Saturday, May 24, 2008
Speak the Negative Away
Our mind is like a computer with a keyboard and a storage disk. Our senses represent our keyboard. Chemical pathways in the brain's unconscious represent the brain's storage disks. Anything that is typed into our keyboard will be stored for life. Our lips are part of our keyboard. Our lips program us. Speak negative and we program negative into our storage disk called the uncon¬scious mind.
The storage disk (the unconscious mind) is unable to distinguish the truth from a lie. The unconscious believes everything that is put into it. As computer pro¬grammers say, "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Negative program, negative life.
Emile Coue, the pioneer of autosuggestion, coined the phrase:
"Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better and better. I feel healthy. I feel happy. I feel terrific."
He asked patients to repeat this phrase throughout the day. Those who followed his suggestion improved.
Words are a tremendous energy source. Negative words induce negative results; positive words produce positive results.
Negative speech undermines our health and our happiness. A secretary says, "This computer is a pain in the neck" - and guess who has a headache a few hours later? A tennis player says, "I choke on the big points" - and guess who loses important matches? A parent says, "Our kids always get sick on vacation" - and guess whose holiday is ruined?
How often have we heard ourselves say these words: "I'm not as smart as everyone else." "I'm just unlucky." "I can't lose weight." "I'm not getting any younger." "I'm not as sharp as I used to be." "I'll never be a success." "I never have enough time" "I'm messy" " I'm disorganized." "Mondays depress me."
As children we hear negative. When we watch tele¬vision we see and hear negative. (The auditory and visu¬al aspects of television make it a powerful programmer.) Our friends talk negatively. So we get in the habit. We begin to talk negatively. The more we hear ourselves talk, the more negative we speak. We verbalize the neg¬ative and our lives become negative. The more negative our lives become, the more we speak negative.
Check yourself. Listen consciously to everything you verbalize. Does most of your self-talk build you up or put you down? Would you type the words you say about yourself into your computer as lifelong directives?
Imagine getting on an airplane that contains the wrong program. Would you fly on that plane? Of course not. The program determines the plane's altitude, speed, course, and destination. An airplane with the wrong pro¬gram will crash. When you hear yourself speak nega¬tively-stop. Get on the right course. Speak positive words that guide you to success.
You can reprogram your brain. The chemical path¬ways in your brain's unconscious can be broken down in about twenty-one days. Replace negative words with positive words and the negative chemical pathways¬ - the negative programs - will be destroyed in twenty-one days.
Once the negative programs are destroyed, more positive things will begin to happen. You will be on the flight path of success.
If words are the most powerful destiny shaper that we control-and they are-then by governing the words that come out of our mouths, we can have a better chance of having a fulfilled life.
Learn to see something positive in everything that happens. Speak hopeful words. Never miss an opportu¬nity to praise others. Find and speak the good in every situation. Show appreciation at every opportunity. Encourage the timid. Fortify the weak. Use positive words to become all you can be and to help others to get the most out of life. Positive words give you confidence and, in turn, encourage others.
Rather than speaking the negative in advance, speak what you want as if your desire has already happened. Avoid speaking a negative future: "We are looking forward to our vacation, but the first day we go on a trip the kids always get sick." Guess what happens? Your children are sick the first day of your vacation. Speak positively about the future: "We are looking forward to our vacation and this time the kids are going to be healthy the entire trip." Your children have a much bet¬ter chance of being healthy this time.
Positive speech is not designed to detract from your faith. Positive talk enhances your faith. Read the Bible. All of God's courageous leaders spoke positively-espe¬cially about the future.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Feelings Come From Thoughts
Thoughts of two famous people underscore Milton's point:
Napoleon who had power, riches, and glory said, "I have never known six happy days in my life. "
Helen Keller, rendered blind and deaf from childhood meningitis, declared, "I have found life so beautiful. "
Events and acquisitions fail to give us joy. Our thoughts can. Mind-body research, psychoneuroimmunology, proves that negative thoughts produce stress hormones. Optimistic thoughts cause the release of endorphins and other beneficial brain chemicals causing good feelings. What we think determines how we feel.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Time for Positive Living
.- Karl Menninger, M.D.
Poor emotional health robs us of valuable time and prevents us from enjoying a balanced life.
The good news: our emotional health depends on our attitude. We can choose: To accept or refuse love; grow from or surrender to challenges; enjoy or complain about our work; modify our habits or let our habits mod¬ify us; cultivate tranquility or be overwhelmed by stress; seize opportunities or cower in a corner; enjoy being alive or dread waking up. Proper attitudes create a life worth living and make time worthwhile.
Our response to life's difficulties determines our happiness and health. Within us resides the gift to accept responsibility for our own bliss. We can shape adversity into an advantage. We can turn tragedy into hope. We can live the life we choose. The power to change gives us the opportunity for a blessed and balanced life.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Turn Off the Television
Although scrapping the television would be better than constantly watching mind constricting programs, there must be some balance in our television time. Television, a marvelous invention that could be used for improving and inspiring us, has become a terrible influ¬ence on our children and suggestible adults. Unwise choices in program selection can erode our minds and waste our time. Let us all - everyone of us - break the habit of flipping on the set when we walk in the room...and let us monitor what we watch.
Rest and Relax
Relaxing, a good use of time, saves energy and improves concentration, enabling you to get more done faster. Rest and think a few minutes before and after meetings. Break up your work schedule with a 10 minute respite every 90 minutes. Walk and/or nap 30 minutes each day. Avoid work on Sundays. A lumberjack knows that the oak cuts faster when he takes time to sharpen the ax.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Listen to Save Time
Listening is a lost art ... and an art that can be learned. Mastered and used appropriately, proper listen¬ing can allow you to save valuable hours per week. Listening will help you make time-saving decisions. You'll become a brilliant conversationalist. You'll be pop¬ular. Respected.
Why does a good listener acquire more affection than a good talker? Because a good listener always allows people to hear their favorite speakers - them¬selves. People are a thousand times more likely to be interested in themselves than in you.
Here are the cardinal techniques for listening:
Make the other person feel important by using "you" words.
Observe the person who is talking.
Lean toward the speaker and listen intently.
Don't interrupt with long "I" statements.
Ask questions.
Reflect back using the speaker's words.
Simple rules? Yes. But not commonly practiced.
Think about it. When you last communicated with your family, were you looking at them or at the television? When listening to a report, were you focused on the speaker?
Listening begins and ends with making the other person feel important. Listen more, talk less. To listen, replace "I," "me," "my," and "mine" with "you" and "yours." The more the "you" word is used, the more important people feel. The more important they feel, the better and quicker they respond.
Eye contact looking at the speaker - is crucial. Because the eyes are the gateway to the soul, communi¬cation at the deepest level comes from eye contact.
Concentrating on the speaker builds trust. Improves rapport. Enhances hearing. You pick up nuances in facial expression and body posture when you watch the speaker.
Leaning toward the speaker reflects interest. An open, interested posture encourages the speaker and builds confidence in the relationship. Leaning away indicates indifference.
Interrupting with I statements wastes time. Avoid comments such as, "I lived in Georgetown once...;" "Did you know I... or "I felt like that before...; I remember "
Interrupting with clarifying or empathetic queries encourages the person to get to the point. The following interruptions help speed the person along: "I understand… What happened next?" or "I know how you feel..After that what happened?" or "Would you please clarify that? Did that happen before or after…"
Asking questions develops rapport and understand¬ing. When people enjoy being with you, they share important matters. Talking to people about themselves works with human nature. Talking about yourself works against human nature.
Questions lead to the royal path of persuasion. Asking questions will tell you what others want, what motivates them. You can then use this knowledge to develop a time saving win-win situation. By helping other people get what they want, you can get what you want.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Using your time well will give you more time for living.
Follow the 80/20 rule: spend 80% of your time with the top 20%.
Begin now.
Say "no" to the unimportant.
WIN: What's Important Now - the time management game.
Use transition time appropriately.
Handle every piece of paper one time only.
Set limits on interruptions.
Use your most productive time on prime projects.
Listen carefully.
Delegate.
Take time to rest.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
WIN--What's Important Now
Most, but not all, successful people get up early. They leap from their beds and get the most important work done before the sun rises.
If meetings and routine work duties prevent you from accomplishing priority tasks, get an early start. Begin - and finish - your most essential work before everyone else arrives and the telephone starts ringing. .
Sleep Less
Reducing your sleep time by 30 minutes each day will give you 7-1/2 extra days a year.
Remember, however, that each individual has a unique demand for sleep. The average sleep require¬ment for a young, healthy adult is just a few minutes under eight hours. As we age, we require less sleep.
Know Your Rhythms
Determine your most productive time and reserve it for prime projects. Don't spend your best hours on rou¬tine tasks such as answering mail and reading reports.
Win
Ask: "What's the best use of my time right now?"
This priority question will allow you to WIN (What's Important Now) the time management battle.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Reduce Paperwork
Make an effort to handle every piece of paper only once. Respond to a letter while the letter is in front of you. Throw away low priority paperwork and junk mail.
Keep your desk clear of all material except what you are working on at that moment. This technique pre¬vents distraction and hopping from one project to the next.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Avoid Boring Conversations
Thursday, May 15, 2008
I Become an Orphan
My father had what is now known as bipolar disorder, his moods would swing from high to low. He was a small brown man with curly dark hair a quick grin that showed white teeth with a gap between the two incisors. People called him “Hap” because when he was happy he was very happy and he made joyous those around him, except my mother. He had a tendency to buy red Cadillac when he had no money. He would somehow talk the dealer into letting him have the car with no down payment and no credit. My mother would then find herself with a huge bill for a red Cadillac. Collectors quickly learned our name and address and just as quickly, we would move to another city. The longest we stayed in one town was six months. This rapid departure was caused by two things—no money to pay for red cavallas and my father’s tendency to become bored with his job. He was a pipe fitter for Dow Chemical. For a short time, he drove a candy truck. He worked in bee yards and on pipelines. He was a roustabout on oilrigs and wharfs. He loaded lumber, hauled lumber, and a plainer of logs into lumber. Any thing that didn’t require schooling he could do—at least for six months. When my father wasn’t moving from job to job he was moving from hospital to hospital. He was a patient in every VA hospital in Texas. He was treated there for depression and combat stress. He was a tail gunner in the US Air Force during WW II. He was never treated for mania. I remember looking in on him in the hospital. I stood on a chair up to a small windowpane in a door and looked into a small room. He was sitting hunched over on an army cot, sobbing uncontrolably.
My mother sobbed a lot too. About a week before Christmas, my father wasn’t at home. He wasn’t at home a great deal of the time. Where he was no one said. Indeed he was gone so much of the time that to have him home was unusual. That Christmas season I was already in bed when I heard a loud knock on the door. My mother answered. There was a loud and insistent man outside, yelling at my mother. She began crying. A lay in bed puzzled, not knowing what to do. After awhile the man left. Many years later, I realized the man was a bill collector. That must be a terrible job, making young women cry at Christmas time.
When I was nine years old, my mother could stand it no more. She divorced him. It was sometime in the late afternoon when he came in the house crying. He hugged me and said he was going to miss me. I thought this was strange because I was always missing him. I never saw him again.
My grandfather and grandmother had abandoned my mother when she became pregnant with me and was not married. My mother always felt neglected by her family. She was the middle child of five. Her three brothers and one sister were just as smart as she was and she was very smart. She graduated from college when she was nineteen and immediately began teaching school. She complained that her mother and father failed to attend her college graduation. They attended everyone else’s graduation, but not hers.
Because my mother felt neglected—she was aloof and quiet. The rest of the family was rambunctious and gregarious. When you are quite in a family of eccentrics, you begin to develop an inferiority complex and you become a wallflower. When my mother met a GI bound for England, she no longer felt neglected. He paid attention to her. He was uneducated, but fun. They got together and made me. He left for England and she was sent to Amarillo 750 miles from her home to have me. She stayed with a distant cousin who didn’t like her and made her leave as soon I was born. My grandparents, ashamed of my mother’s dalliance refused to ever see my mother again. They never saw me. When my mother was killed in an automobile accident, I became an orphan when I was eleven.
When you are eleven years old and an orphan no one wants you. Every Christmas time infertile couples would come by the orphanage to choose a child. I guess they decided to get a child instead of a puppy for Christmas. They always choose the infants and the cute toddlers. They ignored me.
I was surprised when Dr. Coleman picked me. I was sixteen. He seemed to like me. His wife tolerated me. He would play catch with me in the back yard. He was the only surgeon in a small town. He let me be his first assistant. He would take out gall bladders and stomachs that were riddled with ulcers. He would repair abdominal aneurisms. He world repair hips, do mastectomies, drill holes in the head to remove blood clots on the brain. I was his first assistant. I was happy and then he died from a heart attack just after he had let me sew up a man whose hernia he had repaired. He came out of the operating room bragging on me, telling me I had the hands of a surgeon and one day I would go to medical school and then come back to help him do surgery when I got my MD. He was talking and then he wasn’t. After he died, I returned to the orphanage.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Courtesy Improves Scheduled Appointments
Always be on time. It's the right thing to do.
Always be on time. It saves time.
Always leave before your time is up. It's respectful.
What if people make you wait longer than is usual¬ly expected? Let them know that your time is just as valuable as theirs. Courteously say: "Mr. Banker, your time is valuable and it seems as if you have had a hectic day. I know how you feel, I've had days like that before, too. I have a meeting that starts in an hour; I'm afraid that I won't be able to discuss my account with you and get to that meeting on time. Loan me the $1 million now and we'll both save time." A statement like this tells Mr. Banker that you value your time as much as he does his. Next time you have an appointment, you will be seen promptly. If not, find a more respectful banker¬ and one who has money to loan.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Be Brief
Monday, May 12, 2008
Saying "No"
Wasting time volunteering for activities that are less important than accomplishing our goals causes resentment and irritability. We must say "no" immedi¬ately to projects that interfere with our goals. The soon¬er we get in the habit of managing our time, the quicker we can accomplish the goals that matter. Remember: If we don't control our allotment of time, someone else will.
Most commonly we say "yes" in an attempt to have people like us. We're like puppy dogs wagging our tails at everyone we meet, pleading for them to be our friends.
At other times guilt causes us to say "yes" to pro¬jects that don't help us accomplish our goals. We sigh
deeply and with a droopy face say: "Well, someone has to participate in the project. It might as well be me."
After we've said "yes," we might spend countless hours trying to get out of our commitment. Or we might do a sloppy job on projects that we don't enjoy. This behavior annoys and disappoints others. Saying "no" immediately - and with respect - saves everyone a great deal of frustration.
Is saying "no" to less important projects selfish? Of course not! If our values are correct, conserving time for our goals will eventually help more people than a pro¬ject that fails to fulfill our dreams.
Practice saying "no" with grace. You can learn to let your "no" make the other person feel important. Here are couple of honest ways to say "no" with style:
"Wow! That's a worthwhile project. It doesn't fit into my time schedule right now. I'm honored that you would ask me to participate as a committee member. Thanks for asking. Unfortunately, because of other time pressing commitments, I'll have to decline. No. (Pause for a sec¬ond or two.) I wish you well. Good-bye."
"That project sounds great. I bet you will do well on it. You've got a lot of drive and ambition. Unfortunately, I don't have the talent or commitment to participate. One of the things I've learned through the years is what I can and can't do. My getting involved would be a waste of your time. No. (Pause for a second or two.) Best wishes on your project. Good bye."
When you say "no" with refinement you make the other person feel important. You show respect to the other person. And you treat yourself with respect. You are essentially saying to yourself, "I have dreams and goals. I know the things I want and I'm going after them. "
Remember: It's better to be respected than liked. When others respect you, they will eventually begin to like you for your strength of character.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Overcome Procrastination
1. Laziness
To defeat laziness, begin. Once moving, you'll tend to keep going. It takes greater energy to start an activi¬ty than to sustain it. For example, if you're writing a screen play, put something on paper. Forget about sharpening pencils, arranging paper, reading one more script for inspiration. Write. Writers write.
2. The Quest for Perfection
Nobody is perfect. Nothing created by anybody is perfect. Stop fretting about getting everything just right. Learn to do your best and accept the results. Expecting perfection never gets anything accomplished. To continue with the writing analogy, get that first draft done. Forget semicolons, active verbs, dangling participles, mixed metaphors. Just get something down on paper. You can revise and rewrite the screenplay later.
3. Indecisiveness
To overcome indecisiveness, use the ready, fire, aim approach. Fire it up there. Then aim it. Make some mistakes. Learn. Adjust. Move on.
4. Difficult Tasks
Break down a difficult task into easy steps. Just do a little at a time. You write a screenplay or a book one page at a time. Write one page a day and at the end of a year you will have written 365 pages.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule comes from Pareto, an Italian economist, who found that:
80% of the wealth is held by 20% of the people.
80% of the sales are made by 20% of the sales force.
80% of the purchases are made by 20% of the customers.
80% of books borrowed from libraries are borrowed by 20% of the people.
80% of the money made in seminars will be with 20% of the companies.
80% of the work completed will be done by 20% of the people.
Focus eighty percent of your energy on 20% of the people and activities that pay big dividends.
Friday, May 9, 2008
First Things First
A well-used time management .rule says, "Success depends on what you neglect." To get something impor¬tant accomplished, neglect the unimportant, devote time to the important.
Always follow the cardinal rule of time manage¬ment: First things first. Early each morning make a list of those things to be accomplished. Review your goals. Then number your activities in the order of their impor¬tance based on how those activities will help you accom¬plish your goals. Complete the first item first.
The second , second. The third, third. If you don't get to number four, no big deal. Avoid criticizing yourself if you fail to achieve everything on your list. Remember, you did the most important things first.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Time for Priorities
Those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things.
-- LaRochefoucauld
Huge dreams are worthless without the time to make them come true.
Many of us complain that we don't have enough time. False! All of us have the time. Instead, most of us waste the time we have. Or because we don't think that we can achieve our fabulous dreams, we won't set aside time to fulfill them. We spend all our time on insignifi¬cant things and have no time left for the activities that will achieve our dreams. We're too busy making a living to develop a lifestyle. That's what this chapter is about¬ efficiency and productivity-making dreams a reality.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
From Habits Come Character
When you become frustrated by the routine, keep your eyes on the dream.
When you become disappointed by rejection, remember the dream.
When you fail to advance as quickly as you would like, visualize accomplishing your dream.
Hear what people will say when you attain your dream. See what people will do when your dreams come true. Feel - right now - the excitement of fulfilling your dream. Keep your dream - and the exhilaration of completing your dream - in your heart and mind all the time.
From dreams, come goals.
From goals, come activities.
From activities, come routines.
From routines, come habits.
From habits, come character.
Character is marked by the following virtues: integrity, persistence, courage, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and wisdom.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Act Now
To achieve your goals, act. Act now! Without action, your dreams are worthless. Your goals are wishes. Your plans are ashes. Action alone gives worth to your dreams. Only action determines your value. You are what you do. Your actions describe you.
The lazy wait until tomorrow. The weak expect to be strong tomorrow. The failure anticipates success tomorrow. Success does not linger. Act now! Act now! Act now! Today is the perfect day to begin.
Plug away at the daily activities that fulfill your dreams. Through self-discipline - developing the habit of doing the best you can day after day-you gain the max¬imum benefits from your time. Cultivating a strong, healthy routine supports a successful, fulfilled life.
Your activities become habits. Habits become your character. Your character becomes your destiny. Become a slave to good habits. Doing the right things right, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day develops strength of character that leads to success after success.
Routine activities develop habits that will help you achieve your goals and your dreams. If your goal is to write a book in one year, one of your daily activities would be to write a page a day.
If you wanted to make a million dollars in annual sales, one of your activities may consist of making ten sales calls daily.
Focus your activities on those things that will help you achieve your goals. Make a list of activities that you will do daily or weekly to accomplish your goals and do them-every day, every week, every year. Your daily activities can be divided into personal, family, and spiri¬tual activities; career activities; and self improvement activities.
My personal, family, and spiritual activities are:
My career activities are:
Monday, May 5, 2008
Build Your Own Dream
You can start to dream with a vision statement-a phrase or sentence that tells what you are about. Here's an example of a vision statement: "I live a life that will bring encouragement, optimism and hope to all I meet." Note that the statement is in the first person, present tense indicating that the future begins now.
As you consider your vision statement, be certain you're using your own measuring stick-not your mother's, or father's, or your wife's, or your husband's, or your friend's. What do you want out of life? What's important to you? What are you about?
Here are some questions to help define your vision statement. As you answer these questions you'll be able to understand what motivates you:
What three activities are most important to you?
What three activities give you the most enjoyment?
What three things do you want written on your tombstone?
What three things do you want to do for others?
What three things would you change about your life?
What three qualities would you most like to see associated with your reputation?
Expand Your Financial Dreams.
What ten things do you want in life? Would you like to get out of debt? What kind of house do you want? What kind of cars do you want to drive? If you had all the money you wanted, where would you go on a vaca¬tion? Where do you want your children to go to college? How much money would you like to give to your church or to charities? When do you want to retire? (Retirement depends on money, not age.) What net worth do you want to accumulate?
Make a dream list here:
Now study everything you have written so far. Sum up, in one or two sentences, a concise description of who you want to be. Write your vision statement in the first person, present tense.
I am a person who:
Formulating a vision statement and writing down those things you desire helps you focus on your plea¬sures, your talents, and your bliss. Once you've expand¬ed your vision, your expectations will direct you toward fulfilling your dreams.
It helps to put your dream statement on the refrig¬erator. Read it regularly. Cut out pictures of the things you want to enjoy. Look at the pictures several times a day. See yourself becoming your dream and living the life you want to live.
When you dream extraordinary dreams, some peo¬ple - perhaps a family member, friend, co-worker, or even your boss - may try to take your vision from you. When they see pictures of your dreams on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror, they will think you have flipped. When they see a first person, present tense, vision statement they will know you have gone over the edge. When they see you joyful and smiling, positive and optimistic, they'll wonder what drug you are taking.
They will worry about you. They will try to steal your dream: "Don't get so excited, this might not work out." "You've got a good job; why do you want to change to something so uncertain?" "I know someone who tried that and they failed miserably."
Unfulfilled people are like crabs. Put crabs in a bucket and watch. If one crab attempts to crawl out of a bucket, the others pull the adventurer back down. People are like that. If you get a dream, they'll try to destroy it.
Go for excellence and you'll be laughed at, criti¬cized, and gossiped about. Who cares? It's your life. Trade acceptance for excellence.
When someone or some event in your life begins to steal your dream, don't despair. Stand tall and straight, face the cold and penetrating wind of dissension and press on toward your dream.