and both men went across the street to the church. The congregation cheered, the service station owner and mechanic beamed as the entire congregation treated them as heroes.

At the end of the day, the only element which made that day a resounding success instead of just a great day was passion. Ability did not accomplish the goal. Opportunity did not create success. Knowledge did not figure in the result. Passion led the charge and passion accomplished the goal.

Neither ability, nor opportunity, nor knowledge created success. Passion accomplished the goal. What passion do you possess which can and will lead you to your goals?



For more specific tip and techniques to lead you to success, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com. Live a passionate and successful life.



Titles:

Discover Your Passion

Internal Control

Internal Controls

Emotional Control



Keywords:

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Setting Priorities

Life contains a series of choices. Each and every choice we make reflects our priorities.

When the phone rings, some people look at the caller identification and decide whether to answer or allow the answering machine to take it. I have even known many people in the home based business industry to proudly acclaim that they do not answer their own telephone. Unfortunately most Americans and probably other countries as well, become so involved with their daily lives that personal communication falls off the priority list.

It is easier and faster to dash off a quick email rather than write a personal note. Yes, it takes a few more minutes to hand write a note, place it in an envelope, address the envelope, stamp it and walk it out to the mail box. How do you feel when you receive and email? How do you feel when you receive a hand written note? The note feels so much more personal than the email. Granted, an email provides more value and immediate response than the “intend to get around to writing the note procrastination” response. An email therefore provides more than intending to write the note but not doing it.

Everything comes down to our priorities. Ask most people what they value most and the response centers around friends and family. Caring about people constitutes an excellent priority. Be honest with yourself. Look carefully at your daily calendar. What do you see on the entries in that day timer? Are the entries truly reflecting the priorities you declare?

Your day timer, whether it be electronic or hand written, reflects where you schedule your time. Do you block off time for your children’s activities? Do you block off time for “date night” with your spouse or significant other? Do you block off time for community and spiritual events? If we are truly honest with ourselves and others, we will probably have to admit that our calendars reflect business. Our priorities in writing do not reflect the same priorities which we state verbally. Examine your life. Examine your priorities. Play the match game.

Truly, I am guilty of working far too much and not scheduling my “play” time. Whenever my son calls and even hints that I may have an opportunity to see him and see my grandsons, I jump at the chance. I am guilty of not scheduling that time on a frequent basis. Family time by unscheduled opportunity does not equal family time scheduled as a priority in my daily life. How about you?

We all use the same “I am working hard to provide for my family” excuse. Yes, providing for the family motivates most of us. Providing material necessities and comforts represents only part of our responsibility. The element which seems to slip on the priority list is the emotional component.

A group of junior high youth was asked about their greatest desire in life. One twelve year old young man wrote that his parents give him every material possession he desires. His friends consider him very fortunate to have such generous parents. He stated his greatest desire as receiving more of his parent’s time and less of their money.

Ouch! How many of us does that provide an eye opening realization? Our responsibility as parents constitutes more than material provision for our family. We also have a mental, emotional and quality time responsibility. Perhaps our priorities are a bit askew.

Examine your priorities. Look honestly at your entire day, week, month and annual calendar. What priorities are reflected on your calendar? Where is your time scheduled?

Self-examination may not be fun; however, examining life objectively does reflect our true priorities. Good news. Today begins a new day. If your written priorities do not match your stated priorities, you have the ability to make changes until they do match.

For more inspiration, thought provoking ideas and opportunities to step up your game of life, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com. Let me assist you in creating the life of your dreams. Achieve your goals. Live your true priorities.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Motivation to Succeed

Football stimulates many emotions. Fans maintain almost fanatical loyalty. As evidenced by the massive team jerseys, bumper stickers, and ever imaginable item in the team colors or team logo sold on a daily basis. Game day in Denver seems to turn orange and blue. I even knew a man who was so an avid fan that he decorated his Christmas tree in the team colors.

Football teaches teamwork, sportsmanship (hopefully) and strategic planning. Another unexpected motivation appeared in the story of a college quarterback. I applaud his initiative both before and after the play.

The two minute warning had recently been issued indicating that the game was nearing completion. Before the team returned to the field to take possession of the ball, the coach instructed the quarterback to “play it safe.” His team led the scoring by 6 points. Being conservative at this point in the game with possession of the ball should result in a victory. This particular quarterback possessed an excellent throwing arm but he was not known for his speed on the field.

Being an innovative and daring young man, this quarterback took charge of the pre-play huddle with the statement, “The other team expects us to be conservative and so does coach. Let’s surprise both of them and add one more score. Billy, you go long and I’m going to throw a pass to you. We’ll go out in a blaze of glory.”

The quarterback indeed threw a long pass. When the quarterback dropped back and launched the ball into the air, the opposing cornerback (a champion sprinter) sprung into motion. The cornerback intercepted the pass and raced for the end zone. The quarterback immediately raced after the cornerback and tackled him on the five yard line as the clock ticked to a close. After the game the losing coach spoke to the winning coach, “I thought you said your quarterback was not a runner. He just ran down my best sprinter.” The winning coach grinned and said, “Your cornerback was running for 6 points, but my quarterback was running for his life.”

Motivation comes in many forms.

Are you highly talented and running for six points or less talented but extremely motivated?

Motivation plays a major role in every decision we make. When the stakes are high, we take more risks. Playing it safe in life and business yields very small results. In “Failing Forward” by John C. Maxwell, he wrote,” Risk must be evaluated not by the fear it generates in you or the probability of your success, but by the value of the goal.” The quarterback of the winning team placed a very high value on the goal of catching the opposing sprinter.

How badly do you desire to change your life? How important is it to you to achieve financial freedom for yourself and your family? What value do you place on your internal feeling of security and accomplishment? Most of us place an extremely high value on the well being of our family. We say we want the best for our family. We give lip service to being a great provider, not just getting by but really providing for our loved ones.

How motivated are you to put those feelings into action? When are you ready and willing to bring those words to reality? Sometimes being able to bring those feeling into reality becomes more a matter of excuses than reasons.

Motivation is the key. How motivated are you to make success a reality for you?

When do you plan to start?

For more thoughts and articles to improve your life, visit me at Elaine4Success.com.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Grow and Prosper

You can not grow within and stand still in your life. Your personal life, financial life and business life absolutely prosper when you focus on your personal development. Jim Rohn, noted business philosopher, always declared the importance of working harder on yourself than you do on your business.

A major key to living a successful life centers around personal development. Throughout my life whenever I encountered a difficult situation, the cause was always related to my attitude. My feelings about a given situation or the people involved determined the outward results. Negative emotions or feeling out of control about anything in my life invariably led to a negative result. Blaming someone, including yourself, produces negative results. Playing the blame game never produces a positive result. For instance when you are lying awake at night tossing and turning and seething with angry thoughts, the other person sleeps peacefully. In many cases, the object of your distress may not even know a problem exists.

Somehow, even though it may feel difficult, search for the good in every event in your life. A job loss may feel like the end of the world for awhile. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and examine your options. Record numbers of people are starting their own home based business right now. Before their employment status changed, it felt safer to stay with the job even though they were unhappy than to look for something new. The job status change necessitated investigating new options. Sometimes what seems to be devastating at the moment results in a wonderful future.

Jeff’s franchise business collapsed leaving him with over a quarter million of personal debt. After starting his home based business, he paid off the debt and started earning a profit within less than a year. If the franchise had not folded, he would have continued working long hours and he would have remained in the bondage of debt for many years. The end of the franchise terrified him for awhile but later proved to be a blessing in his financial and personal life.

Attitude about the situation makes a tremendous difference. Your internal attitude about an event largely controls the outcome. Examine your emotions and beliefs. Somewhere deep within your mental programming lies the cause of many of your problems as well as the solution. Grow as a person through each event in your life. Do an intense self examination to discover the possible causes which led to the event.

1. Did your childhood programming set a negative tone regarding your deservability of becoming financially successful?

2. How focused were you in the performance of your job or business?

3. How dedicated were you to learning and implementing new ideas in your work?

4. What was your attitude at and about your work?

5. How long did you persevere before you ended the business or job?

How much time and focus do you dedicate on a daily basis toward your personal development? How many books have you read recently on personal development? What cd’s have you listened to in order to expand your thoughts in a positive direction?

When was the last time you masterminded with another positive minded individual? When was the last time you attended a live seminar or even watched a mind expanding DVD? When was the last time you meditated on how to improve your life? What positive affirmations do you write and speak daily?

Growing personally will assist you in growing professionally. Growing as a person improves every aspect of your life. People choose to be around you when you profess and exude a positive attitude.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Broke or Broken

Broke or Broken

Being low or out of funds may mean being broke; however, being broke represents a temporary situation. Most of the most successful people in the world have entered this economic state at least once in their career. The secret knows that being broke is only temporary. Being broke represents a situation which can be changed and improved.

Being broken means no longer having hope or dreams of recovery. Avoid ever letting anything or anyone in your life, including yourself, ever bring you to an emotional state of being broken.

As long as your dreams are alive, you are never broken. Regardless of how hopeless something may seem at a moment in time, nothing should ever allow you to become broken.

I just attended a fabulous wealth conference in Las Vegas where one of the speakers, Andy Anderson, graced us with his wisdom. At one point in his life, Andy lived under a bridge; he slept in garages on a good day. Andy has become a best selling author and world class speaker. My favorite of his books, I have read several of them, is “The Travelers Gift.” If you have not read that book, go to your nearest public library or bookstore and get it immediately. Not only learn the 7 decisions for success, but also put them into practice in your daily life.

The mention of the public library means even more when you realize that was where Andy started turning his life around. Andy was broke but not broken. What made Andy so special that he was able to change his life from being broke to being a successful published author and speaker? He started reading every book about success and leadership. He compiled the information, placed it into action and transformed his life.

No one is too far down the economic ladder or too old to start making a change for the better. Everything starts with a decision and follows through with positive consistent and persistent action.

Grandma Moses started painting in her 80s. Age only presents an excuse, not a reason to avoid taking action. So what gives me the right to speak about being broke? My point of origin was a Kansas farm. My dresses were made from feed sacks. Do I resent or regret that humble beginning, absolutely not. Now I have a true perspective of going from being broke to achieving delightful success. Once you truly know the lowest economic levels, you appreciate the high achievements even more. Being broke represents a financial situation, not a state of mind. No one and nothing were going to break me. I made a firm decision that I would not be broken. Life challenged me on that conviction many times. I was broke but never broken.

Being broken means that you have given up all hope. Viktor Frankl and Ann Frank were broke and in dire emotional and financial circumstances; however, neither were broken. Read Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning.” Read Anne Frank’s story, “The Diary of Anne Frank.” These are only two heroes who overcame tremendous odds. Regardless of their situations at the time, they made a firm decision never to be broken.

A light exists somewhere in your world. Find that tiny beam of light and expand it into a flood light of hope and prosperity. Life may deal a severe blow and render you broke financially, but no one and nothing can ever condemn you to being broken without your permission.

Notice the key of permission. You hold the key to overcoming being broke and you hold the key to never allowing yourself to be broken.

For more inspiration and encouragement in life, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com. Regardless of where you are in your life at the moment, hope exists if you allow hope into your life. The choice remains totally within your power to be broken or to be successful. Being broke is only temporary. Being broken is forever. Choose life!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Attitude Counts

Saying early morning would be an understatement. In order to drive to the airport and catch my “oh dark thirty” flight this morning; it required getting up at 2:30 am. Normally I am testing my eyelids for light leaks at that hour.

Yawn, stretch, jump in the shower and proceed. I answered a few last minute emails, packed up the computer, zipped the suitcases and headed for the airport. Even though I live in a suburb of Denver, the normal freeway traffic was non-existent. Driving to Denver International Airport was smooth and uncongested. Other than a few 18 wheelers, very few vehicles travel the freeways in the wee hours of the morning.

DIA frequently resembles a mob scene, but not at 4:30 am. Security was y a breeze, and the staff of Frontier airlines were not only alert and smiling, but extremely congenial. Very impressive customer service. Kudos to Frontier Airlines not only for excellent service but also for the excellent attitudes of the staff.

Attitude makes a tremendous difference in everything we do. Our attitude transmits through our words and actions. Every challenge we encounter flows more smoothly with a great attitude.

My standard line for years has been “Life is an attitude; choose to have a good one.”

If you knew that something wonderful was waiting for you when you returned home tonight, wouldn’t it make all of the little things which happen throughout the day a little easier to handle? The incident has not changed. The length of the day has not changed. The only change resided in your attitude.

Today was a perfect example. Travel can be hectic. I am a morning person but starting at 2:30 am was really early even for me. Add to the early start, driving to the airport, normal airport lines and procedures and all the luggage juggling; depending on my attitude, it could be a challenge or a hassle.

I travel with a laptop. When I first started carrying the laptop on planes, we had to actually turn them on to prove they worked. Remember those days? That is no longer a requirement, but I still have to remove it from its' case. Remove the coat. It was snowy in Colorado this morning. Remove the shoes.

As I was undressing – coat, shoes, jewelry, and belt – I jokingly commented on undressing. The man one lane over perked up his ears, smiled and said; “Now I’m awake. You have my attention.” The security guard at the scanner grinned and said, “And the panty hose, lady.” Of course he was not serious, but we all had a laugh. A few fun words and the day brightened for all of us.

What can you do today to brighten someone’s day? Kind little words mean so much. Tell someone they look nice. Say an extra appreciative “thank you” to someone who held the door for you. Say “good morning” or “have a nice day” and really mean it. Just giving a warm genuine smile to a passerby can brighten a day. There are so many easy little things each and every one of us can do to make life more enjoyable for others. Your attitude about yourself and your life either lightens the day for those around you or throws a dark rain cloud over them.

Remember the old “lil’ Abner” cartoon? Was it Joe Btsfplk who had a black cloud over his head? Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh, Hardy Har Har from Lippy The Lion & Hardy Har Har (Poor, poor hyena...), Pedro from Excel Saga, (NOOOOOOO!!!!!!) and Marvin The Paranoid Android from the Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy all poked fun at negative attitudes. Why have a rotten attitude or a grumpy attitude? It is not fun.

Do something good for someone today just for the fun of making someone happy. Spread the joy of a good attitude. Your life and the lives of everyone around you will smile just a little brighter.

For more inspiration and positive mindset, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Set Point

Set Point

In tennis, the final point which allows one player or team to win the set. A set is typically when one player or team wins at least 6 games and wins two more games than their opponents.

Any one who has ever dieted also knows that their weight seems to have a metabolic set point. This is the mark on the scale which your body seems to return to time after time. Unless a significant change in behavior and eating pattern occurs, the weight always returns to the same number of pounds. Note the key difference becomes making a significant change in the type of foods consumed, quantity of food consumed and the behavior. Going on a diet and returning to the same behavior and eating pattern as before the diet is pointless. A significant behavior change must occur to keep the weight at the lower level.

Your finances also have a set point. The reason most lottery winners return to the same level of poverty as before they won the lottery, is that their money management behavior did not change. Statistics show that lottery winners go from broke to wealth and back to broke within three years. Why did they lose all of those windfall earnings? The spending patterns and money management behavior remained the same; there was simply more money to spend for a few years. A significant behavior change must result in order for the end result to be different. Financial education consists of managing money with a fresh new mindset. In order to elevate your financial set point, there must be changes.

Change the amount of money you mentally deserve. Surprised? Amazing how many people have deservability issues with money. Some of those issues stem from our childhood and the discussions within our family of origin. If we heard statements such as “filthy rich” or “money does not grow on trees,” those statements unconsciously set a negative image of money in our programming. One of the statements which causes me to cringe is “I may be poor but I’m a good person.” Once again, the implication pervades that being a good person and being wealthy are opposites. Determine your internal beliefs about money. Chances are that some of your original programming needs a revamp.

Unless you readjust your mental and emotional financial thermostat, you have tied both hands behind your back and placed a gag in your mouth in terms of speaking and receiving wealth. You have also placed a lead weight on the water level of your bank balance. You have predetermined yourself to sink into debt rather than float along in affluence.

Many home business entrepreneurs discover this economic dilemma. Home business opportunities are frequently highly lucrative. A large income can be earned with extremely low overhead. If you are struggling with your home based business, it may be that your financial thermostat is set so low that you are unintentionally blocking success and income. In other cases, home based business entrepreneurs experience tremendous success and then plunge backward because they have not reset their financial thermostat to believe they deserve wealth and success.

Financial set points affect many areas of life. People have been known to deny themselves dream vacations, new homes, new cars and various other material possessions because they did not feel that they deserved such rewards.

Examine your early programming about money and success. Look deeply into your feelings and deservability surrounding money and success. You will probably discover that you have unintentionally been blocking your own path to wealth and freedom.

For more specific ideas on raising your financial set point, contact Elaine at www.Elaine4Success.com. Let me help you make forward progress toward the success and financial freedom you deserve. Let me help you raise your financial thermostat.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Big Ego

Functioning in your ego? Being proud of your accomplishments is not only valid, but should be celebrated. Write major goals and minor goals on your goal sheet; having the fun of checking them off, is to be relished. Giving yourself a prize for accomplishment and a penalty for missing the mark serves to incentivize goals. I applaud goal achievement and reward.

During my morning work out today, I listened to Dr Wayne Dyer. Dr Dyer has published 30 books, numerous audio recordings, hosted public television programs and lectured all over the world. His point this morning struck a chord in my heart. He was speaking on the Success dual disk which arrives every two months in my Success magazine.

Dr Dyer, known as the father of motivation, turned the crank of my thought pattern this morning by challenging my perspective. Wayne spoke about how for the first nine months of our life we don’t worry about anything. We have zero concerns about the color of our eyes or if our heart will start beating. Our mother simply carries us in her womb and lets God do his perfect work to create us. On the day of our birth, we unconsciously say, “Great work, God. We’ll take over from here.” We let our EGO take over from that point forward. Wayne’s definition of EGO is Edge God Out.

On some level, we say, “We are in control now. We take credit for all of the wonderful talents, abilities and accomplishments in our life. Unfortunately, sometimes He gets the blame when things do not go well. If we are going to take all of the credit for the great events, we also need to take responsibility for the “why did that happen” events. Most of us function largely within our ego.

Are you accepting full responsibility for your life? Taking credit for all of the wonderful events also requires taking full responsibility for our mistakes. Ego isn’t totally bad if it spurs you forward to create more with the time and talents you were given. Napoleon Hill spoke of the two sealed envelopes we bring with us at birth. He reminded us of the benefits of taking control of our mind and the penalties for not taking control of our mind. Taking control of our own mind allows us to grow and achieve. Ego plays a part in that growth and achievement.

The core issue revolves around whether we function totally self serving or serving others. Functioning totally, or even 90 per cent, within our ego indicates a strong probability that we are edging God out of the picture and being self serving.

Some of the greatest leaders throughout history were servant leaders. They learned the valuable lesson of valuing other people. They achieved great wealth by assisting others to reach their dreams and goals. Great leaders are also known throughout history to be deeply grateful for the blessings and opportunities they have received. Research all of the great leaders and you will find deeply religious convictions.

You will either be remembered for the problems you solve or the problems you create. Great leaders who are servant leaders focus on serving others. Great leaders provide benefit to others.

Hitler, on the other hand, functioned on ego and encouraged his followers to function on the egocentric belief that they were superior. Look how that ended. . .

Think carefully about your feelings and motivation. Are you functioning out of ego and being self serving? Are you edging God out? How do you choose to have your legacy read, “He gave value to others” or “He lived for his own gain.”

Ego under control can produce positive results. Ego out of control becomes destructive.

For more thought provoking articles, visit me at www.Elaine4Success.com.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Find Your Passion

Yes, I know writing about passion with a name like mine brings all sorts of images to the mind. Passion is the key to all the most important aspects in your life.

A study of two groups of one hundred people each revealed some interesting discoveries. One group was comprised of people seeking wealth as the primary objective and selecting the career they felt would achieve that goal the most rapidly. The second group focused on following their passionate mission in life and creating their career based on their passion first and wealth as a by product.

Twenty years later the groups were surveyed again. Over 83 per cent of the millionaires were from the group which pursued passion first and allowed the wealth to come to them as a secondary benefit.

Following your passion smoothes many of the roadblocks on the way to success. The roadblocks, speed bumps and even the brick walls still exist. The difference maker becomes your mental attitude about dealing with the obstacles. Another significant difference relates to the focus. MLM and network marketing have the reputation of attracting “program jumpers.” Program jumpers are seeking the latest and greatest money making opportunity. Does that mean there is anything wrong with earning money and being rewarded for your time and effort? Of course not. Being a program jumper does speak to primary motivation. Yes, it is not uncommon for someone to experience a few different industries and a few different companies before they locate their niche. Most highly successful entrepreneurs did not hit their stride with their first venture.

Program jumpers stay within the same MLM or network marketing industry; however, they jump to each new startup company. They stay a few months or a year and jump to the next one. Do they make money? Some do. Are they fulfilled? Their track record of program jumping indicates NO.

Following your passion tends to be longer term and maintains a more consistent theme. Examine your goals and motivation. Do you look forward eagerly to beginning each new day? Are you experiencing apprehension about each day’s activities and results? How do you measure your success; do you measure by your bank balance or your feelings of accomplishment?

Tap into your passion and you are tapping in to your true potential. At the end of our day, our career, our life, what will be the legacy you leave for others? A peaceful heart will leave a legacy of satisfaction for having contributed to the lives of others. The pain of regret for not following your passion weighs heavily on your heart regardless of the amount on your financial statement.

You can follow your passion. You choose how you spend your life and your career. You can spend it living as if you are forcing a square peg into a round hole. Or you can live life on your terms. Feel the thrill of satisfaction for having lived life pursuing your passion. History records success stories of numerous entrepreneurs who attempted many ventures but their real fortune and their satisfaction was only achieved when they followed their passion.

Tap in to your feelings. Tap in to your passion. Within your passion, you will find your greatest achievement and your greatest satisfaction.

For more helpful articles and personal coaching, come see me at www.Elaine4Success.com I salute you for the courage to follow your passion.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Chasing Success

Ever watch a dog running in circles chasing his tail? Now I grant that most dogs do not have corporate level responsibilities, so it probably isn’t important how productively they spend their time.

An old story depicted an alley cat watching a dog racing madly in a circle chasing his tail. Finally the cat, you know the curiosity of cats, could no longer stand watching the dizzy dog. Alley cat, “Why are you running in circles chasing your tail?” Dizzy dog,”One of my friends explained to me that my happiness and success are all in my tail. If I can catch it and hold on, then I will have a firm hold on my success and happiness for the future.” “Hmmm,” stated the alley cat. “What I have discovered is that my happiness is indeed in my tail also. If I go about my business taking care of myself and my responsibilities, my tail follows me. When I am responsible I do not have to chase success and happiness, they always follow me.”

How many people follow the dog’s mindset and chase after success? Amazing how unproductive it becomes to chase after something. I fully agree that following your passion and working diligently toward your goals generally results in achieving more goals. Chasing after something has an air of desperation and need. Taking responsibility and methodically working each step on the path to success, encourages success to be attracted to you.

Attraction marketing and attraction leadership are widely acclaimed in the media. Using the attractor factor instead of the chasing mentality removes the desperation and stress. Any one who would enjoy a little less stress in their life? The medical industry receives a major portion of its income treating stress related issues. It is my opinion that the majority of the obesity problems have their origin in stress. We are creating our own stress. Why are we doing this to ourselves?

Our hurry scurry life of “I want it right now” has created an anxiety society. We have instant food from the microwave and fast food restaurants. We have ATM machines so we no longer have to wait in bank lines. We can even drive through Starbucks for our caffeine.

Success eludes us sometimes because we chase it with a desperate pursuit rather than creating value so that success becomes attracted to us. Success and happiness are attracted to the peaceful heart.

Think about the people you know and with whom you enjoy spending your time. Are you attracted to the tense and over stressed individuals or the people with whom you speak on a variety of subjects? Are you attracted to those with whom you enjoy activities and have fun? Think about the most successful people in you life. They are focused on their careers during working hours and totally present with their loved ones at other times.

Chasing success with the fury and intensity of a dog chasing his tail, results in circles more than forward progress. The alley cat wisdom of taking care of responsibility and allowing success and happiness to follow you results in a more productive life.

Re-examining your approach to life and success may result in more productivity, more success and more happiness. Having less stress becomes a bonus.

For more thought provoking articles, visit me at www.Elaine4Success.com.

Friday, November 20, 2009

One Decision

Changing and improving your life hinges on one decision. Your next decision represents the turning point in your life. You have often heard that “today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Today really can be a new beginning IF you decide that today will be different than yesterday.

Today you can:

1. Start a new way of eating. You can start a healthy food intake. Notice that I did not say “diet.” True weight reduction represents a change of eating habits. Diet implies doing without for a short period of time. Changing your eating patterns represents a change in lifestyle. It may mean a gradual change such as eating more fresh fruit and vegetables or cutting down on your chocolate intake. Even a small change makes a positive difference. The important element of making one decision which you can and will carry forward starts improving your life.

2. Start a new physical fitness program. Don’t panic. Starting a new physical fitness program can be as simple as making a decision to start walking fifteen minutes a day. No, it does not mean you must commit to hiring a personal trainer and working out an hour per day every day. Start with walking or even a slog (slog means a slow jog) depending on your current fitness level. Personally, I relish my exercise time. Whether I am hiking through the beautiful Colorado countryside or doing body sculpture exercises (body sculpture, or BS as we lovingly term it, represents a series of strengthening and toning exercises followed by mild cardio exercise.) Exercise can be and should be fun. Start at your own pace and gradually build time and intensity until you reach your goal. One decision to start your physical fitness program followed by consistent action makes a world of difference. Everything starts with one decision. Remember to make a decision you can and will follow through on a consistent basis.

3. Start using a schedule to more efficiently manage your time. Start by setting a specific time each day when you will read something to improve your life. Your subconscious mind is most receptive first thing in the morning when you first awake from an alpha sleep and the last thing at night before you drift off to an alpha sleep. Programming your mind with positive thoughts at those two times sets a positive tone for the entire day. Positive thoughts just before sleep insure a restful sleep. If those times do not fit your schedule, select a time which does work for you. The key factor revolves around making one decision to start reading something productive every day. My personal preference would be at least 30 minutes per day. Perhaps you will choose to start with ten pages per day. Make a decision to start reading and follow through with reading every day at that time. Enhancing your life starts with a simple decision and continues with the action of daily follow through.

4. Decide to follow through with your passion in life. One decision to start your own business can make each current work day better. Just knowing that you choose not to be an employee for the remainder of your career removes a huge burden from your shoulders. Knowing that you choose not to be an employee for the remainder of your career lifts the weight of Atlas from your shoulders. One decision to take back control of your life, your duties, your earnings and your future provides new hope. Life thrives on hope and dies without hope. Give yourself the gift of hope with one decision. Decide to live life to the fullest. Decide to live life on your terms. Being your own boss breathes hope into your present and your future. Your new happy future begins today with one decision to start your own business. Start part time. Replace your earnings and then move to full time. The key element is to start. You do not have to be good to start, but you must start in order to be good. Everything starts with one decision. Make a decision and follow through. Your current and future life will thank you.

Everything changes today and improves tomorrow with the simple act of making one decision. Make a decision which you can and will follow through. Your life tomorrow depends on making one decision today.

For more inspirational and life improving articles, join me at Elaine4Success.com.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

No Panic, Video is Easy

Speakers delight in presenting information to live audiences. Audience interaction encourages speakers to perform comfortably before various size groups. Small stage, large stage or living room setting is insignificant as long as the speaker can gauge the audience reaction and adjust accordingly.

Video attracts attention and personalizes your message. To the outsider, producing a video may seem even easier than speaking to a live audience. Not so to a professional speaker. We are people oriented.

Performing in front of a camera rather than a person presents an entirely new challenge. The connection with the audience must be perceived and imagined rather than experienced. One of the techniques I have found most valuable is placing myself mentally in the audience setting and speaking as if they were in front of me in a casual living room environment. Others place the picture of a loved one next to the camera and pretend they are speaking to them. Still others have the camera lens peer through the mouth or eye of the picture. If you are fortunate enough to have a live person managing the camera, great; I am happy for you. I do not have that luxury.

Remember the first time you stood in front of a live audience? If you resemble the typical person, the knees shook, the voice wavered and palms perspired. In Toastmasters, that first speech is called the “icebreaker.” Even though it is only three to five minutes, it may seem M U C H longer. Relax, video is easier. With a video you have retakes and edits. Now that is a huge plus for video over live performance.

Ok, now you are starting to relax. Yes, relaxing is highly advisable. Relax your shoulders, put a smile on your face, and relax your hands. Remember, you are speaking to a small group of people who really want to know what you have to say.

Personally, I prefer to stand and move within a small area when I record a video. Since the camera is stationary, I have a limited stage area to remain on camera. Others prefer to sit as if they were in an office, living room or seated at the kitchen table.

There are various backgrounds preferred. I have been told to select a plain white background to avoid distracting from the message. It is generally accepted that a solid color shirt or blouse is preferable to a wild print. White on white and you disappear into the background – never desirable for a speaker to be the “invisible man or woman.”

Cameras are so diverse that we could write several chapters on cameras. As your first venture into video, perhaps a simple Flip HD Ultra will be sufficient. It takes excellent quality video, is easy to use and inexpensive. You are not competing for the cinematography award at the academy awards; you are presenting a short message.

A tripod makes it much easier. Gorilla pod makes a short, flexible, very inexpensive tripod. Wrap it around a pole, stand it up on three legs, or fold it over a ledge, it bends. In addition it costs less than lunch for one at a nice restaurant.

Two to five minutes seems to be the generally accepted time frame. Turn the camera on, walk to your desired location, speak and walk back and turn the camera off. Easy. Right? Take a few takes if you feel more comfortable with choices.

With a Flip camera, you simply plug the camera into the usb port on your computer and download. Next download from the Flip software to your computer with one click of the mouse.

Open the location on your computer – mine is the month in which I recorded it. Click on the image, trim off the beginning and ending so all that shows is your message. You are trimming off the section where you were walking back and forth to the camera. Choose a title, usually the same title as the article you were recording. Save.

Click on the edited image, export to your video file and upload to YouTube. Use the keywords from your article and a brief description. You are done. Recording a video really was not traumatic after all.

If you would like a step by step sequence on the uploading, editing and publishing of the video, contact me. Leave your contact information and comments in the “contact Elaine” section of Elaine4Success.com.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Power of 5

The first time I learned about the power of 5 was the five things every successful person does every day in their daily method of operation. I am certain you are familiar with these five action items

1. Daily visualization and meditation on your goals. See each of your goals in living color with all 5 of your senses.
2. Income producing activity – lead generation, conversations with leads and follow up after they have reviewed the information
3. Masterminding with other leaders through live phone calls, recorded calls or the very best is live events. Meet and interact with other leaders face to face.
4. Personal development remains one of the most critical elements. Personal growth almost always precedes financial development. You can not grow within and stand still outside yourself.
5. Cultivate the expectation of leadership and success. BE the leader in self talk, feelings, words and actions. DO what the leaders do; take the actions they take. You will HAVE what the leaders have.

The five daily methods of operation items are consistent among all leaders throughout all industries. These items are absolutely essential in the home based business industry. Most home based business entrepreneurs are solopreneurs – a one person company. You are the only one responsible for doing every function. You are a solo act. Hence the term solopreneur, solo entrepreneur.

In order for your business to grow and flourish, you must focus on these five items every day. There is also another power of five which I feel is equally impactful toward your business success.

The second power of five is the practice of determining five action items to do every day to move your business forward. I first learned about this second power of five from Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield. When they were first launching “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” they developed this highly productive habit. Obviously it worked because now we have Chicken Soup for the Everything Imaginable books.

My experience with this simple technique has been fantastic. Every evening before I close my eyes and turn out the lights on the day, I write out a very specific list of five action items to be completed the next day. Two or three of them may be the same every day, but I always tap into my creativity for at least two items every day.

Why do I make the list as the last thing before I put a bow on the day and consider it wrapped and completed? The subconscious mind is the most receptive and most easily programmed immediately before slipping into n alpha sleep and the very first thing in the morning as you emerge from the alpha sleep. Your final thoughts before you drift off to slumberland and the first thoughts when your sleepy eyes flutter open in the morning are the most influential. Make those thoughts very positive to set a positive tone for the new day.

Another interesting fact is that the subconscious mind actually works on the situation for you while you sleep. You may be resting; however, your mind still functions. Why not have your uninterrupted subconscious mind activate its creativity for you. Ever wake in the middle of the night with a fantastic idea? Of course, your mind has remained active and creative. For this precise reason I have a notepad and pen on my bedside table to jot those flashes of inspiration. Once I jot them down, I can go back to sleep and not give it a second thought. If you do not record them on a note pad, you will either forget them or stay partially awake for hours for fear that you will forget that flash of genius.

The power of five has success magic. I highly recommend that you utilize both power of 5 practices. Your personal life, your business and your bank account will thank you.

For more tips and techniques for success, visit me at Elaine4Success.com. Give me your contact information and let me stimulate your life.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Virtue in Planning Ahead

November brings beautiful fall colors, Thanksgiving, the beginning of ski season throughout my beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Thanksgiving symbolizes a season of gratitude for all of our many blessings. We all have something for which to be thankful. November also signals the approaching Christmas season. Christmas represents not only a season of joy, blessing, appreciation, religious celebration and holiday festivities but also an extreme hustle bustle of schedule conflicts.

Planning ahead proves to be the solution. Of course you can not solve all of the schedule conflicts in advance; however, there are a significant number of them which can be accomplished in advance. Gifts and holiday cards can be prepared far in advance of the hectic seasonal flurry of events. When I taught high school, I prepared all of my holiday cards over the Thanksgiving break. Most of my holiday gift purchases were completed in early November before the crowds descended on the stores. Any time I chose to enjoy the holiday festivities and holiday music in the stores, that option was absolutely open to me. Amazing how much more fun it was to enjoy those experiences when it was a choice rather than a time crunch necessity,

Another significant pre-planning activity in the United States revolves around taxes. Americans know the tax year for individuals and also for most companies follows the calendar year. Why wait until December 31 or even worse April 14, before organizing your records and documenting your expenses with the appropriate receipts. Scurrying around at the last minute to compile the accounting frequently results in oversights and outright errors.

If you have used your vehicle for business purposes, how current is your mileage log and vehicle receipts? What documents do you have to verify medical expenses or interest expense? Keeping accurate records month by month removes so much mental and emotional stress at tax time.

There was a sign in my CPA’s office in Plymouth, Michigan which read “Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency of my part.” To the efficient and organized, this makes perfect sense.

When I worked for a CPA in Norfolk, Nebraska, I remember one client who brought his entire year’s receipts all loosely tossed in grocery bags. My first reaction was “You must be kidding.” He was proud of himself for having the receipts; organization had not even been a consideration.

Perhaps you will relate to the call I received from a close female friend. She asked if I would help her balance her bank statement. When I asked how long it had been since she balanced it, the reply shocked me. “Oh I opened the account three years ago and I have never balanced it.” After gasping in dismay, I suggested she put on a pot of coffee and prepare for a long session.

There are many levels of organization or disorganization. Backing yourself into a time crunch corner certainly can be avoided.

At this point in early November, I suggest you seriously consider organizing all of your tax information now. Also start planning your holiday “get it done” list and checking off as many items as possible in advance. Pre-planning also spreads the financial obligation over several weeks rather than overloading the already stressed credit card limit at the end of December.

Remember the CPA’s statement. Poor planning on your part does not create an emergency on their schedule.

Another advantage of planning ahead is the ability to make a few strategic tax moves prior to the end of the year. As any lady will testify, having a few less grey hairs is always welcome. Stress ages all of us. Why add to the stress un-necessarily, especially when it can be so easily avoided by planning ahead.

For more success tips to de-stress your life and make your business more profitable, contact Elaine Love at Elaine4Success.com. Record your contact information. Together we will make your life less stressful and more profitable.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Articles that Sizzle

Speakers enhance their credibility by establishing themselves as an authority on their chosen topic. One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to accomplish this feat is through writing value laden articles.

Delivering an effective, well organized speech requires preparation. An experienced speaker never stands in front of an audience and just starts talking. Lack of planning, preparation and practice mark an amateur, not a professional.

Writing an effective article requires the same level of planning and preparation or even more. Why more? As the keynote speaker, you have a captive audience. As an article author, you must attract that audience to you.

Step one requires a decision on the specific target audience you choose to attract. To attract a target audience of corporate executives, you would select a topic which would not only prove interesting to them but also enhance their performance. Select a title which catches their attention. Remember they receive hundreds of emails every day. Most corporate executives develop an extremely fast “delete” response for unimportant emails. Personally, I have perfected the “no thank you,” “delete,” response. If the subject line does not strike a curiosity response or the sender’s name is unfamiliar, I have the fastest delete click in the west. You thought Doc Holiday had a quick draw? It pales in comparison to the speed of my delete click.

Step one – select your target audience
Step two – select a topic which interests and enhances performance
Step three – craft a subject line which sizzles interest and immediate attention
Step four – compose a value laden message with just enough levity to keep them reading. No one continues reading dry textbook prose if they have a choice of something informative and fun.

One of the major keys to article writing rests in the keywords sprinkled throughout the article. Remember with a keynote speech, you have a captive audience. Article writing requires that you attract your target audience. In order to attract your ideal audience, think like they think. If you were a corporate executive searching for information on the internet, what words would you type into the search query?

Scratching your head for ideas? Go to www.google.com and type in a test word such as “effective.” The list of effective communication, effective leadership, effective meetings, effective teaching, effective time management, effective communication skills and effective listening appears. These are the most common searches beginning with the word effective. Select one of those areas and enter it in www.adwords.google.com/select/keywordtool. Perhaps you selected “effective leadership.” This will not only list related terms, but also indicate the local and global monthly search volume for each term. In addition, it will inform you of the advertiser competition for each term. Obviously the goal of high search volume and low competition is ideal.

Most articles range from 450 to 750 words. Positive, impactful and entertaining content keeps the reader coming back and searching for you.

Establish yourself as an authority by not only writing engaging articles but speaking about a subject which you have thoroughly researched or know from personal experience. Just as one of the cardinal rule of speaking is to speak about something you know this same principle applies in writing.

Once you have written a true “page turner” article, the next step is publishing it where others will have the opportunity to enjoy the content. We will talk about that in our next session. Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com. Leave your contact information.

I salute you at the beginning of your effective writing career.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Dust Off Your Dreams

Yesterday is a cancelled check and tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is our current cash. Use today wisely.

How happy are you with your current work and financial situation? Today is a new day and the opportunity for a new beginning. When I was young, I had a list of 100 things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see. Over the years many of those items have been checked off the list. How about you? How is your list doing?

I wrote an article once called “Someday Isle.” Are you still living on Someday Isle? Someday I’ll do this or someday I’ll do that or someday I’ll go visit my dream vacation spot. Time keeps moving forward. What we do with our allotted time is under our control. If you temporarily are low on financial resources, that can be corrected. When you run out of time, it is all over.

Being broke or out of work is a temporary situation. Being poor is a state of mind. Revamp your mindset to prosperity and use the time and resources you have wisely to improve your life and financial situation.

You are only out of solutions when you decide that you are out of solutions.

Dust off your dreams and put the sparkle back in your eyes and your future.

This economic downturn has many people searching for solutions to put their financial future back on track. Start by honestly looking at your current financial situation. Make a detailed list of assets (things you own), liabilities (things you owe), and available income sources.

If your current income potential seems to fall short of meeting all of the bills you owe, then consider dusting off that dream of owning your own business. Starting a home based business can be done on a part time basis with very little cost. Not only does a home based business offer the potential of additional income but it remains the easiest way to set your own hours; you work whatever hours you have available.

Low start-up cost, flexible hours, no outside office cost since you work from your home, and the potential of additional income make owning a home based business an excellent solution. The home based business industry is the fastest growing industry in the world right now.

Selection of the ideal home based business for you presents the next issue. I suggest you consider the following factors:

1. Select a company you will be proud to represent – a company with integrity. You can check this through any number of governmental and internet sources. I suggest you choose a company incorporated in the United States rather than offshore. There may be a reason the company chose to move the main corporate office offshore – taxes or legal problems perhaps.

2. Select a product people really need in every economy such as marketing or financial education. Avoid the “flash in the pan” fad products. Even some lotions, potions, pills and juices will fade in popularity during the economic downturn.

3. Look for a compensation plan where you are NOT passing up any sales. Marketing time, effort and money becomes even more important for you and your new people especially at the start of a new business.

4. Look for products which are stand alone. People want versatile products; they want products they can use in a variety of ways. For instance marketing education and financial education can be used in many different ways for all economic levels.

“There is only one way to make a great deal of money, and that is in a business of your own,” said J. Paul Getty, oil tycoon.

Feel free to contact me for additional coaching and mentoring. My mission is to help.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

How Big Is Your “Why?”

Every business encounters obstacles. Whether you use those as an excuse to give up or a reason to forge ahead and discover a solution depends on the strength of your “why.”

As a single mother with two little boys to care for, my “why” was powerful. My little guys were one and three when I found myself alone without any child support. Looking at those little faces provided a massive reason to overcome any and all obstacles.

How compelling is your reason to persevere through challenges? If you are of the mindset… “I’ll give it a try,” you will fail. Remove the words “try,” “maybe,” “if,” “perhaps,” and “someday.” Each of these words convey a feeling of uncertainly. Even worse, they are words which give you permission to fail. Try is one of the most hesitant. That is a “dip your toe in the water” word. It means that you do not have any firm commitment to success.

When you make statements, use strong affirmative words.
I am. . .
I will . . .
I attract . . .
I achieve. . .

If those feel too strong for your subconscious to agree and accept, then say, “I am in the process of . . .” The words you use to yourself in your self talk will creep out to others either in direct words or in vibration. Hesitant, non confident words convey a lack of belief in yourself and in whatever you are presenting.

Using weak language is the kiss of death in any form of sales, especially home based business sales. With so many opportunities and so many home based business entrepreneurs marketing their various products, confidence is not optional. Unless you believe in yourself and your product, how can you possibly expect someone else to believe in you enough to send you money? Remember, they buy you first and your product second.

Confident words convey strength of commitment in your company and product. Confident words establish you as the leader. When your self talk is positive and definite, it translates to positive feelings and positive vibrations to others. I remember when I first started in this industry, I was meek and mild. Consequently my sales were scarce or non-existent. It took many hours of intense self-examination to discover the root cause of the problem. My self talk did not display confidence in my ability.

Developing the confidence of a successful person before, you actually experience that success is challenging. I had to draw on my prior success and establish that feeling as I spoke to prospects. Draw on your prior feeling of success, affirm the feeling with committed words and project your belief to others.

The stronger your “why,” the more you dig deep into your feelings and muster the courage and confidence to persevere. When your “why” truly motivates you to do whatever it takes, you will find the strong feelings. A weak “why” and you will quit at the first little challenge.

As a single mother with two adorable little guys depending on me for everything, failure was not an option. I knew I would find a way to give them the love, support and encouragement they needed to grow into healthy men. That is a powerful “why.”

Examine your reason for having your own business. How powerful is your “why.”

Contact me at Elaine4Success.com and we will work together to insure your success.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Be Consistent To Succeed

The winner is not always the fastest, the strongest or even the most intelligent, but always the most persistent. Being persistent and consistent proves to be the winning combination time after time.

Study the history of successful people and you will find every one of them has endured challenges. Never ever throughout history will you find a highly successful person who quit at the first sign of challenge.

Michael Jordan, one of the greatest professional basketball players in the history of the game, was cut from his high school basketball team. Michael practiced hour after hour until he reached a massive skill level.

Abraham Lincoln persisted through 29 years of constant failure to become America’s greatest President.
• 1831 - Lost his job
• 1832 - Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
• 1833 - Failed in business
• 1834 - Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success)
• 1835 - Sweetheart died
• 1836 - Had nervous breakdown
• 1838 - Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
• 1843 - Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
• 1846 - Elected to Congress (success)
• 1848 - Lost re-nomination
• 1849 - Rejected for land officer position
• 1854 - Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
• 1856 - Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
• 1858 - Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate
• 1860 - Elected President (success)
Napoleon Hill suffered death threats to his partners and setback after setback on his way to writing one of the greatest books ever on the mindset for success and wealth.
Dan Kennedy, a renowned copywriter, proudly acclaims that one out of 8 of his infomercials fails to hit its target mark. If you are one of the seven, you are discouraged and disappointed, but if you are number eight, you are ecstatic.
“Thomas Edison understood the profound secret that to succeed you have to be willing to fail and fail fast. To Edison all failure provided valuable information that he could use to correct his course, and lead him to eventual success.”
The lesson here is simple; be consistent and persistent. The only way to succeed comes through the experience of being willing to persist through the failures. It has been said that we “fail our way to success.” As long as you learn a lesson with each failure and persist toward your goal, you will reach it.
Consistently keep your eyes focused on the goal.
Learn from every situation along the way.
Adjust and improve constantly.
Be consistent – work your plan every day
Persist until you reach your goal.
These 5 steps appear to be very simple and they are simple. The problem is that most people quit at the first little bump in the road. Being consistent and persistent sounds like a great idea until there is a problem or someone offers you something fun to do instead of working your business.
Being consistent and persistent means setting a firm goal you passionately desire. Set a goal which instills such passion and desire in you that you will persist through all of the learning curves. Yes, everything worth while does have a learning curve. How long that learning curve persists depends on how diligently you work and how focused you are during that time. The length of the learning curve also depends on your level of competency at the starting point and the level you choose to achieve.
The more passionate you are about your goal, the easier it will be to persist until victory. Absolutely every successful person has endured and mastered a learning curve. Every successful person encountered challenges. The more persistent and more consistent you are about meeting and conquering those challenges, the more successful you will become.
Victory always belongs to the consistent and persistent.
Let me help you

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Success is Failing Forward

In John C. Maxwell’s book “Failing Forward” he dispels the myth that failure is a bad thing. The man who has never made a mistake is taking orders from the one who made several mistakes. Sometimes what appears to be a failure at the moment is simply success trying to be born in a bigger and better way. When I have failed, and yes I have many failures, it generally meant that I was not thinking big enough. I simply needed to tweak my thinking and action.

There is the story of a man who made a fortune in oil by going back to wells others had abandoned and drilling just a little deeper. There is the story of a man who stopped just three feet short of one of the biggest gold mines ever discovered. Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, successfully identified 10,000 ways that the electric light bulb would NOT work before he discovered the one that did work.

Major league baseball players expect to be out every two out of three or three out of four times at bat. Pro football quarterbacks know that some passes will be dropped or intercepted or even caught out of bounds, but they don’t stop throwing. The pass that results in a first down or a touchdown makes up for the ones that were not successful.

In my own home based business I have reinvented my strategy many times. Not every Google campaign worked. Not every web page design attracted leads. Not every print ad resulted in sales. Did I stop marketing and give up? Absolutely not. When my pay per click campaigns with Google were costing more than the sales they were generating, did I say Google does not work? Of course not. I decided to change my landing page, change my ad or change my keywords. Sometimes I changed all three. The secret there is to only change one at a time. Otherwise you will not know which change made the profitable difference.

When Google changed their rules, and they do change their rules ever four to six weeks, I added article writing to my marketing arsenal.

I am a hiker. Sometimes when I am making a long climb and my legs are complaining, do I turn around and quit? No because I know I am closer to the top than I think. We have a winding road in Steamboat which we lovingly call the “run of the false summit.” Every time we come around a corner, we think this must be the top. Unfortunately, there is another switchback and then another before the top. It is not a point to stop, but a reminder to keep pushing forward just a little longer.

Remember, whether you are an inventor, a major league ball player, a hiker, a runner, or a marketer, one monumental success makes up for several temporary setbacks. The key is always to learn from your failures. When you use mistakes or failures as learning and growing experience rather than a defeat, you actually progress forward.

Notice I said learn from each temporary setback. When you view them as learning experiences on your way to small successes, and even greater success, the temporary defeat does not faze you. Or at least not for long. When you view every experience as a learning experience, it becomes a college classroom on life. When you view a failure as a failure, it becomes a failure.

Sports, business and even our personal life presents us with challenges. Some of those challenges become victories and some become learning experiences. It all depends on your attitude and how you view your present and your future.

My college professor told me something I have never forgotten. Even though that was 40 years ago, the message is still valid today. “You can have ten years experience or one year’s experience ten times.” Use every situation as a learning experience and you will have ten years experience.

The attitude of a winner, the attitude of a professional, is to continually learn and grow. Developing a learning mindset rather than a failure mindset will propel you through life in an upward spiral toward success. Any other choice but learning and growing and you will defeat yourself. Do an attitude check on yourself right now. Are you failing forward toward success?

Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com and together we will propel you toward success.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Effective Leadership Skills

Examine the root word “Lead” carefully.

L – Learning all the information possible from great books, live seminars, cd recordings and personal interaction with other positive attitude, forward-thinking successful people.

E – Examine your own internal thoughts, beliefs, words and actions. Are you allowing old negative programming to hold you back from achieving all of your dreams and goals?

A – Achieve all of your goals by focusing your energy on the target. When you focus on a goal and direct all of your activity toward that one specific objective for as long as it takes to accomplish it, your success is guaranteed.

D – Delegate just enough responsibility to your team members or followers to develop their potential to achieve their own goals and lead others.

When you learn, do a comprehensive internal self-examination, and focus on achieving all of your own goals, you now have a path in place to guide others to duplicate you’re achievements. You can not guide someone else to accomplish things you have not achieved. There is as lack of credibility when you tell others how to do something you have never done. There is never a long line to ask the advice of the person at the bottom of the success ladder.

First achieve the goals and then provide the system for others to duplicate your results. The old saying of “fake it until you make it” just does not have credibility. So you ask, what to do until you do have proven results of your own. Edify your boss or your supervisor or your coach and mentor. Point to their success until you have success of your own. Always, always be honest. Do not claim to have positive results until you do.

Learn to celebrate every little victory. Record each small victory in a journal and celebrate each one. These small accomplishments will grow into bigger achievements. Your experience learning and growing will actually assist you in effective leadership. People relate to you and your challenges as they progress through their own challenges.
Being honest about your leadership journey also adds to your credibility. None of us started at the top. Read our stories; we faced challenges and setbacks as well as victories on our way to personal leadership.

I do not believe there is or ever has been one effective leader who has not “paid his or her dues.” Every one of us has examined ourselves and our leadership thoughts many times. We examined and re-examined our leadership styles. We evaluated our personal leadership and our leadership skills over and over. We made adjustments and adjusted the adjustments.

Only after walking the path ourselves were we able to direct someone else through the same system to reach their own personal success. First we made the journey through the success minefield, then we were qualified to guide others through that minefield to their own personal success.

Even now, after they have achieved their goals, effective leadership demands a constant process of adjusting to modern innovations. Business, success nor leadership stands still. Each one remains a moving target. In order to effectively delegate these skills and techniques, we must continue to focus and keep our own leadership skills sharp.

Learn, examine, achieve and delegate. You must follow each and every step in order and then keep repeating the cycle. Leadership is constantly evolving and the best and more effective leaders never take themselves or their followers for granted. Effective leadership skills are a precious commodity. Delegate them to others and the world will constantly improve. Effective leadership is a privilege, an honor and a responsibility.

I take my leadership, coaching and mentoring seriously. Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com. Let me help you navigate the minefield of success and leadership.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Paradise Isle

Is your tent pitched on “Someday Isle?” There are two different tents pitched there – content and discontent. John C. Maxwell wrote in his book, “Think on These Things” about Which Tent Do You Live In (chapter 27.) Regardless of whether you choose to live on Paradise Isle or Someday Isle, you have chosen to live a life of being contented or discontented.

A truly contented person understands exactly where they are right now and where they intend to go. The contented person has a purpose for their life and their actions. Contented people place a value on their future; they possess a determination to persist until that goal is achieved.

By contrast, a discontented person whines, complains about how it is someone else’s fault, and mopes around feeling sorry for themselves. The discontented person moans about how other people have received all the breaks in life. Instead of getting up out of the tent of discontent and working for a better life, they find it easier to stay stuck in lack and depression.

Truly contented people know that the challenge to achieve is not only worth the effort, but is the only long term solution. They count their blessings for what they already possess and maintain a grateful heart for the opportunity to make a better future.

If you truly want to move from discontent to content, you must take new action. No matter what you do in life, you must maintain a positive attitude and a learning spirit. Learn how to restructure your thoughts, your words, your actions and your results.

Your mindset of being content or discontent with your situation makes all the difference. Making that mental shift can present a challenge. Some are able to make the mindset shift on their own by having a series of exercises; however, most people require more than a “do it yourself” system. The most expedient and personalized method is to hire a coach and mentor for guidance.

Success in life always goes to the content mindset, never the discontent mindset. Whether you are seeking personal success or business success, you must dissolve the discontent mindset. Of course if you enjoy being miserable, be my guest.

Every successful person throughout history has experienced challenges and setbacks. The difference between the successful and the failures is the content, growing mindset. The other element in common for the successful is that each one had a coach and mentor to guide them.

I invite you to move from the sparse tent of discontent on “Someday Isle” and move in to the plush tent of being content on Paradise Isle.

Come talk to me; let me help with the moving experience.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Prosperity Thinking

Current economic situations tend to place prosperity thinking at the bottom of a deep well. I am extending a golden opportunity for you to float those creative thoughts to the surface of the well. In fact, let prosperous thoughts overflow.

Your thoughts are triggered by your beliefs. Those thoughts transmit into feelings and words. Your words influence your actions and your results materialize accordingly. Have a heart-to-heart talk with your core beliefs. Do you truly believe, absolutely know in your heart, that you are in the process of becoming a resounding success? Examine your self-talk. Are you telling yourself that you will “try” or “test it out for awhile?” Those thoughts and words are the kiss of death for your current and future success. “Try” is a way of giving yourself permission to fail.

No one ever starts a business with the deliberate intention of failing. If so, why bother? Unfortunately so many people start a business, especially a home based business, with a half-hearted desire and lukewarm expectation of success. It is the “dip your toe in the water” mentality. How many Olympic swimmers would ever succeed if they did the toe test and walked away from the edge of the pool because the water felt a little cool today? Are you doing that same “toe test” attitude with your business?

Ok, I understand that you have a family to support and you feel compelled to start your business on a part time basis rather than plunging into the business stream head first. I advocate responsible thinking and actions. Before you breathe a sign of relief and start making excuses for yourself, stop right now and breathe in an air of determination. Every good swimmer puts their head down and surges forward. Sometimes it is every stroke and sometimes every few strokes, but they do take a breath of air. My caution to you is not to spend so much time casually breathing and relaxing that you forget to put your head down and focus on the task at hand.

Every successful business person spends absolute focused time and effort surging forward with their business. Regardless of whether you start part time with only 2 or 3 hours per day or 8 hours per day, you must do 2 critical things:

1. You must have an uncompromisingly positive attitude and expectation of total success. No options, no hesitation, no “toe testing.” Success is the only outcome acceptable. Commit to do whatever it takes to succeed and persist until you succeed.

2. Design a specific plan to proceed from where you are with your current economic situation to reach your predetermined goal. If you decide to swim across the lake, you start on one shore and determine the exact line necessary to reach the predetermined spot on the shore on the other side of the lake. The exact principle works with your business. Distractions occur even more with a home based business. You must design a clear and workable plan.

3. Work that plan with focus. Give yourself checkpoints along your path. For instance if your success plan is designed to be achieved in 6 months, then set a progress checkpoint for a week, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 150 days and 180 days. Check your progress and make slight course corrections if needed.

Who knows, you may have to increase the goal because you are ahead of schedule.

Prosperous thinking, a well designed plan and focused implementation of the plan yield success. It really is that simple. Head down and surge ahead. Checkpoint to breathe and celebrate prosperity at the finish line.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Inspire Your Burning Desire

Ask a small child what they want to be when they grow up and you will hear grand and glorious dreams. In fact, look around you at Halloween and see the imagination of a child as they become super heroes or princesses or even rock stars. Watch a child play dress up or lets pretend. I think back to my own childhood when my playmates and I spent hours designing our dream homes and describing them in glorious detail to each other.

What happened to all of those grand dreams? Life threw its dark cloak of “settle down and be realistic” over our dreams and smothered them. I invite you to lift that cover and peak underneath. Sometimes there is still a flicker of light burning in that dream.

If you were taught as I was that I had to be responsible and practical. I had to go to school, study hard, get a good job and work hard until retirement. Yawn! That mindset drowns the spark rather than fanning the flame. Dispel that myth right now.

First, the days of going to work for a company as a youth and retiring from that same company with a big fat pension after 20 years is non-existent. Less than half of one percent of the population start and retire from exactly the same company. The ones who do are probably working for a family owned company.

Second, the idea of retiring after 20 years with a big fat pension is also a pipe dream. In the 1950’s there actually were companies who provided a retirement pension to their employees. Now the employees have to at least match the company contribution. In many airline cases, the retirement fund disappeared. In other cases, the company closed and the retirement plan vanished with it. Even if the retirement plan did still exist, it was probably about 40% of what was not enough to live on when it was 100%.

I am a part of the baby boomer generation. So many of us are now reaching retirement age and facing the fact that the body and mind may be ready but the bank account is shaking its head emphatically NO. No way there is enough to retire. In fact, many of the bank accounts are laughing hysterically, “You want to do WHAT? Retire? Not a chance.”

This may be a good thing. “How you ask?” Remember those dreams of starting your own business or developing a career out of your favorite hobby or totally reinventing yourself.

True, I have reinvented myself so many times and absolutely loved the experience. Each time I learned new skills, met new inspiring people and achieved new goals. Dust off your dreams. Ignite your burning desire. Inspire your burning desire.

That burning desire is still within you. It is truly not too late. If your mind is active, your heart beating and you have a burning desire in your soul, you can still achieve your dreams.

You have the experience; put it to use. Stop living on the sidelines. Get in to the game of life. Reinvent yourself and ignite your burning desire. Be your own inspiration. If you need someone to believe in you until you can believe in yourself, contact me. Inspire your burning desire to live the life you desire and deserve. You have heard it said that “today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Put a smile on your face and know it can and will be true for you. I am taking a stand for you and your future.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Due Diligence

Life is learning and growing experience. Sometimes the experience delights the soul and sometimes it challenges the patience.

I am still dealing with a pesky web site situation. What I learned after a visit to the FBI was that phishing, taking the contents of a web site and using it without the original owner’s permission, is fairly common. The FBI agent was not only polite and very thorough, but truly concerned about my rights as a citizen. He diligently recorded the details of my situation and received copies of all of the documentation.

Now I realize in comparison to 911 or any other potential terrorist attack, my web site issue pales in comparison. If fact in comparison to those issues, I’m not even on the priority list. The courtesy, consideration and professionalism of the FBI agent were commendable.

Identity theft whether it be stealing your credit cards and amassing charges by pretending to be you or stealing your web site content and pretending to be you still leaves the victim feeling violated.

With your bills, credit cards or other documents, you can shred sensitive information before it leaves your home in the form of trash. You can avoid giving your credit card information to a caller who claims to be verifying your information. If they are truly verifying, they already have your information; ask them to tell you and you will confirm or deny. Chances are they do not already have it. Check the source carefully and be certain you are clear as to the identity of the person before you release sensitive information. Do your due diligence.

Unfortunately far too many people fall for unethical individuals and do give money to the caller or internet offer. Please do not fall for this unethical behavior. Do your due diligence. Make a checklist: ask for an official company web site, ask where the company is incorporated (inside the US or off shore), check the attorney general’s office for complaints, and be certain you can contact a person by phone and email.

There are so many businesses on the internet. Many of them are honest. Unfortunately, the ones which are misrepresenting honest people and honest businesses sour the opinion of the public and create distrust of all opportunities.

My web site www.NewMillionaireBlueprint.com is honest, ethical and legitimate. The copy which is pretending to be me is a fake. Oh, he did a good job of making it appear to be me. Do not be fooled.

I really commend Host Gator for following every letter of the legal DMCA official requirements. It feels good to know people care about legal rights and proper procedures.

www.NewMillionaireBlueprint.com is really Elaine Love. Call me 303-284-0514 or email me at Elaine@ResultsForLife.net to obtain the REAL Elaine Love.

I am a member of the ethics committee for the home based business industry in order to help protect people. There are many honest companies on the internet. They say a rotten apple can spoil the entire barrel I believe this Halloween you can still bob for good apples. You simply need to perform your due diligence checklist to determine the good from the bad.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Entrepreneur

Success and life are a package deal. How many of us focus so much on one part that we neglect other essential parts? Probably the most common violation is the workaholic. Yes, we convince ourselves that it is our responsibility as head of the household to provide a living for our family, and that is true. Now before you get defensive, I have been totally guilty of exactly that logic.

Throwing myself into my work 80 and 90 hours a week with the self-inflicted justification that it was essential seemed like the right decision at the time. Now that I look back and see all of the school events I missed and the landmark occasions in my son’s lives, I question that logic. Was it really worth it? Viewing that decision through the eyes of my sons, the perspective changes.

How many of us have spent so many hours providing for the physical and materialistic needs of our families that we have neglected the mental and emotional needs? As a young high school teacher, before I started my own family, I observed so my students who had every possible materialistic possession. They wore designer clothes. They drove expensive cars. They lived in affluent neighborhoods. Far too many of them were seeking attention and approval, sometimes from the wrong sources. In our striving to provide for the material possessions, it becomes too easy to give money rather than focused time.

As a single mother, I know I am guiltier of that than I would like to admit. Yes, I rushed home from work as quickly as possible and spent every weekend moment possible with the boys; however, I missed far too much. Any of you relate to this scenario? Thought so.

What if there was an alternative where you could set your own schedule and work around your kids activities rather than during those school events? What if I could you’re you a way to earn at least as much income as you do now and have total control of your future earnings? Yes, it really is not only possible but probable.

The home based business industry is the fastest growing industry in the world right now.

People are learning that corporate America does not have the security it once possessed. Jobs are going overseas. Companies are downsizing. Unfortunately some companies are closing their doors totally. Retirement plans were defined benefit plans; the company funded them for the employee, in the 1950s. Retirement plans have now become defined contribution plans, the employee contributes and sometimes the company matches the employee’s contribution. When a defined contribution plan runs out of money, it’s done. Even worse what if the company goes out of business and the retirement plan disappears along with the company?

The only true security and control for the future lies in being an entrepreneur. Business owners control their time, their current earnings, their future earnings and their retirement.

I’ve been and employee, a small business owner (brick and mortar business) and a home based business entrepreneur. Personally speaking, I am so thankful for the opportunities and future as a home based business entrepreneur. I’ve tried the others. I love my life now. Now that I fully grasp the joy of being a home based business owner, I must admit that I am now psychologically unemployable.

Come check it out for yourself. See if this will answer your goals and lifestyle dreams. Visit Elaine4Success.com and enter your information. Let’s design a plan for your future.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Dress for Success

Today I heard a delightful speech on dressing for success. A man in an expensive suit and tie appears more authoritarian than someone in jeans and a tee shirt when they are standing before the board of directors of a corporation. How many times have you ever seen someone address Congress wearing a polo shirt and Dockers? Probably not. There is an impression of authority when a man steps up to the podium in a suit and tie.

When I managed a chain of Goodyear tire dealerships in Detroit, Michigan, I always appeared for work in a dress and heels; absolute femininity and professionalism were essential not optional. In order to maintain authority and respect, it was necessary to look and act competent and professional.

There are certain expectations and perhaps hazards with dressing for success. For instance there must be a rule in “wait staff training one-on-one in restaurants” that the bill automatically goes to the man in the tie.

Everyone seeks a competitive edge in business. Spending a few extra minutes on your appearance before an important meeting eases your mind about your appearance and gives that slight edge confidence builder. Success frequently hinges on that slight edge.

Even though I have been told that a man must select items from the lunch menu which will look good on his tie, those messy little spots are not ideal.

Dressing for the occasion is highly recommended. You wouldn’t expect to see a tuxedo or an evening gown at a picnic any more than you would expect to see shorts and flip flops at a luncheon meeting at a 5 star restaurant. Use common sense. Ah but common sense is not always common. Perhaps use your best judgment about the event.

Creating your website appearance in a professional manner is equally as important as your personal appearance. Just as your personal attire creates a first impression, so does your web site. In either case, you never receive a second chance to make a first impression. With your web site, you may have about 30 seconds to catch the attention of the viewer.

Personally, my cordless mouse has a very fast delete click reaction as well as a fast “back button” click. Unfortunately for most web site owners, Google ranks pages not only on content but also on the amount of time each visitor spends on the site before that dreaded “back button’ click.

Design an attractive site which will not only catch and hold attention but also provide value. Add enough personality to avoid the dry textbook appearance. Select a heading and opening statement which arouse interest and promise some potential for value.

Just as your personal appearance conveys an impression, so does your business web site. Dressing for success applies in all aspects of your business and personal life.
Success may be a slight edge difference. Give yourself every advantage. Dress for Success.

Lets talk. Let me assist you in obtaining every legal advantage to propel you toward the success you so richly desire and deserve. Visit me at.Elaine4Success.com

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Internet Fraud

Today became a challenge when I discovered a jerk had copied my web page including video and changed the contact box to divert people to his affiliate link. To say I was miffed would be a major understatement. I feel violated.

Warning: If you have ever been scammed or had your identity stolen, you understand the frustration. Am I going to let the creep get away with it? Absolutely not.

First step was to go to my beloved Google and type in “report phishing.” For those who may not be familiar with the term phishing, I have included the Wikipedia definition.
“In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users,[2] and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies.[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.
A phishing technique was described in detail in 1987, and the first recorded use of the term "phishing" was made in 1996. The term is a variant of fishing,[4] probably influenced by phreaking[5][6] or password harvesting fishing, and alludes to baits used to "catch" financial information and passwords.”
Other terms to type in the search engine are “report fraud,” “report phishing scam,” or “internet fraud.” The websites which I discovered to report this type of not only plagiarism but outright fraud are www.USA.gov (internet fraud), www.IC3.gov, www.US-cert.gov/nav/report-phishing.html, and www.Google.com/safebrowsing/report-phish.
Yes, I filed all of the reports in order to prevent illegal and unethical people like this from harming other innocent people. I also filed a complaint with the FTC.
Another thing you can do in order to locate the individual or company illegally using your web site is to type in http://whois.domaintools.com Then add a /and the name of the url (url is the uniform resource locater better known as the website address or website name) showing for the fraudulent use of your website. In this case, I typed in http://whois.domaintools.com/makemoneywithelaine.com.
No surprise that it did not exist. In fact, he had an ad posted to sell the url to me for $295.00. Since I could not locate him through that source, I typed in his affiliate link name http://whois.domaintools.com/Web_Biz_ Kit.com
This revealed 182 records on the “whois” file since 2000 and 751 other sites hosted on his server and 174 other domains registered to Mike Gleissner or one of his many other aliases. He listed addresses in different states – mostly California and New York. Not surprising that the address he listed is not valid, nor is the telephone listed valid or the email addresses he used valid.
Huge thank you to Chris Hickman, my pay per click mentor who discovered the fraudulent site and reported it to me. Yes, there are honest, ethical people out there. However, there are also creeps who prey on honest business people.
Contact me and I’ll keep you posted on protecting yourself.