3 Solutions For Success

A fresh approach changes the direction of your results. “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought,” Henri Louis Bergson.

Everyone reaches a point in life where they feel stuck. The creativity does not flow and the spirit is restless. Wayne Dyer, world renowned author, lecturer and philosopher, once said that it is impossible to be depressed and active at the same time. The greatest cure for being stuck, restless or depressed is always action. Go do something. Write, read, walk, bake cookies or clean the garage. Go do something.

Better yet, when you are restless and discontent with your current situation, go do something wonderful for someone else. Doing something good for someone else not only makes them feel better but it also improves your attitude.

When your results are not progressing the way you desire, the 3 areas to investigate are:

Attitude
Philosophy
Activity

Your attitude reflects your perspective toward a situation. It is how you feel about the events in your life. A positive attitude will always help you do more than a negative attitude.

"A 'positive attitude' is definitely one of the keys to success. My definition of a positive attitude is a simple one: Looking for the good in all circumstances. Catherine Pulsifer

Your attitude reflects in everything you do whether you realize it or not. Your attitude about yourself, your work and your life in general projects into everything you say and do. When things are not going your way, look inside rather than outside.

Your philosophy is your pursuit of knowledge through study and self discipline. Jim Rohn was 25 when he realized that the problem with his finances was not the economy, the government, the taxes or any external force but his philosophy of life. He changed his philosophy and began disciplining himself to study successful people. He read “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Clason. He adopted their philosophy of handling money, business and forward thinking mindset. This subtle change in philosophy created a major shift in his earnings and the way he managed his money.

Philosophy quotes can be very obtuse and vague. Oscar Wilde said it best, “I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I m saying.” One of my favorites of Oscar Wilde is “I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.”

Break philosophy down into simple terms. Change your perspective about a situation; study and develop a new view of life. According to Wayne Dyer, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change. This is philosophy 101.

Once you change your attitude to reflect more of the positive approach and change your philosophy to study and gain new perspective, your activity will automatically change.

Get in the habit every night of making a list of five things to move your business. Let your subconscious work on the solutions while you sleep. Be absolutely certain to complete your five major action steps every day. Every activity must move you closer to your goal.

Decide with pin point accuracy your exact goals. Know precisely what you consider as success: personal, professional, and financial. Focus every activity each day with laser beam accuracy toward the achievement of those goals.

With a crystal clear philosophy, a positive attitude and laser focused accuracy in all of your activities, it would be impossible to miss your goals.

When your life stalls out or misses its target, reassess your attitude, philosophy and accuracy. Changing one or a combination of those three factors will turn your life upward.

If you would like assistance with attitude, philosophy, or activity, write a comment in “contact Elaine” in www.Elaine4Success.com. Your future is guaranteed.

Attitude as a Rock in Your Success Path

"Rock your world" implies a positive image. Everyone responds enthusiastically to having their world rocked in a pleasurable way. Surprises you receive on your birthday and Christmas present delightful thoughts. You expect birthday and Christmas surprises to rock your world in a happy manner.

When the boss says, "Come in to my office, we need to talk" that uncertain surprise conveys an entirely different thought pattern. Your first thought frequently hovers around the apprehensive as you anticipate that conversation. That little talk with your boss has the potential of being a rock in your career path.

The words are similar since both could "rock your world" but the instant mental image is 180 degrees apart. The difference is more than just the words; it is the tone and the particular setting. Birthday and Christmas are automatically anticipated to be delightful expectations. An encounter with the boss conveys apprehension.

How much of our life do we pre-determine through our expectations? Unconsciously we set the stage for our experiences. How much do we actually contribute to the rocks in our path to success? Are we constructing our own rock slide avalanche?

Our own attitude determines more of our results than we like to admit. We choose to expect positive or negative results from every situation in our life. Does the situation change? No, our attitude and expectation change with each situation. You may accidentally be constructing your own rocks in your success path due to your attitude.


Attitude Checklist
1. What decision have you made about your attitude for today?
2. Did you decide last night, early this morning or in the heat of the moment?
3. Describe your exact decision.
4. Write out the one discipline you must practice each and every day to maintain that positive attitude.
5. List the old programming, family history or events influencing your daily attitude.

Life revolves around your internal attitudes and feelings, not what happens in the outside world. What happens to you and what other people think is never as important as what you think and feel. Your attitude truly is within your control.

David Neagle went from a fork lift operator who possessed a rotten attitude about everything to a very positive person about everything. His income directly reflected his correlating attitudes. A bad attitude translated to a very low bank account; an extremely positive attitude reflected an extremely plush bank account. The one major difference was his attitude. Attitude is a choice. Every day and every situation you have the opportunity to select your attitude. Making a firm decision to maintain a great attitude in advance of a ticklish situation creates a much higher likelihood of a positive result.

A recent study of teens who chose to take drugs or avoid drugs revealed an amazingly simple fact. The teens were from similar neighborhoods, similar economic backgrounds, similar academic achievements and similar religious backgrounds. The only difference between the teens who took drugs and the teens who did not take drugs was one simple fact. The teens who did not take drugs made a conscious decision prior to the heat of the moment.

Making a decision to have a positive attitude directly relates to the choice to take or not take drugs. When a firm decision is made in advance, the positive results are far more likely. Decide right now to maintain a positive attitude and resolve to uphold that decision no matter what happens. The simple act of deciding in advance creates a stronghold for victory.

You have the ability to prevent some rocks in your path to success simply by choosing a positive attitude and resolving to maintain that decision. Will it remove all rocks? No, but why create unnecessary impediments? Success has enough challenges without creating your own rock blocks.

For more inspiration and articles for success, join me at http://www.elaine4success.com/

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

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.

Juicy Slice of Life

Summertime may be drawing to a close but summer melons are still in the stores everywhere. Look at the juicy watermelon treat from a totally different perspective.

W – Together WE accomplish more than each one of us could alone. No one gets to the top of the ladder alone. It is always with the help of those before and beside us.

A – ATTITUDE is the absolute controlling factor in every situation. Life is 97% our impression and interpretation of what happens more than the actual event.

T – TIMING is so important. Wise use of our time is critical. When we run out of time, the game is over. Time is a very precious factor. Use your hours and days wisely.

E – ENTHUSIASM – Without excitement, energy and enthusiasm for what you are doing, you will never accomplish your full potential. Passion for your life and your business is essential to achieve your goals. Greatness requires passion for your pursuits.

R – RESPECT for yourself and others. You have heard it said that you can never truly totally love another person until you learn to love yourself. The same is true for respect. Without self-respect, how can you truly respect the rights and feelings of others?

M – MAKE and keep commitments. Define your goals and objectives and commit to their achievement. Persist with that commitment until it is absolutely a reality.

E – EVERY day must contain come fun. You will be far more productive and happy about your life when you enjoy what you are doing and have fun in the process. Life is to be enjoyed. If your work makes you miserable, it not only drags you down but also drags everyone around you down. You can always make a living doing something you enjoy. Either change what you are doing or change your attitude about what you are doing.

L – LOVE is the answer. Regardless of the question, love is the answer. Love of what you are doing. Love for the people in your life. Love for yourself and others.

O – ONE day at a time. Start with small steps and short time frames. If you have to go in ten minute intervals do it. An alcoholic decides not to drink for ten minutes, and then keep adding another 10 minutes until it is an entire day, then week, then month, then year. You can apply that to not eating chocolate or whatever your big temptation.

N – NEVER give up. A winner never quits and a quitter never wins. Ever see the picture of the frog in the mouth of the eagle? The frog is attempting to choke the eagle as the eagle flies away. Never never give up.

You will never look at watermelon the same again. It is all in your perspective. Regardless of whether you have a home based business, a job, a traditional brick and mortar business or no business at all. These are basic principles of life.

,new

Live life as one juicy slice of adventure.

Always Be Growing - Mind Candy

We all know that what we feed our body, determines our health, our weight and our energy. How much attention are you giving to your mind? What diet are you feeding your mind?

Are you listening and watching the electronic income reducer – TV? How many of those programs actually pick up your spirits and stretch your imagination in a positive direction? If you watch Constantly Negative News, CNN, you generally find depressing news followed by a commercial for an anti-depressant, followed by more negative news and followed by another commercial for another anti-depressant. See a pattern here?

If you continue to feed your body unhealthy food, you will have health problems. The same goes for your mind. If you feed your mind a diet of depression and violence, how can you possibly expect a happy, upbeat outlook on life?

Fill your mind with mental nutrients, especially first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. You subconscious mind is the most receptive when you are just coming out of an alpha state (sleep) and just before you drift into an alpha state. The last thing in your mind before sleep and the first thoughts into your mind when you awake are the most important. Use these times to program your subconscious mind with what you truly desire to achieve.

Avoid television, especially violence or depressing news at least an hour before sleep. Personally, I do not watch television. I prefer to read at least 10 pages of a really good book the last thing before I go to sleep.

The first thing on awakening, I like to read positive affirmations. It sets the tone for the day. The next activity is always my treadmill. I listen to inspirational or educational cds during that time. It not only makes the time go faster but it fills my mind with uplifting and mind stretching thoughts prior to starting my work day. Periodically throughout the day, I repeat the positive affirmations.

I have not listened to regular radio stations in my car. I prefer educational or inspirational cds in my car as well. Even a traffic jam is more tolerable with something soothing and pleasantly stimulating.

What we think about, we bring about. I prefer encouraging and enlightening thoughts and events. How about you? What are you feeding your mind on a daily basis?

Its all in your head

It’s all in your head

I recently had an interesting and revealing experience. I was frustrated that I had set some very high goals and life seemed to be throwing up roadblocks right and left. Have you ever felt that way? Sure. If we are honest, all of us have experienced that from time to time.

The scary thing is that if you dwell on that obstacle, it looms larger and larger. It is back to my constant reminder that you will receive more of whatever you give your time, energy and focus. The more you let your thoughts continue to swirl around the “poor me” and “why is this happening to me” pattern, the more you will add bricks to the top of that brick wall.

I hit one of those roadblocks on Friday. I had just sent out the link to my blog to several of my business associates. No sooner had I finished sending out the link than I discovered that my blog had been shut down. Was I happy? Absolutely not. The first reaction was “Why?” All of my content was clean, professional, original and non-sales.

The next move was actually from my assistant, Brenda. She jumped into action and requested a review by the powers who controlled the shut down. Smart lady. She took positive constructive action. No blame, no pity party, just proactive action.

It does help to have a partner who is cool under fire. We each have times when it helps to have someone in our corner. Not someone to join in dragging you both down, but someone to shed support and encouragement. You want to surround yourself with other people who are of the same positive mindset as you are. You also want to surround yourself with people with high goals and the absolute focus to achieve those goals. Choose action-oriented friends.

I had to have a serious heart to heart talk with my thoughts and refocus totally on the positive. Yes, I had a few minutes of “oh, no.” A few minutes are only acceptable if you limit it to a few minutes. Then get your act together and focus on what you can do to find a solution. Don’t rely on others to do it for you. This is your business. This is your life. You are responsible for your results.

You have total control of your own mind. It does not happen by accident. You must take control of your thoughts, your words, and your actions.

It really is all in your own mind. It really is in your own control.

Life happens. This is not a fairy land of unicorns and rainbows, this is real life. How you respond to the situations of life will determine your results.