Change waves the flag of new beginnings everywhere we gaze. New Years resolutions lurk just around the corner; 2010 strolls into our lives within the next few days. Frequently people resolve to lose weight, make more money, exercise more, and spend more quality time with the family.
Resolutions officially commence on January 1 and all too frequently collapse by January 10 or even January 3. Review the "for sale" column of the news paper, Craig's List, or e-Bay and find fantastic deals on exercise equipment; ads appear in abundance by February. All of the well intentioned folks who requested exercise equipment for Christmas or purchased with high hopes for their New Years resolution have given up by February. What does that say about our persistence as a society?
The common joke in most gyms, particularly in a ski resort, is that the six busiest weeks of the year are two weeks before ski season, two weeks before bikini season and the two weeks after New Years resolutions. Our good intentions live a very short life span.
No wonder 97% of all businesses fail. Regardless of the type of business: franchise, brick and mortar, home based business, service business or retail business, only three per cent succeed. Look at our track record as a society. Persistence and resolve to commit to a goal until the goal has been achieved remains dismal at best.
Why do statistics reveal such a high failure rate? Examine the goals and the reason for stating them in the first place.
1. Did you set a goal you passionately desire to achieve or a goal you thought you should desire? Most people set goals they think they should set: lose weight, spend more responsibly, spend more quality family time, earn more money or start a fitness program. Guilt or responsibility fades much faster than a deep passionate personal desire.
2. Examine the language of your decision. Using words like "I'll try," "Maybe," "If," or "I'll see how it goes" set you up for failure from the beginning. Wishy washy words and luke warm feelings predict failure. Any time the statement "I'll give the business 3 months and see if it works" leaves the lips, failure waves the red flag of disaster.
3. Life offers very few guarantees. One steady rule of predictability remains true. If the goal is an absolute life threatening necessity, the odds of success skyrocket. People almost always get their "must" goals.
How seriously did you commit to your New Years resolutions? Examine your motivation for setting each resolution. Did you select goals you absolutely must find a way to achieve? Is your goal something you passionately desire? When you speak about your goals, what language do you speak and think? What feelings do you associate with each goal?
Our current economy entices many people to decide to start a new home based business. Good news about home based businesses is not only the low start up cost, but also the higher profit margin and faster return on investment. The bad news about having a lower start up cost is the lack of long term resolve because of a smaller loss of investment in case of failure. A large portion of the population wants to make more money and in many cases actually needs to make more money, but how many really commit to the follow through.
Regardless of the goal the bottom line remains the same. Weight loss, fitness, new business or any other decision, the more passionate the desire and the more solid the commitment, the greater the likelihood of success.
A new business or any other worthwhile goal requires an investment of time, effort and money. How badly do you desire success? What are you willing to do to achieve it? The more you desire success the more important it is to seek the help of a mentor to guarantee your positive results. Seek resources.
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Brick Walls
Brick walls exist! Erroneously people believe those walls are to keep you out. Not so. Brick walls exist to help you determine exactly how badly you desire to achieve something.
Throughout my decades of life, I’ve encountered many brick walls. Some were worth scaling, tunneling under, or parting the brush to go around the wall. Other walls could have been a thin veneer and they just were not that important. Goals and obstacles reveal not only our character but our determination. Even more than the brick wall itself is the way we choose to scale the obstacle. Napoleon Hill once said,” Taking the path of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked.”
The stronger my desire and determination, the easier it became to surmount the obstacle. Love and money top the list of motivators. When the object of your affection consumes your thoughts, causes your heart to beat faster and becomes almost an obsession, there is a strong likelihood you are in love. Love causes people to perform feats inconceivable under different circumstances. Strong independent men have been known to get down on their knees. Some have even gone so far as to utter words which defy the “bachelor’s creed” I remember observing my college senior son actually quake at the very thought of allowing the “c” word, “commitment.” E for engagement was about as likely as seeing the Amish drive up in a Hummer. Fast forward ten years and he is married and the proud father of two adorable little rascals, sons of his own. His brick wall of commitment crumbled in the face of the petite, athletic, intelligent Morgan.
Money forms its own brick walls of various thicknesses. One aspiring young rock star was so determined to start his own home based business that he actually listed his couch on e-bay. His passion for his music created such desire that he was compelled to do whatever it took to earn an excellent living and still have the time flexibility for his bass guitar. Happily I report that he now has both a thriving internet business but also performs concerts on stage with his brother and “the boys” on a regular basis. Determination, persistence, and consistency create results.
People constantly ask, “How fast will I make money?” Absolutely no one including a guru with a crystal ball can honestly answer that query. The star gypsy gazes deep into the crystal ball and says whatever thought pops into her head. Intuition, history, statistics and guess work still fail to make a reliable prediction. Be realistic, if some ‘far seeing genie” could really predict then we would not have 97 per cent of all new businesses fail. Notice that statistic flows across the board with home based business, franchise, retail business, service business, and any other conceivable money-making opportunity.
Everything comes back to brick walls. How inspired are you to find a solution to penetrating the brick wall? When your back presses against the wall and you must find a way to succeed in your business, you will. Regardless of whether your wall consists of debt, desire to provide for your family or simply an unquenchable fire within yourself to achieve, you will persist until your objective is obtained.
Brick walls may be erected in our minds or in reality. Either way, the wall is just as formidable. When the motivation is so strong, the why and how become easier. I can remember times when Doug and Dan were one and three; we were so broke we had to look up to see the financial basement floor. Nothing would have stopped me from penetrating that brick wall. All I had to do was peer into Dan's trusting blue eyes or Doug’s loving greenish eyes. Success was the only choice.
In this instance, both love and money played a significant role. No brick wall in history can withstand a mother’s love for her sons and her determination to provide for them.
For more articles and mindset personal training, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com
Throughout my decades of life, I’ve encountered many brick walls. Some were worth scaling, tunneling under, or parting the brush to go around the wall. Other walls could have been a thin veneer and they just were not that important. Goals and obstacles reveal not only our character but our determination. Even more than the brick wall itself is the way we choose to scale the obstacle. Napoleon Hill once said,” Taking the path of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked.”
The stronger my desire and determination, the easier it became to surmount the obstacle. Love and money top the list of motivators. When the object of your affection consumes your thoughts, causes your heart to beat faster and becomes almost an obsession, there is a strong likelihood you are in love. Love causes people to perform feats inconceivable under different circumstances. Strong independent men have been known to get down on their knees. Some have even gone so far as to utter words which defy the “bachelor’s creed” I remember observing my college senior son actually quake at the very thought of allowing the “c” word, “commitment.” E for engagement was about as likely as seeing the Amish drive up in a Hummer. Fast forward ten years and he is married and the proud father of two adorable little rascals, sons of his own. His brick wall of commitment crumbled in the face of the petite, athletic, intelligent Morgan.
Money forms its own brick walls of various thicknesses. One aspiring young rock star was so determined to start his own home based business that he actually listed his couch on e-bay. His passion for his music created such desire that he was compelled to do whatever it took to earn an excellent living and still have the time flexibility for his bass guitar. Happily I report that he now has both a thriving internet business but also performs concerts on stage with his brother and “the boys” on a regular basis. Determination, persistence, and consistency create results.
People constantly ask, “How fast will I make money?” Absolutely no one including a guru with a crystal ball can honestly answer that query. The star gypsy gazes deep into the crystal ball and says whatever thought pops into her head. Intuition, history, statistics and guess work still fail to make a reliable prediction. Be realistic, if some ‘far seeing genie” could really predict then we would not have 97 per cent of all new businesses fail. Notice that statistic flows across the board with home based business, franchise, retail business, service business, and any other conceivable money-making opportunity.
Everything comes back to brick walls. How inspired are you to find a solution to penetrating the brick wall? When your back presses against the wall and you must find a way to succeed in your business, you will. Regardless of whether your wall consists of debt, desire to provide for your family or simply an unquenchable fire within yourself to achieve, you will persist until your objective is obtained.
Brick walls may be erected in our minds or in reality. Either way, the wall is just as formidable. When the motivation is so strong, the why and how become easier. I can remember times when Doug and Dan were one and three; we were so broke we had to look up to see the financial basement floor. Nothing would have stopped me from penetrating that brick wall. All I had to do was peer into Dan's trusting blue eyes or Doug’s loving greenish eyes. Success was the only choice.
In this instance, both love and money played a significant role. No brick wall in history can withstand a mother’s love for her sons and her determination to provide for them.
For more articles and mindset personal training, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com
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.
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.
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