Eight Choices You Can Make Today that Will Change Your Life Forever !

. The direction of our lives is determined by the choices we make every day. They accumulate and add up to our ultimate destiny. Here are eight choices you can make - choices that will create for you a life of abundance and prosperity in all areas of your life. 1. Choose to grow personally. This sounds simple but many people only wish to grow personally. They never choose to grow by taking action, such as actually exercising, saving more money etc. Make a decision today to be a person who is on the never ending journey of personal growth. 2. Choose to always treat others right. We come across all sorts of people, many of whom will treat us poorly. We can choose to treat them right, no matter how they treat us. When they lie, we will tell the truth. When they cheat, we will play by the rules. We may get the short end of the stick some times, but in the long-run we will win. And most importantly, we will be able to sleep at night. 3. Choose to break a bad habit. Take the biggie first. Tackle it head on. If you don't know what it is, ask a friend. Then spend every effort you can to break that habit. Forget about the others, as you will get to them later. Stop smoking, get out of debt, lose your excess weight. Exercise the power to choose! 4. Choose to work smarter. Many people I work with feel like they are out of balance. One of the first things I do is try to find out how much time they are wasting at work, which makes them work longer, which throws the rest of their life into chaos. Getting your work done by diligently working in the time you have will free your life up extraordinarily. 5. Choose to see your work as a way to help others, and not a way to make money. If you put your heart into helping others, the money will most assuredly come. Spend time helping others grow and your finances will grow with it. 6. Choose to become balanced spiritually, emotionally and physically. Our lives are best when we have these three major areas in balance. Spend some time cultivating your spirituality, becoming emotionally healthy, and physically fit. 7. Choose to sow more than you reap. There are many takers in this world, but our lives will be better as we become givers. The world will become better as we become givers. Give away your time, give away your money, give away your love. 8. Choose to get home for dinner more often. The family is the most important group of people you will ever belong to. Make a decision today to grow in your relationship with your parents, siblings, spouse and children. This one choice you will never regret. One of my favorite quotes: “The history of free men is never written by chance, but by choice; their choice.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower By C. Widener

Are You a Winner, a Loser or a Winner Who Has Lost Her Way?

Which One Are You? I believe there are three kinds of people. There are winners, who know what they want and understand their potential and the possibilities. They take life on. Next are losers, who don't have a clue as to who they are. They allow circumstances to shape their lives and their self-image. I believe there is a third group as well. This consists of potential winners whose lives are just slightly out of alignment. I call them wayward winners. It may be that they just need to learn how to be real winners. Perhaps they've hit a bump or two that has knocked them off course and they are temporarily befuddled. A failed relationship, a lost job, financial problems, unformed goals, a lack of parental support, illness—many things can send us off course temporarily. Wayward winners are not lost souls; they just need some tweaking and coaching and nudging to get them back on course. A map might be nice. Many of these wayward winners are easily identifiable because they are always searching. Right now, there are many wayward winners out there braving rain, sleet and snow because they, too, still believe that they have untapped talents. They attend motivational seminars and listen to inspirational tapes and they plunge onward, believing that sooner or later they will find their way again. Other wayward winners have temporarily given up. They are damaged and disoriented, their confidence badly eroded. They tend to drift through life numbly. The friends and relatives and loved ones of wayward winners see that they are out of sync and wonder why they can't be satisfied, why they don't settle down. They wonder how people who have such obvious abilities and great potential can be so disoriented and unsure. It is difficult for others to understand the rawness of a broken heart or the aching emptiness of an unguided spirit. You and I know. We have been there. Wayward winners know that there are possibilities out there, but too often they feel locked out from them. Some are afraid to risk anymore because of what they have risked and lost already. I know now that as difficult as it may be for you wayward winners to do, it is necessary to continue to test yourselves. Even though you have been hurt before, it is the only way to grow. We all have the capacity to change, to lead meaningful and productive lives by awakening our consciousness. You know there are going to be tough times as you go about changing your life, so brace yourself and you will be able to handle them. When you get into your seat on an airplane, what is the first thing they tell you to do? Fasten your seat belt. Brace yourself for the turbulence. When you decide to move your life to the next level of accomplishment, you must fasten your mental and spiritual seat belts because it is going to be a while before you reach that comfortable level again. You will reach it, but you must endure the turbulence of change in order to grow. Try this technique to help you through the difficult times of change and growth. Find four reasons why you cannot succumb to your fears and your troubles. Find those deep sources of motivation that can lift you out of the turbulence and above the clouds. You must change your life because, for example: You have not yet tapped the talents given you. You want to leave something more for your children. You want to live life rather than letting life live you. You want to do what makes YOU happy. It is in these rocky early moments of bringing change to your life that you discover who you are. In the prosperous times, you build what is in your pocket. In the tough times, you strengthen what is in your heart. And that is when you gain insight into yourself, insight that leads to self-mastery and an expansion of your consciousness as a life-force in both your personal and professional lives. By: Les Brown

Inspirational life story Never to Give Up!

How tall will you stand! When he was two years old, this adopted child of two college professors suddenly and inexplicably stopped growing, and his health started to fail. A team of doctors gave him six months to live after they diagnosed him as suffering from a rare disease that inhibits digestion and nutrients in food. Intravenous feedings of vitamins and supplements allowed him to regain his strength, but his growth was permanently stunted. Confined to hospitals for long periods of time, until the age of nine, he quietly plotted his revenge on the kids who taunted him and called him “peanut.” He recalled many years later that subconsciously “the whole experience made me want to succeed at something athletic.” Sometimes his sister, Susan, went ice skating at the local rink, and he would go along to watch. There he stood, a frail, undergrown kid, with a feeding tube inserted through his nose and down into his stomach. When he wasn’t using it, one end of the tube was taped behind his ear. One day, as he watched his sister whirl around the ice, he turned to his parents and said, “You know, I think I’d like to try ice skating.” Talk about two adults, looking at their life-threatened child, with glances that were beyond belief! Well, he tried it and he loved it, and he went at it with a passion. Here was something fun at which he could excel, where height and weight weren’t important. During his medical checkup the following year, the doctors were startled to discover that he had actually started growing again. It was too late for him to reach normal size, but neither he nor his family cared. He was recovering and succeeding. He believed in his dream, although he had little else to hang on to. None of the kids taunt him and tease him today. Instead, they all cheer and rush to get his autograph. He has just completed another dazzling performance on the world professional ice skating tour, with a long string of triple jumps, complicated maneuvers, and athletic moves, capped off with a racing front flip that brought him to a sudden stop inches from the audience. Although he has retired from professional skating, he remains a coach, mentor and commentator revered by everyone in winter sports. At five feet three inches and 115 pounds of pure muscle and electrifying energy, former Olympic gold medal figure skating champion Scott Hamilton stands as tall and as proud as any winner. Scott’s size didn’t limit his faith and reach. Don’t let doubts and critics limit yours. This doesn’t mean that you’ll close almost every sale or get promoted in record time. Scott Hamilton certainly didn’t hit every triple-axel jump he ever attempted, especially during the initial learning phase. Success in developing any skill requires a basic trust in your ability that should never be allowed to waver. How tall will you stand? As Tall as you want to be! By Denis Waitley

Evaluating Your Associations

Evaluating Your Associations By Jim Rohn If you were to evaluate the major influences in your life that have shaped the kind of person you are, this has to be high on the list: the people and thoughts you choose to allow into your life. Mr. Shoaff gave me a very important warning in those early days that I would like to share with you.. He said, "Never underestimate the power of influence." Indeed, the influence of those around us is so powerful! Many times we don't even realize we're being strongly affected because influences generally develop over an extended period of time. Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you're around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you'll spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you'll do the same thing. If you are around people who don't read, chances are excellent that you won't read. People can keep nudging us off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?" Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned. With regard to this important point, let me give you three key questions to ask yourself. They may help you to make better analyses of your current associations. Here is the first question: "Who am I around?" Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. You've got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way. The second question is: "What are these associations doing to me?" That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You've got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively. Here's a final question: "Is that okay?" Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go. It's easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man says, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." I would take another look at that. Remember, everything matters! Sure, some things matter more than others, but everything amounts to something. You've got to keep checking to find out whether your associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy. Perhaps you've heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying. The owl said to the bird, "You are crying." "Yes," said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye. "Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye." And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him." It's easy to let influence shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let tides take us. The big question is, are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become? Samthecoach

Success is Easy, so is Failure

Success is Easy, so is Failure Have you wondered what makes people successful? How about what makes them Fail? The answer is simple……the things that successful people find easy to do, others find it easy NOT to do. The first group find it easy to set goals that change their life. The Second not so easy. The first find it easy to read a book that will impact their life. The second not so easy. The First find it easy to attend classes and seminars. The second , not so Easy. Got the point. Success is all about doing the small things consistently that in themselves, don’t appear to be too significant, yet they give the Slight Edge to a successful life. In fact, the primary reason most people are not reaching their full potential can be summed up in one word: Neglect. It’s never about lack of money, books, opportunities or education. That’s all available. It is about Training one’s mind to have the mental toughness to do the easy things EVERY DAY. Think slight edge rather than Quantum Leap. Remember, easy to do and easy not to do the things that potentially life changing. Samthecoach.com

Leadership and management Tip.

“Bosses Need to Engage both side of the Brain” When bosses stick to the left brain, they can lack empathy and be closed off to new ideas. When they stick to the right, they can be neglectful of facts. The need to use both sides. One of the most captivating and enlightening TED talks so far is Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight, its popularity evident in the 10 million views it has accumulated since 2008. Taylor was a Neuroanatomist at Harvard, dedicated to studying the effects of the brain on people with mental illness. Then, one day, as she recounts in her presentation, she woke up with a brain disorder of her own: “I realised, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m having a stroke! I’m having a stroke!’ The next thing my brain says to me is, ‘Wow! This is so cool! How many brain scientists have the opportunity to study their own brain from the inside out!?’” A blood vessel had burst in the left side of her brain – the hemisphere of logic, analysis, detail and language. This meant that, for the duration of the stroke, Taylor’s left-brain had become dormant. It’s the part of the brain responsible for self-criticism, stress and anxiety, and so those negative emotions were temporarily suspended. Her right-brain was left to function on its own. And this induced incredible amounts of euphoria. A euphoria that taught her a lesson on how to live. Prior to the stroke, Taylor was an extreme intellectual, accustomed to always using the left side of her brain, rarely venturing into the right – the area that thinks visually, learns kinaesthetically, feels compassionately, and lives in the present moment. The stroke helped Taylor to discover the “nirvana” and happiness that comes from the right hemisphere. There’s a lesson in her experience, too, for business leaders. In his book, A Whole New Mind, bestselling author Daniel Pink writes that the nature of the world is changing to such a degree that power is being transferred from left-brainers to right-brainers. Where once we needed programmers, engineers and lawyers, today we need artists, inventors and designers. The world is moving away from the Information Age and towards the Conceptual Age, and with that transformation comes a need for different types of people to take charge. Pink suggests that even the most stubborn left-brainer is able to adapt via the following aptitudes: • Design: incorporating beauty and uniqueness in our work • Story: telling a compelling and influential narrative • Symphony: seeing and embracing the bigger picture • Empathy: understanding and caring about others • Play: having fun and creating joy • Meaning: working with purpose and fulfilment Still, there’s evidence to suggest that the left-brain versus right-brain thing is at best an oversimplification and, at worst, a myth. A study of the academic literature, published in The Academy of Management Review, found no reputable research to indicate that asymmetries exist between the two hemispheres – and especially not in how they materialise in the workplace. And in Psychology Today, Dr Christian Jarrett from the British Psychological Society writes that the left-brain versus right-brain perspective serves us better as a metaphor for behavioural preferences rather than an accurate representation of how the brain works. Whichever way you look at it, it’s true that some of us are more inclined to think rationally and sequentially – otherwise known as left-brained behaviour – whereas others lean towards imagination and sensory attributes, known as right-brained behaviour. Leaders have an imperative to embody both. When they stick to the left-brain, they can lack empathy, neglect to recognise employees, and be closed off to new ideas. When they stick to the right-brain, they can be neglectful of facts, impractical when formulating solutions, and unfocused. Either way, it’s difficult to watch the clip of Jill Bolte Taylor and be anything but convinced of the right-brain's superiority in engendering positivity and contentment. It’s what she refers to as “la la land” – and it’s very very tempting. By James Adonis

Key to a long Term Success

Consistent decisions are the key! I work with so many clients that feel overwhelmed and out of control. They believe the lie that if they just had more time, or if they managed their time better, that they would lose that feeling. The fact is that the feelings of overwhelm are rooted in a lack of clarity about what is best. Almost everyone has more to get done than time to get it done. And if you lack clarity on what is most important, then you will feel overwhelmed and indecisive, and will lack focus as you try to accomplish whatever you do choose to do. Another common myth is that we can multi-task. The truth is you can only do one thing at a time. You may be master at changing from one thing to another quickly and jumping from one task to another, but at any moment you are only doing one thing. So the key to losing the sense of overwhelm is determining what is most important to you, and this itself takes an investment of your time. Again, the feeling of overwhelm and fatigue hits the hardest when we are taking actions incongruent with our deepest values and beliefs. So how can you determine what is most important? Find a peaceful place, perhaps outside in the woods or by the ocean or lake, or even in your local park. Relax and breathe deeply, and use your imagination to project forward in time to a future event. See yourself riding in a fine automobile, and being dropped off at this event. See yourself walking into this large, formal room. Notice that all of your friends are there, and many of your most loyal business associates. And there are your family members as well, all gathered together for this event. You notice that their attention is directed to the front of the room, to a large rectangular container. It's a box, and you're in it! It's your funeral, and everyone that you care about is there. And they are taking turns, speaking about your life, and what you meant to them. Now answer this question: What do you want to hear them say about you? And what do you want the others in the room to be thinking about you? Write it down. The comments from your family, your business associates, your fellow church members, and your old and new friends. You are now gaining a true sense of what is most important to you. Here is the lesson. And it comes in the form of another question: Are you planning and choosing activities and projects that will create the comments and thoughts that you want to hear at that event? Now capture and review all of your to do's on a single list, and review them in light of what you have just learned. If you have followed my instructions, you are much better prepared to choose the priorities based on what is most important and valuable to you. This will be a great start. Your goal moving forward is to list all those items. Write them down. Take your time to think of EVERY TASK you need to do. This will help your mind to uncluttered. Now after you are done, do the above exercise again. Mark the tasks that you consciously decide they don't need to be done. After, prioritize the rest of the tasks and stick to it. If something new pops up in your mind, don't get distracted, instead just add it to the list. ActionCoach