After my experiences this week I’ve decided to work on making that morning activity a habit again. I plan to make it a priority as many mornings as possible.

Philosophers, theologians, doctors and others all recommend that we spend some time each day in silence, as little as 10 minutes is beneficial. Whether you enjoy the early mornings and the sunrise like me or you prefer another time of the day, make it a priority to sit in silence.

For some, including me, this is an acquired skill. It’s often difficult initially to quiet our minds to receive the maximum benefit of this exercise. But, as with most things, patience along with persistence is the key.

Decide right now to invest 10 minutes of silence and calm out of every 24 hours. It may be the best payoff you’ve ever had from any investment.

Have a great week.

Another thing that fascinates me about the process is that these dramatic results come from 3 simple steps. Not to confuse simple with easy. The process is simple because it only has three steps. But, the individual steps ain’t easy. They require dedication, discipline, persistence, and consistency.

The three steps are – 1. Develop and stick to the right nutritional habits. 2. Develop and stick to the right exercise habits. 3. Surround yourself with knowledgeable people and supportive people who want you to be successful.

I guess another part of this that makes me a fan is that achieving work success is also a simple 3 step process.

The three steps for this process are – 1. Figure out or discover work that you love to do. 2. Develop and stick to the right habits that make and keep you valuable to employers and customers. 3. Surround yourself with knowledgeable people and supportive people who want you to be successful. And, like developing the right diet and exercise habits, these steps also require dedication, discipline, persistence and consistency.

The great thing about both of these processes is that once you reach your goal maintaining the goal is much easier than achieving it. But, you must maintain.

So . . . . . . if you haven’t yet achieved your work success goal, adopt the Biggest Loser 3 Step Plan and get started. It’s not that far off.

If you need some help with Step 1, use this link to get some free information that will help.

Have a great week.

An MVP is appreciated and honored for his or her skills and performance. When it comes time to restructure or rebuild a team the MVP is usually the center point and the new team is formed around her. When trades or cuts are considered the MVP is that last to go unless his contract can be sold for a lot of money.

To me the most important characteristic of an MVP is that he makes the rest of the team better through his talents and actions.

Not everyone can be an MVP and not every MVP earns that honor every year. However, everyone can be a VP (Valuable Player) all the time and every year.

The more valuable you are to your employer the greater your opportunities and the greater your potential for a long, happy career regardless of swings in the economy.

If you own a business, the more valuable you are to your customers the greater your success.

I’m sure you see the theme here. – Value. It’s in your best interest to consistently work to increase your value as an individual. It’s also in your best interest to consistently work to increase the value of the business you’re associated with regardless of whether you’re an employer or an employee.

People, you included, make decisions based on what’s valuable to them. All people don’t value things in the same way. They have different tastes (values) in food, clothing, entertainment, sports hobbies, and much, much more. You can’t worry about that.

Figure out what you love to do, why you love to do it, where you want to do it and start making yourself valuable. Even if you’re working in a job or a business right now that’s not all that exciting for you, make a commitment to be as valuable as you can be. You’ll be pleasantly surprised where that attitude of value takes you.

If you want some help figuring out what you should be doing with your life, use this link to get a free ebook that will guide you through the process.

Have a great week.

And, speaking of holidays – Happy New Year.

It’s a brand new year. It’s that time when many people make resolutions to do things better, improve their lives, help others and more. Unfortunately, most well-intended resolutions only last a month or two.

Here’s a suggestion for a resolution that should be easy to keep, has only one easy step, and can change your life.

Resolve to live your life as an adventure rather than as an ordeal. It’s a mind set. One that you can make a habit over time.

For example, some people encounter a detour and view it as a hassle that will disrupt their day – an ordeal. Others view it as an opportunity to travel new roads and see new scenery that they haven’t seen before – an adventure.

Some people lose their jobs and immediately decide that it’s the end of their lifestyle – an ordeal. Others accept the situation and consider opportunities that they may not have thought of before – an adventure.

I don’t mean to imply that all adventures are easy and fun. Some can be scary and difficult. But, if you view even the tough stuff as an adventure, you’ll keep your head about you, look for opportunities, and think about solutions rather than wasting valuable energy on panic, thoughts of failure, and worrying about what other people will think.

My suggestion – start every day by saying, “Today is going to be a great day. Whatever comes my way will be an adventure that ends with positive results.” At the end of every day focus on everything right that happened and all the positive results achieved. Eventually your new adventure mind set will become a habit.

I wish you the best year ever in 2012. Have a great week.

This phrase popped into my head the other day and stimulated some thought about the importance of relationships. Relationships are a key component to living a good life. As another saying goes, “It’s often not what you know, but who you know.”

As we wander through life we have countless opportunities to create good relationships with family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, service providers, business associates and more.

All great relationships are cultivated by being nice to others and being interested in them as individuals. It’s the law of reciprocity at its best. If you want people to be impressed by you, be impressed by them.

Some relationships develop quickly. Others take some time. But, once they’re established your world of opportunities and results expands greatly. When you need help, information, guidance, an introduction, special consideration, honest feedback, and much more your relationship pool becomes a trusted source for all these things.

There will also be times when opportunities just come to you out of your relationship pool. Simple things like, “Hey we’ve got some extra tickets to an event. Would you like to join us?” Or, potentially big things like, “I was talking with someone the other day and told them about what you do and how happy I’ve been with your services. She wants you to give her a call.”

Great relationships are invaluable. However, remember that law of reciprocity. Give back when it’s appropriate. And, above all else, don’t take advantage.

Have a great week.

Here’s another perspective. If you’re like me and haven’t completed your Christmas shopping yet, let me offer a couple of suggestions.

Support local businesses by giving gift certificates for meals, oil changes, massages, tax advice, snow removal, clothing, hardware, house cleaning, groceries or anything else that would be appropriate for the ones you love and care about. This approach will give your loved ones the opportunity to decide on something that’s important to them while adding to the revenue of local businesses in a down economy.

Put a food and gift basket together to support local folks who are having a tough time right now. Send something to the brave men and women who are in unfamiliar territory away from home and family protecting our freedoms. These acts will give you a warm feeling that’s better than any gift you could ever receive.

How about giving something that is often much more important and valuable than your money – your time. Visit the sick and the lonely. Serve meals at a shelter. Repair someone’s plumbing. Paint their front door or their living room. These giving acts will also give you a warm feeling that’s far better than any gift you could ever receive.

In the end it’s your choice. Celebrate the holiday in a way that’s meaningful for you. And – remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Have you ever thought about where those assessments come from? They come from our perspective which is made up of everything we’ve accepted as true – whether true or not.

Challenging our own perspectives is a healthy thing. Challenging the perspectives of others is also good, although the process needs to be based on curiously rather than argument.

A good way to start challenging or altering your perspective is to work at changing your point of view when things are a bit out of sorts. When you’re heading toward a “feeling of funk” start making a list of all the things that are right in your life.

I heard a great story the other day about a guy who had lost his job and had a “the world is coming to an end” perspective about it. As he was complaining to a friend, that friend said, “I’m really sorry to hear that your kids are so sick.” The guy responded, “What are you talking about? My kids are great and very healthy.” The friend then said, “Oh, then I’m really sorry you and your wife are splitting up.” The guy shot back, “That’s crazy. I love my wife and we have a great marriage.”

It only took a few more similar exchanges of conversation and the man’s perspective about loosing his job changed completely.

Another area of life that is influenced by perspective is what we think about the behavior of others. If you find yourself judging the behavior of others, take a minute to ask yourself, “What do I really know about this person? Just because his or her behavior is out of sorts with what I believe as true does that necessarily make it wrong or bad?”

I’m not trying to get too deep here. It’s just that I’ve seen many situations, business and personal, end up as disasters because of wrong perspectives.

When you think about it, challenge your perspective. You may be surprised by what you learn.

It seems as if organizations that get too big lose site of their intended purpose – to provide goods and services for their customers or the people they serve. There must be a tipping point in these organizations where serving the egos and the self-interests of their leaders becomes more important than serving their customers.

These errant leaders, business and government, forget about or ignore the people who spend the money or pay the taxes that provide their incomes. Pretty sad.

I think we’ve reached a point where big governments and big businesses are in cahoots. Big businesses give money to elected officials who will vote for legislation that will help their businesses. The electeds use legislation to help their contributors and to keep as many people as possible oppressed while promising them hope and prosperity that never seems to come. But, these folks who are convinced they’re entitled keep voting the promise makers back in office every election cycle.

One way to start turning this mess around is to think small. Buy as much of the stuff you want and need everyday from small businesses. I know this is impossible for some things like cars, gasoline and TVs. But, you can choose to do business with companies that are focused on you and your satisfaction. Shop around. Ask some tough questions. When you don’t get treated well politely tell someone in charge why you’re taking you business someplace else. Even if the businesses “don’t get it” and never change, your life will be more pleasant by not dealing with them.

Since most politicians on the state and federal level are first elected to a local position take great care when casting your vote for a school board member, a member of the city council or a county position. Make sure the people you vote for are seeking a position for the right reasons. Their focus should be on serving you and working to make your community a better place to live not on positioning themselves for a higher office.

These things require a little effort. It’s necessary to get informed, ask questions and get involved. A small amount of time and energy from folks who really care can make a big difference.

At the very least saying “thank you” keeps us focused on the positive. Thank you for a restful sleep. Thank you for a beautiful day. Thank you for this food. Thank you for this opportunity.

When you say “thank you” to other people it’s even more powerful in promoting the positive because it creates good feelings in the people being thanked. Thank you for your help. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for being there.

And, if you consistently give thanks to a higher power, you will attract all sorts of positive results. Thank you for my excellent health. Thank you for prosperity and abundance. Thank you for my talents and skills.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope you get to spend time with people you love and care about. While you’re giving thanks for all the great things in your life be sure to give thanks for all the people out there protecting us and helping those who are dealing with tough stuff of one kind or another.

Here’s a thought. Make a commitment to say “thank you” at least ten times a day and look for all the good things that will happen.

By the way, thank you for reading this blog and sharing it with others.

Have a great week.

One of the main drivers relative to achieving the success we want is attitude. The more positive our attitude the greater our chances of achieving everything we want in life.

You’ve all heard the old saying, “You can’t control what happens in life, but you can control how you respond to what happens.” Whatever happens in your life you get to choose how you’re going to react.

It’s easy to have a great attitude when good things happen. It takes a little practice to keep that positive attitude when bad stuff shows up. The first key is to always look for the good in people, situations and conditions and be grateful for those things. The second key is to take initiative. Don’t whine, don’t complain, and don’t expect to be bailed out by others. Take initiative. Do something.

Taking initiative doesn’t mean you have to solve every problem, fix everything that breaks, or heal all sickness and injury. It simply means to take the first step. Initiate action. Do something to make things happen.

Ask for help. Learn new skills. Replace bad habits with good ones. Make a plan. Execute a plan.

If you have a vision of success in your head, take initiative and keep a positive attitude. And, always remember this – there are plenty of capable people in the world who are happy and willing to help you make your dreams come true.

One other thing, have a very clear and important reason for achieving the success you want. When you know why you want something and what you believe, people who have similar beliefs will line up to help you. It’s a beautiful thing!

Have a great week.