Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 10, 2008
Efficiency is doing things right.
Effectiveness is doing the right things. Your ability to plan and organize your work, in advance, so you are always working on your highest value tasks determines your success as much as any other factor.
The ABCDE Method for Priorities
The process of setting short-term priorities begins with a pad of paper and a pen. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by too many things to do and too little time in which to do them, sit down, take a deep breath, and list all those tasks you need to accomplish. Although there is never enough time to do everything, there is always enough time to do the most important things, and to stay with them until they are done right.
Setting Better Priorities
The best method for setting priorities on your list, once you have determined your major goals or objectives, is the A-B-C-D-E method. You place one of those letters in the margin before each of the tasks on your list before you begin.
“A” stands for “very important;” something you must do. There can be serious negative consequences if you don’t do it.
“B” stands for “important;” something you should do. This is not as important as your ‘A’ tasks. There are only minor negative consequences if it is not completed.
“C” stands for things that are “nice to do;” but which are not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ tasks. There are no negative consequences for not completing it.
“D” stands for “delegate.” You can assign this task to someone else who can do the job instead of you.
“E” stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.” You should eliminate every single activity you possibly can, to free up your time.
When you use the A-B-C-D-E method, you can very easily sort out what is important and unimportant. This then will focus your time and attention on those items on your list that are most essential for you to do.
Eat That Frog! and stop procrastinating!
Just Say No
Once you can clearly determine the one or two things that you should be doing, above all others, just say no to all diversions and distractions and focus single-mindedly on accomplishing those priorities.
Much stress that you experience in your work life comes from working on low-priority tasks. The amazing discovery is that as soon as you start working on your highest-value activity, all your stress disappears. You feel a continuous stream of energy and enthusiasm. As you work toward the completion of something that is really important, you feel an increased sense of personal value and inner satisfaction. You experience a sensation of self-mastery and self-control. You feel calm, confident and capable.
Action Exercises
Here are three ideas that you can use, every day, to help you set priorities and to keep you working at your best:
First, take the time to be clear about your goals and objectives so that the priorities you set are moving you in the direction of something that is of real value to you.
Second, remember that what counts is not the amount of time that you put in overall; rather, it’s the amount of time that you spend working on high-priority tasks.
Third, understand that the most important factor in setting priorities is your ability to make wise choices. You are always free to choose to engage in one activity or another.
Resolve today to set clear priorities in every area of your life, and always choose the activities that will assure you the greatest health, happiness and prosperity in the long term.
Eat That Frog!
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Tags: Personal Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 10, 2008
The greatest men and women of all ages have practiced solitude regularly.
They learned how to use silence to still their minds and tap into their superconscious powers for answers to their questions.
In this newsletter, you learn how you can apply this wonderful technique immediately to improve the quality of your inner and outer life.
The Magic of Solitude
Your feelings, your emotions, are the access point to your inner powers of mind. The most important part in the process of getting in touch with your feelings is to begin to practice solitude on a regular basis. Solitude is the most powerful activity in which you can engage. Men and women who practice it correctly and on a regular basis never fail to be amazed at the difference it makes in their lives.
Most people have never practiced solitude. Most people have never sat down quietly by themselves for any period of time in their entire lives. Most people are so busy being busy, doing something-even watching television-that it’s highly unusual for them to simply sit, deliberately, and do nothing. But as Catherine Ponder points out, “Men and women begin to become great when they begin to take time quietly by themselves, when they begin to practice solitude.” And here’s the method you can use.
To get the full benefit of your periods of solitude, you must sit quietly for at least 30 to 60 minutes at a time. If you haven’t done it before, it will take the first 25 minutes or so for you to stop fidgeting and moving around. You’ll almost have to hold yourself physically in your seat. You’ll have an almost irresistible desire to get up and do something. But you must persist.
Solitude requires that you sit quietly, perfectly still, back and head erect, eyes open, without cigarettes, candy, writing materials, music or any interruptions whatsoever for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better.
Become completely relaxed, and breathe deeply. Just let your mind flow. Don’t deliberately try to think about anything. The harder you “don’t try,” the more powerfully it works. After 20 or 25 minutes, you’ll begin to feel deeply relaxed. You’ll begin to experience a flow of energy coming into your mind and body.
You’ll have a tremendous sense of well-being. At this point, you’ll be ready to get the full benefit of these moments of contemplation.
The River of Ideas
The incredible thing about solitude is that if it is done correctly, it works just about 100 percent of the time. While you’re sitting there, a stream, a river, of ideas will flow through your mind. You’ll think about countless subjects in an uncontrolled stream of consciousness. Your job is just to relax and listen to your inner voice.
Practice solitude, reduce stress and Simplify Your Life.
At a certain stage during your period of solitude, the answers to the most pressing difficulties facing you will emerge quietly and clearly, like a boat putting gently to the side of a lake. The answer that you seek will come to you so clearly and it will feel so perfect that you’ll experience a deep sense of gratitude and contentment.
Trusting Yourself
When you emerge from this period of quiet, you must do exactly what has come to you. It may involve dealing with a human situation. It may involve starting something or quitting something. Whatever it is, when you follow the guidance that you received in solitude, it will turn out to be exactly the right thing to do. Everything will be OK. And it will usually work out far better than you could have imagined. Just try it and see.
You must learn to trust yourself. You must develop the habit of listening to yourself and then acting on the guidance you receive.
Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, select a specific time and place to sit quietly and practice one full hour of solitude. Don’t put it off.
Second, take small periods of silence and solitude during the day, especially when you feel overwhelmed with problems or responsibilities.
Third, take action immediately on the ideas and insights you receive while in solitude. One good idea can save you months and years of hard work. The key is trust.
Simplify Your Life
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Tags: Personal Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 10, 2008
Dare to Go Forward
Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues because upon it, all others depend." Courage is the chief distinguishing characteristic of the true leader. It is almost always visible in the leader’s words and actions. It is absolutely indispensable to success, happiness and the ability to motivate other people to be the best they can be.
Follow Through On Your Vision
In a way, it is easy to develop a big vision for yourself and for the person you want to be. It is easy to commit yourself to living with complete integrity. But it requires incredible courage to follow through on your vision and on your commitments. You see, as soon as you set a high goal or standard for yourself, you will run into all kinds of difficulties and setbacks.
Refuse to Compromise
You will be surrounded by temptations to compromise your values and your vision. You will feel an almost irresistible urge to "get along by going along." Your desire to earn the respect and cooperation of others can easily lead to the abandonment of your principles, and here is where courage comes in.
Stick to Your Principles
Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character. The first form of courage is your ability to stick to your principles, to stand for what you believe in and to refuse to budge unless you feel right about the alternative. Courage is also the ability to step out in faith, to launch out into the unknown and then to face the inevitable doubt and uncertainty that accompany every new venture.
The Universal Laws of Success and Achievement will help you achieve all your goals!
Avoid Your Comfort Zone
Most people are seduced by the lure of the comfort zone. This can be likened to going out of a warm house on a cold, windy morning. The average person, when he feels the storm swirling outside his comfort zone, rushes back inside where it’s nice and warm. But not the true leader. The true leader has the courage to step away from the familiar and comfortable and to face the unknown with no guarantees of success. It is this ability to "boldly go where no man has gone before" that distinguishes you as a leader from the average person. This is the example that you must set if you are to rise above the average. It is this example that inspires and motivates other people to rise above their previous levels of accomplishment as well.
The Attack of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, was one of the most superb leaders of all time. He became king at the age of 19, when his father, Philip II, was assassinated. In the next 11 years, he conquered much of the known world, leading his armies against numerically superior forces.
Lead the Action
Yet, when he was at the height of his power, the master of the known world, the greatest ruler in history to that date, he would still draw his sword at the beginning of a battle and lead his men forward into the conflict. He insisted on leading by example. Alexander felt that he could not ask his men to risk their lives unless he was willing to demonstrate by his actions that he had complete confidence in the outcome. The sight of Alexander charging forward so excited and motivated his soldiers that no force on earth could stand before them.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:
First, set big goals for yourself and force yourself out of the comfort zone by acting boldly - even when there is no guarantee of success. Go boldly where no one has ever gone before.
Second, resolve to act quickly and decisively when you are confronted with a difficult or dangerous situation. Dare to go forward. Practice audacity in all things. Acting with courage builds your courage and confidence higher and higher.
The Universal Laws of Success and Achievement
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Tags: Leadership Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 10, 2008
Your job is to organize your life and work so as to minimize surprises and problems.
However, this is not always possible, in spite of your best efforts.
Use the Worry Buster
If you are already facing a fear- or worry-inducing situation, here are the four steps of what we refer to as the "worry buster."
Clarity is Everything
Step Number One: Define the worry situation clearly in writing - fully half of all problems can be solved just by clearly defining them. Remember, "Accurate diagnosis is half the cure."
Determine the Worst
Step Number Two: Determine the worst possible outcome of the situation. What is the absolute worst that can happen?
Be Willing to Have it So
Step Number Three: Resolve to accept the worst should it occur. The first step in dealing with any negative situation is to be willing to have it so. Once you resolve to accept the worst, your mind will become calm and clear and you’ll be ready to take some constructive action.
Neutralize stress with the Maximum Achievement Affirmation CD.
Take Action
Step Number Four: The final step is to immediately begin doing everything you possibly can to improve upon the worst.
The Real Antidote to Worry
Remember, worry is merely a sustained form of fear caused by indecision. The only real antidote to worry is purposeful action. Get so busy doing something about your situation that you don’t have time to worry. As you take action, your confidence, courage and sense of control will return and wipe away your fears.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to get rid of your worries:
First, make a list, down one side of a page, of all the situations causing you any stress or worry at the moment.
Second, on the other side of the page, write out the worst possible thing that could happen as a result. You’ll be amazed to see much of your worry disappear with this exercise.
Maximum Achievement Affirmation
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Tags: Business Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 7, 2008
You probably have the ability to produce and ear n easily twice as much as you are producing and ear ning today.
You probably have the ability to produce and ear n easily twice as much as you are producing and ear ning today.
Put Key Ideas Into Action
I have taught time management strategies to more than 100,000 people over the last few years and the successes these people have had have often been amaz ing. Many of them have doubled their output in as little as one or two days. One businessman in Philadelphia tripled his income and doubled the amount of time he spent with his family within twelve months. Another businessman from Montreal increased his income by 700% over a period of two years by disciplining himself to practice these principles every hour of every day.
Small Effects Yield Large Results
The good news is that even a small effort on your part to implement the very best of time management principles into your life will yield a tremendous return in increased productivity, performance and output. It is like stepping on the accelerator of your own life and moving yourself onto the fast track in your career.
Find out 21 Great Ways to Get Paid More and Promoted Faster.
Efficiency Starts At School
We usually learn how to work efficiently and effectively in our teenage years by doing our schoolwork and our homework in an excellent way and handing it in on time. If a young person does not learn how to work during their school years, he or she will have a tough time working when they actually take a paying job.
Most People Are Poor Workers
According to the studies, fully 50% of adults could not work a full day if their life depended upon it. They cannot stay on task. They are continually diverted and distracted into idle socializing, personal phone calls, shooting the breeze, arriving late, leaving early and taking too much time for coffee breaks and lunches. Time wasting consumes their day. Then they wonder why they are not entrusted with increased responsibilities and offered greater pay.
Be Paid More And Pro moted Faster
The fact is that if you do an excellent job in a timely fashion, you cannot help but be paid more and pro moted faster. We live in the first great meritocracy in human history. In a meritocracy, you are paid and rewarded purely on the basis of the valuable contribution you make to the lives and work of others. There are no glass ceil ings and no barriers to advancement.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, select the most valuable and important assignment you have to do right now, resolve to complete it, and start on it immediately.
Second, resolve to "work all the time you work" once you get started. Aim for 100% productivity. This could change your life.
21 Great Ways to Get Paid More and Promoted Faster
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Tags: Financial Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 4, 2008
Fully 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising.
Why People Buy
Fully 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising. Some of the most important sales promotion sales activities are those that take place between customers and prospects, between friends and colleagues, in the form of advice and recommendations on what to buy, or not buy, and who to buy from.
Join the Top 10%
The only way that you can be among the top ten percent of salespeople in your industry is by having your existing customers selling for you on every occasion. Because of the importance of mega-credibility in selling, your customers must be happy to open doors to new customers for you wherever they go.
Never Prospect Again
All top salespeople eventually reach the point where they seldom have to prospect because their customers do much of their selling for them. When you live your life consistent with your personal and business mission statements, both fitting together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, your sales career will soar, as will your sales results and your earnings.
Be Clear About Who You Are
One important point with regard to vision, values and mission statements: be gentle with yourself. It has taken you your whole life to become the person you are today. If you are like everyone else, you are not perfect. You have lots of room to grow and improve. There are many changes that you can make in your character and personality in the course of becoming the excellent human being that you aspire to. But change in your personality will not come easily, and it won’t come overnight. You must be patient.
Increase your sales with Superstar Selling!
Persist Until Your Succeed
The reason that people grow and become better and better over the course of time, is because they persist gently in the direction of their goals and dreams. They don’t expect overnight transformations. When they don’t see results immediately, they don’t get discouraged. They just keep on keeping on. And you must do the same.
Put Your Ideas Into Action
Once you have a clear idea of the person you want to be and the kind of life and career you want to create, just take the first step. Read your mission statements every day as you go about your activities, think of the different ways that you could practice the virtues and qualities that you are in the process of incorporating into your own personality.
Remember, it is only your actions with regard to other people that really demonstrate the kind of person you have become. And if you persist long enough, you will eventually shape yourself into the exact person that you have imagined.
Action Exercises
First, treat every customer as if he is going to be a great source of word-of-mouth advertising for you. Remember that every person knows about 300 other people.
Second, resolve to become better and better in your dealings with others but be gentle with yourself. Behave every day in every way the best you can be and you will be sure to get results.
Superstar Selling!
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Tags: Sales Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 3, 2008
One of the best ways to influence someone is to do something nice for him.
Do Nice Things For Others
One of the best ways to influence someone is to do something nice for him. I know many successful salespeople who make a habit of taking their prospects out to breakfast or lunch. During the breakfast or lunch, they do not talk about their products or services unless the client brings it up. They merely make small talk, ask questions and listen. They work on building trust, and they work on establishing a friendly relationship. At the end of the breakfast or lunch, they tell the prospect that they will be getting in touch with him sometime in the future with the possibility of talking to him about helping him in some way.
See Them As Friends and Partners
The best salespeople and businesspeople in America today are those who look upon their customers and prospective customers as friends and partners. They always look for ways to help their partners improve their lives in ways that are not directly related to the products or services they sell. They sow seeds, and they reap a harvest. They trigger a desire in people to reciprocate. When the time comes for those salespeople to approach their prospects with the possibility of buying their products or services, the prospects are wide open to the questions and inputs of the salespeople. The prospects have a deep-down desire to reciprocate.
Learn How to Talk and influence people!
Send Thank You Notes
One of the best ways to use this principle in your interactions is to continually look for ways to say and do positive things for people. Look for ways to do kind acts and favors for your friends and prospects. Send thank-you notes. Send birthday cards. Send clippings from newspapers about subjects that you feel may be of interest to them. Always keep your promises, and follow up on your commitments. Always do what you say you will do. Do everything possible to put in, knowing confidently that you will ultimately be able to get out far more. You will reap if you sow.
Be A Go-Giver Rather Than A Go-Getter
Someone has observed that no one ever built a statue to a person to acknowledge what he or she got out of life. Statues are built only to people to acknowledge what they gave. The most powerful, influential and successful people you will ever meet always look for ways to do nice things for others. When you meet someone under almost any circumstance, one of the best questions you can ask is this: "Is there anything that I can do for you?" Always look for ways to put in rather than to take out. The successful man or woman of today is a "go-giver" as well as a go-getter.
Be Open and Empathetic
The more that people feel that you are open and empathetic and sensitive to their needs and concerns, the more open they will be to your influencing them positively in some way. And the more you can influence others with the power and impact of your personality, the more you will accomplish, and the faster you will accomplish it. The more rapidly you will move toward the great success that you desire and deserve.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, look for ways to do nice things for other people, especially your family, friends, and customers. The more nice things you do for others, the better you feel about yourself.
Second, take time to really listen to people, especially your staff and coworkers. The more and better you listen to others, the greater is your influence over them.
How to Talk: Secrets of the Great Communicators + Bonuses!
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Tags: Leadership Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 3, 2008
What would your life be like if you doubled your income this year?
What would your life be like if you doubled your income this year? What if you doubled your income AND you doubled the time you spend doing what you love with the people you love?
How can you go from dream to reality?
Think it’s impossible in this economy? It’s not! In every shift of the economy — down or up — there are winners and losers.
Even in the Great Depression, people came out new millionaires. Today will be no different.
The Secret You Need To Know
The key to being successful in life and with your business is focus.
Focus? What am I talking about?
The key to being truly successful is knowing how and where to focus your time and efforts. For example, just yesterday I was talking with someone who sells fiber optic cables and computer hardware. He wanted to know if I thought it was a good idea to diversify and try to resell self-improvement programs online.
Here was someone who was doing fairly well with one business and about to take his eye off his primary source of income and try something he knew nothing about. Bad idea!
If you want to be successful, the key is finding something you’re good at and focusing your efforts to help people…and become rich doing it.
For example, every successful business owner knows they need a marketing strategy to attract new clients and make more money. But most don’t know how and where to focus their marketing. They try a little of this and a little of that and get little in the way of results.
Knowing how and where to focus your efforts is the key to success.
With a proven system for getting prospects’ attention, generating leads, converting leads to clients, maximizing sales and generating repeat sales you can easily double your income while cutting your time on the job in half (or even more).
4 Options For Achieving Your Dreams
Try copying what others are doing
This could work. Anything is possible but most new businesses fail. Even if you try copying one that appears to be making money, it’s impossible to know what’s working for them and what’s not. You could easily end up copying one of their failed strategies.
Wait for lightning to strike in the form of a revolutionary product or service and then hope you get featured on Oprah. Your odds are slim but again, this could happen. Counting on it would be a mistake.
Maintain a positive attitude
I’m sure you’ve heard it before: your chances of success are higher when you focus on creating opportunities…but at some point you’re going to need more than just a positive attitude. You’re going to need guidance and tools to reach your dreams.
Find a proven system, one that shows you exactly how to become a sought after expert, how to grow your business, and how to maximize your profits so you have a steady stream of leads, sales and profits (so you can make more money).
The Way to Wealth System
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Tags: Personal Success
Posted by Brian Tracy on Nov 3, 2008
Perhaps the most outwardly identifiable quality of a high performing man or woman is “action orientation.”
Take Time to Think and Plan
Highly productive people take the time to think, plan and set priorities. They then launch quickly and strongly toward their goals and objectives. They work steadily, smoothly and continuously and seem to go through enormous amounts of work in the same time period that the average person spends socializing, wasting time and working on low value activities.
Getting into “Flow”
When you work on high value tasks at a high and continuous level of activity, you can actually enter into an amaz ing mental state called “flow.” Almost everyone has experienced this at some time. Really successful people are those who get themselves into this state far more often than the average.
In the state of “flow,” which is the highest human state of performance and productivity, something almost mirac ulous happens to your mind and emotions. You feel elated and clear. Everything you do seems effortless and accurate. You feel happy and energetic. You experience a tremendous sense of calm and personal effectiveness.
Become More Alert and Aware
In the state of “flow,” identified and talked about over the centuries, you actually function on a higher plane of clarity, creativity and competence. You are more sensitive and aware. Your insight and intuition functions with incredible precision. You see the interconnectedness of people and circumstances around you. You often come up with brilliant ideas and insights that enable you to move ahead even more rapidly.
Handle stress better by listening to Crunch Time!
Develop a Sense of Urgency
One of the ways you can trigger this state of flow is by developing a “sense of urgency.” This is an inner drive and desire to get on with the job quickly and get it done fast. This inner drive is an impatience that motivates you to get going and to keep going. A sense of urgency feels very much like racing against yourself.
Create a “Bias for Action”
With this ingrained sense of urgency, you develop a “bias for action.” You take action rather than talking continually about what you are going to do. You focus on specific steps you can take immediately. By employing this technique you concentrate on the things you can do right now to get the results you want and achieve the goals you desire.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:
First, select one major task confronting you and launch into it immediately. Don’t hesitate. Move fast.
Second, start doing this every morning, first thing, until it becomes a habit.
Crunch Time!
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Tags: Personal Success
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