$12 And 90 Minutes To Change Your Life

$12 And 90 Minutes To Change Your Life
By Kate Hufstetler

Have you ever listened to self hypnosis tapes? Or listened repeatedly to certain music that carried a specific message? Or what about, have you attended weekly services within a specific religious venue?

What do all of these have in common? They influence and change your thinking and paradigm over time to whatever it is they espouse.

James Allen wrote as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. What we continually dwell onconsciously and unconsciously is what will shape our thoughts and the world in which we operate. That is why optimism allows some in poverty to believe they have a wonderful life. And another person in the same home, living the same conditions - yet suffering from a pessimistic attitude, will hate and struggle within their circumstances.

Self-hypnosis tapes work on our subconscious when we are relaxed so that we do not fight the message, nor answer it in our minds with refuting negativity as we overcome obstacles that we need help with. Music, repeatedly heard, eventually floats through our minds almost unnoticed. Its messagebeyond just lyrics, begins to be woven within our ideology and outlook. There are enough news reports of teens over the years acting out in alignment with what artists call just music. And there are as many within religious organizations that call upon inspirational music as what carried them over through rough times. Also, between scriptures, sermons, classes and books those within any religious setting begin to shape their lives according to the basic tenants and premises of that line of thought.

But what about you?? You have goals, dreams, ideas too. You have things you wish to accomplish, things you wish to strive to. You have ideas about the way you want to feel when living on target. So how can we take a clue from programming in the three situations above to allow YOU yourself, to begin to program your own destiny?

Perhaps you have heard of the technique of writing down your goals daily in order to bring them into reality. Well that works well if you are one of society that learns through writing and visualization. We all learn in different ways. I have tried this method without much success mostly because I am not a visual or written only learner. And partly because I forget to keep at it day after day.

Good news!! I have found something that will work for those of us who learn audiblythrough our hearing. Assuming that you are totally technology free in your home (which would be rare) all this will cost you is $12 and 90 minutes of your time. For $12 you can go to Walmart and pick up a small tape recorder with the capacity to record tapes. And also buy at least 1 low quality tape holding 90 minutes of possible record time on it. This will be fantastic to start. That is really all it takes to move you into a GREAT life that you design.

What you will do is make a list off all you goalsin EVERY area of your life. Then I want you to load up the tape recorder and read your goals into that recorder. Read them as if your goals have been accomplished I own a beach house on the east coast , all my debt is paid off, I guest lecture twice a year , I have 42 motorcycles in my new display show room etc. Whatever it is you want for work, leisure, love, retirement, etc! List them and read them. Then go back to the top of your list and keep re-reading them until you have finished a whole side. Then do it again for the other side.

A few suggestionsdo this when you are having a great day! You want your voice to be happy, not down. Also, record on both sides of the tape so that when one side is done you do not have to rewind. This way, the next time you are ready to play it you simply turn it over and hit play.

Does it work? Well, I myself did a tape this past summer. I used to just play it as background noise while I would work on the computer, or while doing dishes or folding laundry. I lost it about a month ago when my son shuffled a bunch or our tapes and such around. I found it this past weekend and played it.

Guess what???

Several of the things I speak about on the tape are WELL on their way to becoming current reality!! From the types of people I wanted to begin getting more involved with, to specific speaking engagements, to simple things like the opportunity for a specific extra curricular activity for my son which ironically became available at his after school care program. That one is amazing because they havent offered it before and not only will it be offered.. but it will be twice a week like I said on the tape. Those are just a few of the examples. But there isnt anything on there that has not begun. I will be honest and tell you there were a few things that did come into my reality and I have changed my mind now after having the opportunity to try them out. But every item has at least begun for me in less than 4 months.

We bring into our reality that which we focus on! So if you are a very busy person, as most of us are, this is a GREAT way to program your mind towards the achievement of your goals. The cost is minor- from scratch it is only $12 and 90 minutes to begin living a life by design and not by default.

Until next timeall the best,

Kate

About The Author

Kate Hufstetler is a well established Personal Life Coach. Her clients come from both the United States and overseas. She offers coaching services via email and phone consultations. For more information and current highlights please visit: http://www.comedreamwithme.com/

kate@comedreamwithme.com

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10 Reasons Why Friendliness Is A Leadership Necessity

10 Reasons Why Friendliness Is A Leadership Necessity
By Brent Filson

We've heard it many times, It's a dog eat dog world. The trouble is, some leaders actually believe it. They conduct themselves like the alpha dog in a pack, holding sway through intimidation. This instinctive behavior helps insure survival in a dog world, but applied to the human world of organizational dynamics, it can lead to disaster.

Alpha dog leadership can eventually turn out to be destructive to the people, their organization, and the leaders themselves. To use another common metaphor, That dog won't hunt.

After all, leaders do nothing more important than get results; and the best results are what I've been teaching for more than two decades, more results faster, continually. An alpha-dog leader might chew up people to get more results and get them faster, but I submit that it takes a far different personality trait to engender the continually aspect of the imperative. That trait isn't the despot modeled by so many leaders, it's ... well, friendliness.

Having a friendly attitude as a leader means eschewing the alpha-dog way of leadership. It means being gentle, kind, helpful, and cordial in your relationships, even in times of anger and stress -- ESPECIALLY in times of anger and stress. Here are 10 reasons friendliness gets far more results than an alpha-dog way.

(1) We stay in control. Apha-dog leaders seek to control others. But they misconstrue what control really means. In truth, such leaders are really out of control much of the time, since they're at the mercy of their emotional outbursts and the reactions of others to those outbursts. In leadership, the best way to control a situation, i.e., the best way to get great results, is to put the people in control. Don't constrain them through short-term compulsion but liberate them by playing the longer game. Unleash their initiative and creativity by allowing them to make free choices, and they will be under your control in more profound and effective ways than the alpha-dog leader could imagine.

(2) People respond more openly and positively to friendliness. Humans seek happiness; and friendliness is a great way to spread happiness. It enables you to communicate much more effectively because it bonds you with others in ways that anger, coercion, intimidation can't. And that bonding is the stuff that great results flow from.

(3) We are modeling good interactions, bringing the future into the present. Whether leaders know it or not, their words and actions are carefully watched by the people they lead. People have an instinctive need to model those words and actions; or if they disagree with them, speak and act in opposite ways. By radiating friendliness, leaders are being the means that are the ends in the making.

(4) We make real issues relevant factors, not false issues like anger and intimidation. Friendliness tends to clarify issues; intimidation, because it is associated with fear, obfuscates them. So often intimidating leaders make themselves and their tormenting ways the issue. Whereas the real issues should be, how do we get results, how do we get more results, how do we get faster results, and how do we get more, faster continually? The fear they provoke is like crack cocaine, temporarily stimulating but addictive and in the long run destructive to the leader and the people.

(5) With friendliness, we set the agenda. A good offense is the best defense applies with friendliness. You should be on the offense with friendliness, displaying it even in challenging circumstances when it may take an act of disciplined courage on your part. This helps you set the agenda in terms of how people respond to one another in these circumstances. Of course, your friendliness will not affect some people who may be determined to subvert your leadership no matter what your attitude is; however, friendliness can, like the clearing of brush-lines to contain a forest fire, keep rancor from spreading deeply into the organization.

(6) We increase the chance that others will support our cause. The truth is that leaders can't motivate anybody to do anything. The people make the choice to be motivated or not. Friendly leaders have the best chance of creating an environment in which the people make that choice. As Abraham Lincoln said, If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing him of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause is really a good one.

(7) Our opponents can be put off balance. As a leader, you'll often have people working against you, spoiling for a fight; and when they encounter a friendly attitude on your part, they may be thrown off balance in benignly effective ways. Furthermore, your friendliness can encourage others to take up your cause against them.

(8) With friendliness everybody has an opportunity to win. Unfriendly leaders often win battles but lose wars. They may compel others to get on board; but if those others do so out of compulsion and not genuine conviction and motivation, the fruits of any victories can become ashes. Most people welcome friendliness -- even if they disagree with and even dislike the leader. Furthermore, our friendliness can prompt the people we interact with to reflect on their own character, a prerequisite for their choosing to be motivated. In an environment of friendliness, all parties have an opportunity to achieve something positive.

(9)Friendliness is fire prevention equipment against your burning bridges behind you. An opponent may seem to be your opponent today but in the future you may need him to be your partner in implementing changes. Friendliness gives us an opportunity to have productive relationships even with those who oppose us, enriching both the present and the future.

(10) Getting results through friendliness can take a lot less energy than getting results through coercion and intimidation. Friendliness isn't an absolute necessity in leadership. I've seen great leaders who were terrific curmudgeons. It's just that unfriendly people have to go through a lot more trouble getting people motivated.

Two caveats. One, friendliness can be mistaken for weakness. In fact, friendliness can BE weakness if it manifests as a way of avoiding challenging people to do the hard things to get great results. In leadership, friendliness has a clear function which is to people achieve constantly improving results. This entails your challenging people to do what they often don't want to do. Anybody can be nice to them and let them do what they want. But a leader must continually be challenging people to struggle mightily for extraordinary results. If friendliness doesn't help you fulfill that function then it's simply a lifestyle choice, not a leadership tool, and ultimately in terms of leadership, a weakness.

Two, even if you do use it as a strong leadership tool, you certainly can't be friendly 100 percent of the time. If you try to be, you'll find yourself becoming a rather one-dimensional leader. One of the most difficult accomplishments facing any leader is simply being who you really are especially under pressure. To force-fit friendliness in a situation where you might not ordinarily exhibit it or to use friendliness to manipulate people into conforming to your wishes is not the best leadership uses of friendliness.

It may be a dog-eat-dog world; but by progressing in the Way of friendliness, leaders can invest their lives and this world with moments of beauty and meaning -- and get more results in the bargain.

2006 The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: 49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results, at http://www.actionleadership.com

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The Success Secret of Daily Practice

The Success Secret of Daily Practice
By John Watson

Practice may seem to be a very obvious 'secret' of success in most walks of life but it is often anything but obvious because the practitioner seems to do his or her thing so easily and spontaneously. They appear to be so talented that they can improvise brilliantly without the help of rehearsal.

On closer examination, the performance is far from easy. It follows hours and hours of daily practice and rehearsal.

Recently Lilia Kopylova won the BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing' program partnered by England fast bowler, Darren Gough. She made her performances seem easy. She also achieved miracles in teaching Darren to be a competent partner.

However, Lilia has been training every day for years. She began dancing when she was nine and initially trained in Ballet, Gymnastics and Ice-Skating (which she began aged four and went on to become a Moscow champion in figure skating). It is no wonder that she can put in stunning dance performances.

Darren, had much less time - a few months - in which to learn to dance but he put in hours and hours of concentrated practice with the added benefit of Lilia's tuition.

Recently Robert Ringer has written a brilliant article on the power of 'orchestration' i.e. detailed rehearsal and practice.

He is a great speaker himself and has noticed how other great speakers give apparently flawless performances which appear to be the result of natural ability. He has realized, however, that these great speeches are anything but spontaneous.

He was so impressed by a speech by Zig Ziglar that he went to listen to him again. He was amazed to hear that the words and sentences were exactly the same. So was the body language. He also noticed that Anthony Robbins has his own sound man at all his speaking gigs. Speech and sound are carefully coordinated.

I heard Robbins in London at his fire walk seminar in Docklands. I, too, noticed huge banks of sound equipment at the back of the hall with a sound man always in charge.

Robbins appeared spontaneous and dynamic but he must have rehearsed his speech and delivery with his sound man many times before he finally appeared on stage.

Some performers have so much natural talent that they think they can get away without practising. However, they are taking a big risk. Practice can make a natural performer great. Lack of practice can make him or her look mediocre.

The above gives us all hope. Someone without natural ability can give a presentable performance if they practice enough. They can even appear talented. Practice can almost create talent.

I have often noticed in the martial arts that the people who practice regularly and with determined effort can put in competent performances at their grading.

They can focus all their energies on the required moves rather than on wondering what they should be doing next.

As they increase the speed of their well rehearsed moves, they can even begin to appear talented.

I have seen talented performers floundering because they had not put in the necessary practice.

People who worry about performing in public should stop worrying and start practising. Daily practice can work miracles and can create its own talent.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and fifth degree black belt martial arts instructor. He has recently written several books about achieving your goals and dreams.

They can be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a motivational message and books by other authors

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The Purpose of Life

The Purpose of Life
By Tina Montalto

I am sure we have all asked at one time or another, What is the purpose of life? Or perhaps this variation: Why am I here?

It seems like such a profound question: Great philosophers have been asked that question. Great thinkers and scientists have been asked. Great spiritual and religious leaders have been asked, too.

One would think that the answer is so profound and unknowable, even the greatest minds of all time could not provide the ultimate answer. But I humbly say to you, I have the answer. And it is quite knowable to all of us.

The purpose of life is (drum roll please) TO EXPRESS.

To express what? To express as much of God as you can. To express as much Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy as you can.

If you are familiar with Judge Thomas Troward, a pioneer in the New Thought Movement, you will know that he describes the qualities of God as: Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy. Since God is First Cause or Universal Creativity, It creates. What does It create? It creates Itself. What is Itself? Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy.

We are expressions of God, which means we are all Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy in various levels of expression. Our purpose is to express greater and ever greater levels of these qualities, all for the purpose of God's ever-increasing Enjoyment of Life.

From The Creative Process in the Individual by Thomas Troward: We found two principles as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely, its power of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the Living for ever increasing Enjoyment of Life.

Spirit creates for the sole purpose of expressing Itself. We are created in the image and likeness of Spirit; therefore our purpose is to express ourselves. Our highest selves. Our God-like selves. Which is Life, Love, Light Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy.

We can think of the seven qualities of God listed above as they relate to us as individualized centers of Spirit this way: Life is the Energy of Good. Love is the Givingness of Good. Light is the Knowledge of Good. Power is the Movement of Good. Peace is the Acceptance of Good. Beauty is the Expression of Good. Joy is the Experience of Good. (-- courtesy of Rev. Harriet Smolka of the Oak Park (IL) Church of Religious Science.)

We can all express more of the givingness, the knowledge, the acceptance, and the experience of Good in our lives.

Again, from Troward: We have seen that the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a reciprocal -- it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to answer to it; otherwise, by the inherent law of mind, no consciousness -- and consequently no enjoyment -- could accrue; and therefore by the law of continuous progression, the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being [my emphasis awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes into existence.

WE are that BEING to which Troward refers. We have been created to be the reciprocal that Spirit needs to consciously recognize and know Itself as Itself, which, again, is Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy.

So what does that mean in our day-to-day living? Couldn't we all express Peace a little more? Perhaps by saying a kind word to a stranger, perhaps by resisting an argument with a loved one, perhaps by letting some indiscretion by another driver on the highway, go without incident. Couldn't we all express a little more Love? By expressing your feelings for another person without expectation of a like-wise response. By giving of yourself by volunteering just because you can. Couldn't we all express a little more Wisdom and Understanding (Light)? Such as knowing when someone is lashing out not at you, but because of their own fears or sense of powerlessness.

This is how we express more of God. This is why you are here. You are here to express your unique spiritual self. Spirit would not be complete without you.

2006 Tina Montalto

Tina Montalto is the founder and president of Conscious Kernels, Inc., an ePublishing company specializing in New Thought spiritual eBooks and audio books. She is the author of You are What You Think available for free at the companys website: http://www.consciouskernels.com.

She has also created and serves as instructor for a 7-week eCourse on Spiritual Mind Treatment also available at the website. In addition to providing a selection of original eBooks, Conscious Kernels offers a free monthly eNewsletter, a community-building discussion board, spiritual retreats, and e-greeting cards.

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10 Reasons To Be Thankful To Be In Business Today

10 Reasons To Be Thankful To Be In Business Today
By Maria Andreu

1.Customers are enlightened and smart and are looking for the best, so it keeps you striving to be the best you can be.

2.The internet! Need I say more? Spam and popups notwithstanding, the internet is the greatest miracle thats happened for business since electricity.

3.Your colleagues. There is something so heart-warming and great about being able to connect with other people who are passionate about the same thing you are.

4.Your customers! Knowing that what you do provides value in the world helps give life meaning.

5.Building wealth. Whether its slow in coming or pouring in like a river, we are SO blessed with opportunity sometimes we dont even see the enormity of it. Imagine what your life would have been like 434 years ago (in 1621, the year of the first American Thanksgiving) and compare it to now. Helps put it all in perspective, doesnt it?

6.Giving back. We are so blessed we continually give back with all we do. Whether you give to great charities like www.Seva.org or www.heifer.org or donate your old coats, it is a blessing that we are in a position to give things back. As service professionals we are also blessed in that our work feels like giving back all the time.

7.Great information. Whether its through this newsletter or in the hundreds of other places you get what youre looking for, it has never been easier to find the support you need to build your business.

8.Your family. Being in business can be tough on relationships, but its also made richer when you focus on why youre doing it all. Building a great life for yourself and the ones you love is a great part of that.

9.Finding your voice. Learning how to market your services is all about finding your voice and figuring out how you uniquely bring value to the world. Imagine getting paid while youre figuring that out too!

10.Growing as a person. I always say: being in business for yourself is the most confronting and best thing you can do to grow as a person. What a gift!

2005 Maria E. Andreu. Service business owners, get the AMS Letter and receive 10 great tips for marketing, as well as free audio of the popular Building Mktg Confidence. Get instant access, e-mail to subscribe-956611763@ezinedirector.net or http://www.andreumarketingsolutions.com/newsletter.htm

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