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The focus of this issue is seven steps to creating a business and work life that is simple and easy. Meet Harold and his purple crayon to help guide you in the process. A monthly email newsletter for organizations, business owners and professionals who want to excel.SEPTEMBER 2001 IN THIS ISSUE WELCOME Greetings and welcome to all of you. We are delighted to send you another issue of KEYS TO SUCCESS. Thank you for joining us. Our commitment is to give you practical information and inspirational ideas to benefit your business and personal life. We are committed to "bringing out your best"! We welcome feedback so we can improve and offer real value to you. Any questions about your subscription? Check the end of the newsletter for information to subscribe or unsubscribe. If you like what you see, will you please forward the ezine to your colleagues and friends? Our goal is to have 1000 subscribers by the end of December. We truly appreciate your support. Tip of the Month: "Shifting gears" will help you discover how to develop new habits and get positive results. Check it out at How many times have you equated simple with easy? Many clients have said to me, "What a simple idea! Why didn't I think of that?" One only has to remember the famous pet rock phenomenon to make that exclamation! I've also heard, "That sounds so simple to do, why isn't it?" Being simple means basic, streamlined and uncomplicated. When something is easy it is done with little difficulty. What looks simple isn't always easy. The idea is to combine the two concepts. I am reminded of the child's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. Harold is a bald little kid going on a walk with a big purple crayon with him. He uses the crayon to simply create what he needs as he takes his walk. He needs a moon to provide light so he draws the moon. Then he draws a shortcut because his path is too long. He eventually gets hungry so he draws his favorite pies and shares them with a moose and porcupine. When he backs into deep water and gets in over his head he draws a boat to take him to the beach. Harold gets lost and asks for help to find his way home. He rolls with the punches in his land of uncertainty and finds a way to keep going. You can see Harold as a naive child or you can admire his ability to be nimble and creative. No matter what happens to him, he finds simple and easy solutions to solve his problems. Can you recall a time when you felt overwhelmed because a project was too complicated to even think about, let alone do? It seemed too difficult to even begin. That's when our internal resistance sets in and we continue to live using our personal cruise control system. In training we use an acronym KISS meaning Keep It Simple Stupid. Simple is good when we are learning new pieces of information or developing new skill sets. Simple is also good when we want to experiment with new behaviors. Simplifying certainly helps everything become easier. Here are seven tips to help you find simple solutions and make life and work at little easier? 1. Look for new ideas. Take off your blinders and let your creativity shine through. 2. Be willing to take a risk and try something new. Get out of cruise control. 3. Create small basic steps. Break your plan down into small bite size chunks. 5. Be willing to make mistakes. Fear puts up huge stop signs. 6. Ask basic questions. Is this working? Am I getting what I need? 7. Stop looking for the perfect solution. There is more than one right answer. You can even sing these words from the song Take It Easy by the Eagles. "Take it easy, take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy." Isn't it time to pick up a big purple crayon and create your own solutions that are simple and easy? "Our life is frittered away by detail....Simplify, simplify." "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem." "Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one's courage." GUEST ARTICLE - POSITIVE THINKING by Bob Osgoodby The late Norman Vincent Peale was a controversial preacher who burst into public consciousness with his best-selling book, "The Power of Positive Thinking". He believed that ordinary people could become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things, and when they believe in themselves, they have the secret of success. So many people trying to start a business, don't believe in themselves. They look for advice from self proclaimed "gurus" and try very little on their own. Any MLMer will tell you about the power of duplicatable systems. While much of this is true, and it is not always necessary to re-invent the wheel, many miss a very important point. A duplicatable system does not demand that you memorize a script. It basically means that you know your product, and have seen what has worked for others, and follow their lead. If you add your own ingenuity and your sales efforts, you will do even better. If you aren't the creative type, it really is best to follow a tried and true system. But if you are, you are selling yourself short if you don't branch out and develop some of your own techniques. If you believe in yourself as well as your product you have a winning combination. If you look back in history, you will see many examples of ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary results. Many of the best known people who have left their mark in the pages of history, failed a number of times on their climb up the ladder. This is not a "history lesson" so we won't go into the specifics, but there is no doubt this is true. These people all had something in common. They had self confidence as well as tenacity in achieving their goals, and a sense of fulfillment. Most successful people have a "can do" attitude. While failure is always a possibility, they don't become fixated on avoiding failure and approach life with an upbeat attitude. You must however have a goal clearly in mind. This can be referred as a vision of what you want your life to be. It's like the parent asking their child what they want to be when they grow up. If you don't have a clear vision as to where you want to be, your odds of success are greatly diminished. You, and only you, can decide where you want to go on your travel through life. But you can't sit on the top of a hill and think pleasant thoughts all day. You have to come down to the real world and set your goals and objectives. You have to set priorities and have a plan to meet them on a regular basis. You must have a plan of action, and follow it. In other words, "plan your work and work your plan". While things come up to delay you at times, you must meet your goals each day. You must be organized, and have a system in place to attain your objectives. Without one, your ship will certainly founder. Excuses don't count. Leave these behind you. Build your own personal image of success. Do you spend any time honing your skills? Community involvement is a great way to do this. Get out and meet people. Do some public speaking - anything to allow you to practice your techniques when dealing with people. Most sales are not product driven. If people believe in you, you are more than halfway home to making a sale. If you are fired with an enthusiastic ideas and allow them to dominate your thoughts, you will find that new horizons will open. As long as your enthusiasm lasts, so will new opportunities. Don't wait for the world to beat a path to your door - it won't. Search out and seek new ventures. Allow yourself to think outside the boundaries. Remember, failure is merely a stepping stone on your road to success, and if you exercise positive thinking, you will reach your objective. RESOURCES FOR YOU "FOLLOW YOUR BLISS" - a three week teleclass designed for professionals who are at a crossroads in their careers and are looking for new possibilities. Time: 7:00 PM EST The program will help you define your passion, identify your values, create a vision and develop a plan of action! Now is the time to invest in yourself. To register send email to info@coachexecs.com with class 101 in the subject line. Time: 4:00 PM EST
Time: 11:00 AM EST Join us for eight coaching sessions designed to challenge you to get the results you want. To register send email to info@coachexecs.com with class 103 in the subject line. Here are two more valuable resources: ACTION PLAN MARKETING offers marketing solutions for Professional Service Businesses. InfoGuru is the brainchild of marketing consultant, Robert Middleton. Robert practices what he teaches. The InfoGuru Manual gives you all the information you need to take your marketing to the next level. He also has teleclinics and tapes. The site is a treasure for marketing resources. Check it out at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=19003 COACHVILLE is an online community and training program created by Thomas Leonard, founder of Coach University. Coachville offers state of the art programs. Thomas believes everyone can be a coach in life. Deadline for life time tuition of $79 ends September 30, 2001. Once a member the door opens for participating in many FREE programs. Check it out at Return to the Newsletter Index. |