Archive for Character
Building character and strengthening relationships by opening up
Posted by: | CommentsOver the course of my 4 plus decades on this lovely planet I have learned something very special when it comes to relationships. My relationships give me strength and by sharing my thoughts and feelings with others, I build character. So the lesson is quite simply: I am able to build both character and strength via my relationships.
Do not get me wrong, there have been times when I was too scared to allow others to see the true me. I protected my hidden passions, my unconventional thoughts, my deeply held values and parts of my belief system; all because I was worried that I might not be accepted. There were even times I shelved some of my core values as a result of these fears? Have you?
Luckily, I came to understand that this fear is normal, and I bravely moved past being overly concerned about what everyone else thought. This has enabled me to truly experience, and enjoy who I was – so, I could grow into who I am. But more importantly, I have come to learn that the real reward was my increased ability to more intimately experience and enjoy all those that I formed and form relationships with.
Trusting in other people means that you will have share yourself with them. Not just the good stuff, you will have to reveal some of your faults and your foibles as well. Revealing the chinks in your armor to those that you care about will allow them to more quickly do so in return. If you want to build character and strengthen your relationships, you will have to be brave for it takes courage to honestly invite others into your life.
- Reflection Affirmation
True fulfillment comes from becoming connected to others and my inner self.
Each part of yourself that you share is like adding a new link in your relationship chain. With each new link you add you can extend yourself further to others. So I urge you to constantly build that chain.
When others are in need, they know that I am there to help. Because I have extended a strong chain, they have come to know that they can reach out and grasp it. This is how I have built strong relationships in my life. You can do the same thing, each and every day. By sharing more of you, you invite others to open themselves up. You will feel more connected to the people in your life because you will come to see who they truly are. There in lies life’s truer reward: To feel bonded to good people.
Work hard to create fulfilling personal relationships. Extending yourself to others is worthwhile. You will deepen your character and strengthen your relationships by simply and bravely opening up to the people in your life.
Ask Yourself These Self-Reflection Questions:
- Do I bravely reveal my true self with others?
- How can I strengthen relationships with the people in my life?
- What do I love most about the close personal relationships I already have?
Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Today’s Top Motivated Success Coach & Author of Success Atlas Goals Programs
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!
Five Tips On Influence
Posted by: | CommentsOver the course of your life you have, and you will need to continue to influence people around you. You will want to influence some to see your point of view, some to execute tasks or work for you and others to buy from you. Now, no one wants to be tricked into any of this nor do they want to be taken advantage of. So how can you sincerely influence those around you – without risk of doing just that? Let me give you four tips on ethically influencing others.
- Platinum Rule – Do Unto Others
The golden rule says “Do unto other as you would have done unto you.” I would urge you to take that up a notch to the Platinum Rule: “Do unto others as THEY would like to have done unto them.” One of the most effective ways to influence someone is to do something nice for him or her. That is why you will find many successful salespeople taking their prospects to a meal. During this meal the truly successful ones will not mention their products or services – but rather they will make small talk, pose questions and just listen to their prospect and their needs, wants, desires and passions. This is a way of building trust and establishing a friendly relationship. Find a way to do something nice for someone – because you want to – not because you want something out of it. This will do wonders to build your influence with them.
- See The Person First
Some of the most influential people of today see the person first. Before seeing them as prospects and customers they look upon them as friends and even partners. These influential people look for ways to share helpful information and improve the lives of their partners. They do so in ways not directly related to their products or services. If they know one of their friends and partners has a passion for baseball and they come across an interesting article or trinket related to baseball – they send it to their partner. This is just a small example but you get the point. See the person first, know what interests them and keep an eye out for how you can positivity impact their life with this knowledge. By sowing these seeds you can, like other influential people, reap the harvest because these sown seeds trigger a desire within the partner to reciprocate.
- Please and Thank You
Remember growing up and your parents taught you to say “Please” and “Thank You”? Well these words of kindness still apply as you interact with those you wish to influence. You should continually be on the look out for ways to say and down positive things for others. This ranges from things like polite positive comments on their attire and appearance, to sending Thank You & birthday cards. Something a little more elusive but VERY impactful on your influence on others – is to “Do what you say.” Be a man or woman of your word. Keep your promises and keep your confidences. Further building the relationship of trust – sowing more seeds for you to reap.
- Be a Go Giver
Take a moment and think about all the statues you have ever seen. What were they built for? Where they built for people that spent their lives worrying about what they can get from the world. I would argue that they were built to honor those that spent a majority of their time giving to the world. To be like these impactful figures of our past – be a go giver – continue to look for ways to do nice things for others. When you meet someone ask – “Is there anything I can do for you?” then honestly listen for way to put give rather then get.
- Sincerity and Empathy
All in all the more you are honestly open and empathetic to the needs of those you around you the more open to your positive influence they will be. Building your character and personality with sincere empathy and sensitivity will enable you to accomplish far more far faster then you could ever dream.
All of this may seem a little bit sideways or even backwards but trust me when I say “The best way to GET what you want is to GIVE unto others.” This heartfelt positive giving will move you toward the great success that you desire and deserve. I think Zig Ziglar put it best when he said “You can have EVERYTHING you what, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
Your Success At Last Exercises
To help you move towards Your Success At Last – here are two actions you can take NOW on these tips and ideas.
- Do Something Nice TODAY. Actively look for way(s) to do nice things for others. Whether your friends, family, prospects or customers – the more niceties you do for others the more positive you feel about yourself.
- Truly listen to someone TODAY. Take the time to really listen to those around you today. This includes your fellow associates, staff and even that nice person that served you your coffee this morning. The more, and the better you listen, the more and the better your influence will be.
Think Successfully & Take Action
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s TOP Motivated Coaches
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!
Change Mastery
Posted by: | CommentsThis is a time of unpredictable, unprecedented and ever rapid change. The rate of change that is befalling us however presents a new, and unique set of opportunities and challenges. For some a change will bring a new level of success, while for others, the same change can be a seedbed of negativity. If you’re the former – be sure not to let your ego get over inflated, lest another change be the pin that pops it. If you’re the latter, keep your spirits up and your humor high. I Personally, I have yet to meet a change that did not, in the long run, work out for the better for my family, my career and my future.
However, that is because I learned to handle change, and have become confident in my skills, talents and abilities. So let’s look at how we can tame the beast called change.
- Don’t Fight It.
- Give up the natural tendency to protect the familiar. Remember just because its working does not mean it doesn’t need to be fixed. The world will change with or without you. You will find yourself adapting over and over again in today’s fast paced world. If you look back 5, 10, 15 years are you the same person today you were then? Of course not because you learned, you grew, you adapted, absorbed what was superior and effective, discarded the unnecessary and changed to what you are today. Don’t fight change – you will quite probably over complicate your life in the battle. You will stress yourself out and even risk making yourself ill. It’s not worth that much to stay the same is it?
- Acceptance Doesn’t Mean You Have To Like The change.
- You will note I haven’t said you have to like the change. I am going to tell you though that you have to understand the change and go forth. If you have questions about the change, ask them. Get the big picture, study, probe, read – get yourself a good knowledge base around the change. We usually fear the unknown. As you study the change it will be less of an unknown and you’ll feel more in control. Life is not about liking – it is about doing. Taking what you have right now and building upon it.
- Be Change Wise and Defense Ready.
- Balance comes into play here. Don’t change for the sake of change, for if you do you risk valuable assets, situations and relationships. Don’t live your life a piece of clay to be molded by those around you. There are some things that should resist change – when change plainly does not translate into better results. Live your life a piece of jade, firm but shapeable in the right hands. Know what values your willing to defend against change and what values your willing to change.
- Don’t Take Life Too Seriously – Use Humor.
- Take the emotional vacation that a good sense of humor will afford you. A positively honed sense of humor will overcome pretense, put out the fire of anger and quell hostility. Using your sense of humor will keep your attitude positive, giving you the ability to take a seemingly impossible situation and make it acceptable. Once you have made it acceptable you can then seek to find the hidden nuggets that will benefit you and those around you. Use your humor positively, be spontaneous, express your feelings and encourage those around you.
Change mastery can make the difference between being inside looking out or outside looking in. Which do you prefer? Change mastery will make all the difference in the world. Is it easy? Well, to some, yes. Others have to take it step by step. But, by not fighting it, accepting/learning about the change and using your humor to keep your spirits up during those trying times – you will be able to take it head on. You will be enabling yourself to help those around you going through their own changes as well. By doing so you will indeed be making a significant difference.
Think Successfully & Take Action.
Tracy
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!
Three Tips for Goal Setting
Posted by: | CommentsHappy Thanksgiving – Take Time To Be Thankful!
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s early in the morning the house is still asleep. The smell of this years Turkey is already starting to fill the house. Except for my dear old dog – I am alone with my bird, my thoughts and now you as you read this blog post. While I always have a grateful attitude towards all I have been able to accomplish and all I know I am about to accomplish, recently however, my thanks has caused a swelling in my heart and my mind that I find a bit unbelievable.
It is the quiet serene moments like this that provide the opportune time look back at what has happened, look at today at what IS happening and out into tomorrow at what I want to happen. Some time ago, I was sitting in my office looking around being thankful for the opportunity to work with such great people and give back. I called my wife up told her how much I love her – another thing I am thankful for. When I got home that night I gave my daughters extra hugs and kisses – two more beautiful things I am thankful for. Recently, I was online with a few of my favorite people – people like you that I have met and learned from via social media and other online interactions. All these things big and small are things that I give thanks for on a regular basis.
To this day I do not know what prompted that original swelling moment of deep gratitude – but I have remained just as grateful ever since. This extra level of thankfulness has further improved my attitude, and helped me keep things in perspective as those bumps in the road come along.
Through all of this reflecting back, and visualizing forward I am EVER grateful for all that I have, have had and will have. I would urge you to do the same. Pausing for a moment to reground yourself by truly acknowledging what you have, not matter how small, will do wonders for your attitude as well as your outlook.
I wrote the following article on a Thanksgiving Day back in 2005 in the hopes of sharing this attitude of gratitude with those that might find it interesting– it still holds true today. Whether you do or do not celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving I would urge you to start making every day a day of giving thanks.
When I joined the US Army back in the early eighties they taught me a number of survival skills. I learned to live off the land, navigate that land with just a compass, where to find water, where to find food and more. I learned to jump from airplanes and traverse terrain like a Billie-goat. But even the US Army, with all their robust survival training did not teach me what I have come to realize is in fact a real survival skill – thankfulness.
In all the books I have read on personal development, as well as all the seminars, DVDs, studies, journals etc I have found a unifying thought on thankfulness: “Be thankful for everything you have, while you pursue everything you want.” A simple truth, as most profound truths are, is that we should be thankful everyday for everything we have, everything we have received and everything we have accomplished (no matter how small).
As I look back over the course my life has taken, I realize that more than the years, and the experience they bring, resulted in where I am now. It was also my thankfulness that pushed open doors of opportunity, blessings and unique experiences. I am daily thankful for the lessons my parents taught me at an early age. Lessons that pulled me through some dark times in my life. I am thankful for close friends (thank you Robbie!) and a loving spouse (thank you Denise!) whose belief in me and my abilities NEVER faltered. I am thankful for the mentors that came into my life and impacted it even in the smallest way. I am thankful for the fortune 10 companies that I have worked with just as much as the companies with only 10 employees in their ranks. All of these brought me to where I am and to each and every one of those I am ever grateful.
I look around at the world today and see great things happening, about to happen or opportunities for them to happen. Of course I’m not so blind that I don’t see the concerns too, but to dwell only on that fact would narrow my mind on what the world has to offer. In my life time I have seen the downing of the Berlin wall, watched democracy win out over tyranny numerous times and seen New York City as well as the entire United States pull together in the worst of times to help their fellow man. No matter your country of origin, race, color, greed, background or culture all of you bring something unique to the table. You as a person, as a country and we all as a world should be thankful. Always come from a place of thanksgiving; look around and be truly thankful for what you already have and have done and you will see the wonders that come from one simple act.
Some tips on generating a thankful attitude:
• Sit down with a sheet of paper and a pen and write down how good you have it. Write down everything you are thankful for – no matter how small. Doing this will begin to develop healthy, positive thought patterns and mold your attitude into one that will be more thankful all of the time. If you have a spouse or children do this with them and you will be astounded by all the good things all of you can come up with.
• Look down instead of up. What I mean, is we spend so much time looking up the socio-economic chain to where we want to be, that we often loose sight of where we have been. Look down the chain, to past where you were to those less fortunate than yourself, and be thankful for what you have. Volunteer some of your time at a local shelter, home or food bank. You will feel better for having helped as well as be reminded first hand of all that you have to be thankful for.
• Give back monetarily. Pick a charity or organization that you believe in and give some of your hard earned money. In the book Money, Sex, and Power, Richard Foster says that “money desires to be loved, courted, desired and hoarded.” Giving back and giving away breaks the power that money can have over us. You will feel better for supporting an organization that you believe in and giving it away on a regular basis helps keep things in perspective.
Thankfulness is just that starting point, but it’s a great starting point. Being thankful will enable you to create more. Take the ability to create more and create more ideas for yourself than you need. If you have more than you need then you can share your ideas, even give them away. As the old saying goes, “Be fruitful and multiply.” That just doesn’t mean in the sense of population – it means in abundance as well. When you are thankful for what you have, and creating more ideas then you need that is one form of fruitful. With more ideas than you need you can share those ideas with others. You will be blessing your fellow man, your community and your world with your wealth of ideas. Once this starts you will be amazed at the results in abundance that will flow back to you. But it all begins with the simple act of being thankful. Be grateful for everything you already have, everything you have already accomplished and for everything you are about to accomplish.
Begin your act of thanksgiving this very day, then everyday afterwards – and watch the wonders begin to happen
Think Successfully (and thankfully) & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Discovering Happiness in Your Life
Posted by: | CommentsIf there is one thing that I have learned in my 40+ years on this planet, it is that: Happiness is a choice. I am serious, It is VERY true! The choice is yours – You can choose to:
- let life’s circumstances get you down
or you can choose to: - be happy no matter what challenges life brings you overcome
What I find that most people do not know is the fact that happiness is already within each and every one of us. We, as a human race, are born to be naturally happy! I mean think about it for a moment; have you ever noticed how infectious the sound of a baby’s giggle is? Or, if someone is having a serious belly laugh, you know the kind I am talking about, they are laughing so hard their eyes are watering and they can not speak. Those two simple things, bring a smile to your face – if even for a moment. However, for some reason, as we get older, we loose sight of the happiness that resides inside us, we forget where to find that happiness within ourselves and, instead, allow outside forces to determine our happiness. Forces like, our job, a spouse, a sibling, money, cars, a house or other such tangible items. Do not get me wrong all of these things can bring a level of happiness into your life, BUT if your not first looking inside for your happiness then the happiness these materialistic items will bring will be short lived – shorter than even the warranty some come with.
So, with all that said, let me give you six tips that will enable you to discover your own happiness from within:
- When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Cliché, I know, however even the cliché can be oh so true. You do not have to let the troubles in your life and problems get you so down that you forgot the good that still resides in it – no matter how small it may seem. I mean lets face it, there will always be troubles, large and small, because no one is perfect, but YOU can choose your reaction to situations. Look at the positive side of things, even if that positive is nothing more then a lesson learned. At first it you might have work hard to see the good in people and circumstances, but it will be time well spent and it will turn your perspective from one of doom and gloom to one of possibilities.
- Find something you love to do and do it. Do you have a lifelong dream or desire? If so, start working toward it – NOW, even if you have to start doing it for free. Taking baby steps towards a dream or goal will help you feel like you’re accomplishing something. This feeling of accomplishment will fuel your drive and determination to reach that goal especially when it’s something you love to do. I loved to speak in public – so I contact every service organization in my town and in the surrounding towns to offer a free speech – some said “No.” However many said yes. I shared a message I was passionate about, help educate others on the topic and built my skills – soon I was getting paid for the same thing I was doing for free. Find your passion and go for it – it will fuel your desire, drive and happiness like nothing you can imagine!
- Do you have a gift or talent you’re not using? One reason so many people are unhappy is that they’re not doing what they’re called to do with their God-given talents. Each and every one of us has a purpose in life. You have natural gifts and talents to help you achieve your purpose, so use your gifts effectively! Here is a key – your talents are something you are naturally good at even if you have not honed them yet. Do you have some thing you have a ‘nack’ for? Then perhaps that is a natural talent you need to give some attention to. Also this usually links back to #2, and it is something that you enjoy doing (even if others thing you shouldn’t be doing it).
- When you’re feeling down, don’t wallow in your sorrows alone; do something about it. Call a friend who you know is positive and cheerful. Talk about your thoughts, and feelings, ten listen to their advice. So often, people allow themselves to go deeper and deeper into self-pity or depression because they think it has to be that way. The truth is, you don’t have to be sad and you should not be. You can decide to be happy. You just have to make up your minds to do so. Again, do not get me wrong – things will happen that make you sad, and at times you need to go through those feelings. The key phrase is “to go THROUGH” the feelings – not get mired down in them. A perfect example I remember back some years ago; I had a good friend whose girl friend left him. He was quite upset and asked if I would chat with him. Of course, happily I met him down at a local restaurant and we ate a good meal has some great discussions about his relationship and what potentially went wrong. But as the evening wore on he drink another drink, and another and another. He began to share his heartbreak story with anyone that would listen, wallowing in the feelings rather than coming out the other side. Of course the next morning, he was still along, heartbroken and now he had a hang over to boot. We tried again a few days later – this time at a place with no alcohol and I’m happy to say had came through his feelings much easier then with a little coaching and support he was back in the dating scene and met a wonderful young lady a couple months later.
- Think about all the things you have to be thankful for. Often we get so caught up in what is going wrong with our life that we forget to look at what is right and working. Pause, take a step back and review on your life as a whole. How far have you come from, say, six months to a year or even five years ago?
- Do you have children, family and/or friends to be thankful for? If they are like mine, they are not always everything we would like them to be, BUT imagining a life without them empty. So, be thankful that you have them in your life.
- Do you have a job? Okay maybe it is not your dream job, but in today’s economy, those of us who have a job should be thankful for it.
- What about your health, your home, or some of the more simplistic things we often take for granted – like the ability to see. Enabling you to read this very article. To hear the birds chirp “good morning,” to speak and say “I love you” to those special people in your life.
- When you’re feeling down, journal your thoughts and feelings. Often you’ll find that just getting your feelings down on paper will allow you to work through them, helping you to feel better about yourself and your beautiful life! Also, you might notice a trend if you journal regularly. I had a friend that I was coaching and as he reviewed his journaling entries, he noticed that entries made on the day he met with an old buddy of his were far more negative then any others. His friend was jaded by all the troubles in his life and was using my friend as a venting post to offload all his troubles on my friend. This was obviously having a negative impact on my friend, so he slowly spent less and less time with this negative influence and found he days remained far more positive. Later he let his friend know that he could not spend such time with him if he was going to be a “negative Nel.”
If you’ve been prone to look at life negatively, then you’ll have to put more effort into seeing and choosing happiness. But don’t let that stop you from being happy! You, too, can learn to be happy.
Practice the steps above and train yourself and your mind to focus intensely on the positives. Never ignore the realities when focusing on the positive. Rather choose to not wallow in the negative. When you feel a negative thought coming on, or your mind gravitates toward the negative, learn to recognize it, stop it in its tracks, and then turn your attention to the more positive aspects of the situation.
Starting from this moment onward, make the conscious choice to be happy!
Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Today’s Top Motivated Coach & Author of Success Atlas Programs
http://WriteYourSuccessStory.com
Three More Ways to Stay Positive
Posted by: | Comments‘The first step of reaching a goal to is clearly define it, down to the last detail.’
– Tracy Brinkmann
The best way I have found to keep positive is to minimize the bumps in the road. One of key things you can to reduce the turbulence along your flight to success is to take the wheel on the suggestive factors in your surroundings. Take control of the things you are seeing, listening to and exposing yourself to. Insure that these factors are consistently aligned with the goals you want to achieve in your life.
1 – Learn, Learn and Learn
Gain information in areas that will move you towards your goals. Attend seminars; learn from those that have gone before you. Take additional courses and learn everything you possibly can. Find someone that has done what you want to do (or even part of what you want to do) and model them. Read their book(s), listen to them live, read their articles, write them letters. Invite them to a lunch, get their advice. You can cut months and even years off your trip to success by listening to and modeling your actions after those that have proven track records in areas that are vital to your success.
One great way of learning is audio programs. Listen to educational and motivational programs in your car. The average person drives over 12,000 miles annually. That could be from 500 to 1,000 hours per year that you spend in your car, usually listening to music or someone else’s opinion on politics, the weather and the news. You can quickly become an expert in your area of interest by simply turning off the radio and putting on some educational material instead. You are going to be in the car anyway – why not turn it into a university on wheels. I know of an interpreter then currently know 4 languages and is learning a 5th. Each of these languages he learned in his car. You can even take your audio learning one step farther and listen to them while you are doing yard work, while you are painting the fence or going for a jog.
2 – See What You Want To Be
Every evening before you lay your head down to rest, and the first thing after your pick it up, picture your goals as already reached. Imagine your goals as though they already existed. Doing this will trigger your subconscious mind to see opportunities you might otherwise miss, and afford you the control to respond rather than react when life does not go the way you want it to. However, your mind will only be activated when you feed it these affirmations and pictures in the present tense. See your goal vividly, feel it, smell it, taste it as if you were living it in that very moment before you go to sleep, then again when you wake up. Picture yourself performing at your best. While this may seem like an odd technique, it is not. This technique is used by many Olympians and pro athletes the world over. They have lived that winning shot, jump or sprint thousands of times before the first time they actually execute it. You can put this same winning technique to work for you by imagining the situation you are facing, and seeing it working out just the way you want it to.
Picture yourself living the level of success you want to enjoy. See yourself with the kind of family relationships you desire, the level of fitness you wish to enjoy. Picture yourself cruising down the road in your dream car. Pulling up to that perfect house and parking that dream car in the garage. Whatever it is your heart desires – feed it all the mental pictures of how you want it to be every night before you go to sleep, then again when you awake. This will do wonders for your attitude and for enabling your creative intellect to naturally come up with solutions that will permit your imagined picture to become a reality.
3 – Fly With Eagles
I remember having a t-shirt when I was a teenage that said “It is hard to soar with the eagles when you fly with the turkeys.” This is so very true on many levels. You need to associate primarily with like-minded, positive and success oriented people. Find a group of winners and soar with them. If you loose your job, who do you think is going to help you deal with that and find another one. The group of unemployed folks down at the local pub, complaining about the job market and their situations? Or, a group of positive success oriented people getting together to network and locate new opportunities? While the answer is obvious, many people do not take that obvious answer and make it a part of their action plan.
You can not fly with the eagles if you scratch with those turkeys. Get away from the go no where types and most certainly get away from negative people. Wean yourself as quickly as possible away from negative people. They have a way of siphoning the positive energy from you and setting you adrift on a course you would rather not be on. Associating with negative people on a regular basis is enough to lead you to a life of underachievement, failure and frustration. So, only associate with positive thinking men and women!
Time To Take Action
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Right now decide what one area or topic that you would like to increase your knowledge in. Once you have decided on the topic – find a book, seminar or course on that topic and get it. Then apply yourself to learning it. You will feel better for having done so. This will feed your desire to read the next book, attend the next seminar or take the next course. Creating an upward attitudinal spiral that you will enjoy! There is a great eCourse at http://WriteYourSuccessStory.com that will get you started on a unique way to creatively design the life you desire and deserve.
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Turn your car into automobile university. Turn off the radio more and listen to those tapes and CDs that will feed your mind and pull you towards your goals. You will more about your chosen topic and take your focus off the frustrating traffic in front of you. You can also use an MP3 player for those times your doing other tasks that would leave your mind free to absorb more educational and motivational material. Once upon a time I did not like to work in the yard – these days I pop in some Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy or any of my other favorite speakers and I’m off to happily trim the bushes and mow the lawn. Try it –it works!
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Shift your group of friends from the negative thinkers to the positive ones. Resolve to associate with optimistic people as much as you possibly can. Associate with winners and move away from those negative, criticizing, complainers that will suck the energy you need to get you to your goals. This one act can have as much impact on your life as any another other step you will ever take.
Think Successfully and Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Today’s Top Motivated Coach & Author of Success Atlas Programs
http://WriteYourSuccessStory.com
http://SuccessAtlas.com
Beliefs=Abandon or Action – You Choose!
Posted by: | Comments‘One guarantee life give us is this: For every problem or challenged overcome – another will better one will be given to us to face. That is how life insures that we grow.’
– Tracy Brinkmann
Attitude ranks high on the list of things that drive what action you take or do not take. Your attitude is molded by the things you think about during the majority of your waking hours, as well as your deep seeded beliefs. Your beliefs further influence your thoughts about the world around you. So, your beliefs are one of the roots to your success. Put simply – your thinking and your beliefs will, either fuel fear and cause you to abandon attempts, or fuel confidence moving you to action. Which do you believe will facilitate your desired level success, abandon or action?
Yes, it is true your beliefs have that much power. What you believe about relationships, risk, goal-setting, success and failure will either push you towards your dreams and goals or push them away from you. It has been said that the basic success formula is:
Belief + Time = Success.
As with any formula – the more of one addend you have, then the less the other addend you will need. In other words, the more positive belief you have, the less time you will need. The more positive belief you have regarding your success the more action you will take. Thus, the less time you will need in order to reach your desired goal. Remember though, the opposite will be true as well. The more negative belief you have about one or more aspects of your success, the more time it will take to reach your goal.
So, how can we ensure that our beliefs are empowering us to the level of success that we desire? Here are three tips that you can put into action right away to positively impact your thoughts, beliefs and everything they will bring into your world.
- Define your ‘Success Atlas’ for every area of your life; your business, your relationship(s), your finances, etc. Your ‘Success Atlas’ is your vision of your future and a set of goals that are designed to bring that vision into your reality. If you do not know how to define your success atlas go to http://SuccessAtlas.com and sign up for my newsletter and I will walk you through all the key ingredients you will need for a good Success Atlas. and I will send you my article on goal setting. Having your ‘Success Atlas’ defined will give you something to wake up to each day. This well defined set of goals will push you to take action and even put a smile on your face as you think about the compelling future that you are creating for yourself and those you love.
- Remove negative inputs from your day. All around you are various negative inputs that are slowly whittling away at your desire and passion to reach your goal. These inputs range from the television, newspapers, new broadcasts, some movies and music. Even some of the people in your life (yourself included) can be donating negative input. They may even be well meaning in what they have to share, but could be the source of negative inputs none the less. Not all of any one of these categories is 100% negative, but, many are and you need to deter as much negative input from your mind as possible. You need to make it a passion to eliminate as many of these negative donators as you can – ban them from your day.
The universe is an interesting thing in that as you pull out the negative inputs, they leave a vacuum. The universe does not like a vacuum and will look to fill that vacuum with something. If you keep pulling out the negative – all that it left to put into that vacuum is positive input. So remove negative inputs from your world and replace them with positive inputs.
- Dig, Uncover, and substitute the negative beliefs you have. What negative behaviors do you have? What negative things do you say to yourself and others? In and of themselves these behaviors and words may not be negative. But, given your vision and your goals they could promote behaviors and thoughts that are holding you back. Be totally honest with yourself in searching for these negative values and bad habits. Once again create that vacuum – remove them from your daily routine – and replace them with empowering words, values and habits. Ones that will push you towards your goals and dreams.
In defining ‘Success Atlas’ you need to create a powerful why. Creating a powerful ‘why’ for why you want to accomplish a goal or a dream builds up energy like an electric power plant. Much like that plant, the ‘why’ will pump energy through the ‘power lines’ of your mind. Energy just waiting to be released. Your beliefs have the power to flick the switch and brighten your entire life – or leave you in the dark. So, sit down, define your own personal Success Atlas, remove the negatives from your world, and replace your harmful beliefs, words and habits with empowering ones. As you mold your beliefs, they will flick on the switch; releasing your power plant of energy and brighten your life and the lives of those you care about.
Empowered Beliefs produces empowered action;
Empowered Action produces an empowered life!
Think Successfully and Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Today’s Top Motivated Coach & Author of Success Atlas Programs
http://WriteYourSuccessStory.com
Beliefs
Posted by: | CommentsIt seems like every day I meet new people that are afflicted with negative thoughts or beliefs that are keeping them down. This negativity fosters more negativity if left unchecked. They look around their world and say if only some one would give me a shot I could prove myself. I challenge them to TAKE the shot and prove themselves to themselves. Once they prove themselves internally then others will see their worth.
Recently I was sitting in a meeting where two associates where trying share their concerns. One said “We only got three of these in.” They other replied “That can’t be – I ordered four and they only come in sets of two. You must have lost them…” The second associate wouldn’t consider the fact that the vendor might have made a mistake and only shipped three, for she thought that would make her look bad – since she was responsible to insuring that four were there. She staunchly defended her position and the problem went unresolved.
Later I approached her and coached her on this situation and on how her negative beliefs had motivated her one sided response. Later I brought the two back together to discuss it once more. This time when she was told that only three were delivered she only asked that they reconfirm that only three were delivered and in the meantime she would call the vendor. Like magic the first associate said he would be happy to reconfirm the delivery and even came up with a couple more places to look for the missing piece ‘just in case.’
These two were battling with internal beliefs that they were going to look bad if their area of responsibility was at fault so in turn they were doing everything they could to push the blame elsewhere. Once one stopped believing negatively and pushing a one sided battle – immediately the finger pointing subsided and they began to work together towards the same goal.
This is the power of your beliefs – they will work for you or against you in your life, at your job – every where. So, in tomorrow’s blog post I will to share with you some thoughts on how to empower your beliefs so you can…THINK SUCCESSFULLY & TAKE ACTION!
Value of Goals and Goals of Value
Posted by: | CommentsAs I have studied the impact of goal setting over the past decade I have had the opportunity to talk to many successful people on this topic. Each and every one of them had one thing in common. All of them had taken the time to create a clear blueprint – or as I prefer to call it – a success atlas for themselves. While many have started this process of goal setting or personal strategic planning with some level of skepticism or doubt – all of them have become a true believer in the power that a success atlas gives you.
All of them became amazed at the remarkable power of goal setting and strategic planning. They all have accomplished more than they had ever conceived possible in their respective lives – both personal and professional. They attribute their successes directly to the process of thinking through every aspect of their goals, work and lives. Then taking those thoughts and developing a detailed success atlas to get them from where they are to where they desire to be and the happiness that goes with both the journey and the destination.
Earl Nightingale gave what I think is the best definition of happiness I have ever heard – “Happiness is the progress achievement of a worthy ideal or goal.” When you are working little by little, step by step towards an objective that is important to you, you produce within yourself an unremitting feeling of success and achievement.
As you work on your success atlas you feel more motivated, positive and in control of your own life as well as what happens in it. You will feel more fulfilled happier and like the winner that you know you deserve to feel like. Step by step as you execute your success atlas you will develop the psychological momentum that empowers you to foresee and avoid or overcome all together all obstacles that will be thrown in your path. You will time and time again fly over or though adversity as you move ever onward towards achieving all that is most important to you and the values you hold dear.
A good goals plan (Success Atlas) starts with your values and your dreams. What do you believe and what do you stand for = your values. If you do be/have or do anything knowing you would not fail what would you be/have or do = your dream(s). Your values are the very core of everything you are as a person. Your values are the coalesce of your principles, core beliefs, personality and your character. Your dreams are at the very heart of your values – if not at the just at the surface certain at their root.
Your values, dreams and beliefs are the hub or center of your ever turning wheel of life. Thus any and all improvement will begin my clarifying, cultivating and nurturing your true values and dreams. Then you need only commit yourself to live consistent with them.
Successful people are successful because they are very clear about their values and know what their dreams and goals are. Unsuccessful people are fuzzy or unsure. Complete failures have no real values, goals or direction at all.
A side benefit of this values clarification is a sound foundation for a strong and confident person. Values clarification is the first step in building strong and enduring self-confidence, self-esteem and personal character. When you take the time to honestly look inside and lay out your values – not your parent’s values or those of your boss or your peers – but YOUR values and dreams. Then committing yourself to living your life consistent with them, you feel a surge of mental strength and well-being. You feel stronger and more capable in everything you do. You will more able to try again when what you’re doing is not going just the way you want it to. You feel more centered and more competent of accomplishing the goals you set for yourself.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, begin with your values by deciding what it is you stand for, believe in and what you will not stand for in your life. Commit yourself to live consistent with these heart felt inner convictions — and you’ll never make another mistake.
Second, decide for yourself what does and will make you truly happy. Put all these dreams on paper and then organize your life around them. Create your Success Atlas – write down your goals and make plans to achieve them.
Third, if you are looking for a little guidance on how begin setting your goals, or if your tired of the same old “cookie cutter” method of goal setting that everyone else tells you to try – then get the complimentary 9-step eCourse on how to write your success story. http://WriteYourSuccessStory.com
Think Successfully and Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Today’s Top Motivated Coach & Author of Successs Atlas Programs
http://WriteYourSuccessStory.com
http://SuccessAtlas.com