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Power Tips #018 are you Reaping what you Sowed? June 28, 2005 |
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Table of Contents Power Tips newsletter, Issue #018
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Well,, this month we have for you:
1) One Minute Tip
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1) One Minute Tip:
This week, start wherever you are, with whatever you’ve got, and DO something with it! If you can do something brilliant that’s wonderful, but just at least get started! And if you can’t do something brilliant, then just “keep on keeping on.” One day at a time, do what you can and repeat it until you reach the top of the mountain, until that wonderful day when your friends wake up and are amazed at how “lucky” you are!
2) Power Quotes:
Happiness: Our emotions need to be as educated as our intellect. It is important to know how to feel, how to respond, and how to let life in so that it can touch you. Jim Rohn
Health: I always remember an epitaph which is in the cemetery at Tombstone, Arizona. It says: ‘Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.’ I think that is the greatest epitaph a man can have. – Harry S Truman
Prosperity: Women have an incredible ability to pick up on emotional signals. For example, there are some wolves that are so clever they have learned to dress up like sheep. Man says, “Looks like a sheep. Talks like a sheep.” Woman says, “Ain’t no sheep!” Jim Rohn
3) Tips for your Happiness:
Reaping a Multiple Reward by Jim Rohn
For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That’s one of life’s great arrangements. In fact, it’s an extension of the Biblical law that says that if you sow well, you will reap well.
Here’s a unique part of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Not only does it suggest that we’ll all reap what we’ve sown, it also suggests that we’ll reap much more. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but this may well be the major law we need to understand: for every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.
What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you’re fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: the key word here, as you might well imagine, is discipline.
Everything of value requires care, attention, and discipline. Our thoughts require discipline. We must consistently determine our inner boundaries and our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, we will become hopelessly lost in the maze of life. Confused thoughts produce confused results.
Remember the law: “For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.”
Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively.
Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent.
Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.
For each discipline, multiple rewards. For each book, new knowledge. For each success, new ambition. For each challenge, new understanding. For each failure, new determination. Life is like that.
Even the bad experiences of life provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for those who neglect the need for care and attention to life’s disciplines: everything has its price.
Everything affects everything else. Neglect discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be taken for granted with the passing of time.
That’s what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life’s not a practice session.
If you’re often inclined to toss your clothes onto the chair rather than hanging them in the closet, be careful. It could suggest a lack of discipline. And remember, a lack of discipline in the small areas of life can cost you heavily in the more important areas of life.
You cannot clean up your company until you learn the discipline of cleaning your own garage. You cannot be impatient with your children and be patient with your distributors or your employees.
You cannot inspire others to sell more when that goal is inconsistent with your own conduct. You cannot admonish others to read good books when you don’t have a library card.
Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now?
Perhaps you’ve had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won’t allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn’t this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline?
Perhaps you’re on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.
The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself.
Don’t wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn’t that be tragic?
How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself?
That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.
Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition… or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.
To Your Success,
To read previous articles, quotes, and Q and A from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine Archives, or to get a complete listing of Jim Rohn’s books, audios, videos and seminar schedule, or to place an order; please go to:
4) Tips for your Health:
Anger and your health by Dr. Tony Fiore
HOW YOUR OUTLOOK INFLUENCES HEALTH AND ABILITY TO CONTROL ANGER
Jane and Anthony have differing ways of viewing the world. Jane is a pessimist (the glass is half-empty), while Anthony is an optimist (the glass is half-full).
These outlooks influence how they experience similar situations.
SCENARIO 1: JOB LOSS
Jane is devastated, convincing herself that she is all washed up, she can never catch a break, it is useless for to try to be successful, and she is never going to succeed at anything.
Anthony, however, has a healthier inner dialog. He tells himself he may not have been good at that particular job, his skills and companys needs did not mesh, and being fired was only a temporary setback in his career.
SCENARIO 2: NEW JOBS Offered a new job, Jane, the pessimist, believes she was able to find a new job only because her industry is now really desperate for people, and must have lowered their standards to hire her.
Anthony, however, feels he landed the new job because his talents were finally recognized and he can now be appreciated for what he can do.
IMPLICATIONS
As these examples illustrate, optimists tend to interpret their troubles as transient, controllable and specific to situations.
Recent research by Dr. Marvin Seligman confirms this. When good things happen, optimists believe the causes are permanent, resulting from traits and abilities. Optimists further believe that good events will enhance everything they do.
Pessimists, on the other hand, believe their troubles will last forever, will undermine everything they do, and are basically beyond their control. When good things happen to pessimists, they see them as temporary and caused by specific factors that will eventually change and lead to negative outcomes.
BENFITS OF OPTIMISM
Optimism creates better resistance to depression when bad events strike, better performance at work, and better physical health.
In fact, one long term study at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN, found that optimists lived 19% longer than pessimists.
Optimism is also a powerful antidote to anger. Many participants in our anger management classes report their anger lessening as they learn to replace negative thinking with positive thinking.
GOOD NEWS FOR NEGATIVE THINKERS
You can learn how to replace pessimism with optimism.
The starting point is to access your vulnerability to pessimistic thinking by taking the self evaluation test you can find at http://www.authentichappiness.org.
Your responses will be compared to thousands of other people in various categories, down to your Zip Code.
If you scored lower than youd like, you can become more optimistic. As Dr. Seligman writes in Authentic Happiness his latest book: the trait of optimism is changeable and learnable.
LEARNING TO BE AN OPTIMISTIC THINKER
There is now a well-documented method for building optimism. Its based on first, recognizing, and then disputing, pessimistic thoughts.
People often do not pay attention to their thoughts and thus do not recognize how destructive they can be in leading to negative emotions.
The key is to recognize your pessimistic thoughts and then treat them as if they were uttered by someone elsean external person, a rival, whose mission in life is to make you miserable!
Basically, you can become an optimist by learning to disagree with yourself challenging your pessimistic thinking patterns and replacing them with more positive patterns.
Note: this view of optimistic thinking is not the process of positive thinking in the sense of repeating silly affirmations that you really dont believe.
Rather, it is the process of correcting distorted or faulty thinking patterns that create health, career, and relationship problems for you.
By teaching yourself to think about things differently, (but just as realistically), you can morph yourself from a pessimist to an optimistand tame the Anger Bee in the process.
Dr. Tony Fiore is a licensed psychologist and anger management facilitator and trainer. He publishes a free monthly newsletter “Taming The Anger Bee” which can be viewed on his website at www.angercoach.com
5) Tips for your Prosperity:
Good Grief, You Taught Me a Lot, Charlie Brown! by Jim M. Allen For 50 years the daily comic strip ‘Peanuts’ entertained millions of readers. Every day, the adventures of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and the whole gang provided many laugh-out-loud moments while at the same time offering a daily inspiration and lessons on life. With the recent death of ‘Peanuts’ creator Charles Schulz, I reflect on how much I enjoyed sharing the adventures of the ‘Peanuts’ gang and I remember the many lessons they taught me… 1. It’s okay to be afraid… just don’t let your fears control you. Charlie Brown often sat in bed and spoke of his fears, but no matter how scared he was, he always did the things he wanted to do. 2. Persistence wins out. Charlie Brown often lost, failed at much, but he never gave up. Even though he knew Lucy was going to pull the football away before he could kick it…. Even though he knew the tree was going to eat his kite… Even though he knew his team would lose the ball game, he kept on trying. 3. It’s what you think of yourself that counts. Linus carried a security blanket for years and his friends laughed at him. They also laughed at him because he believed in the “Great Pumpkin.” Pigpen was a walking cloud of dust and dirt and was often regarded unkindly. Both characters, however, were always proud of themselves and believed they were as good as anybody else — and they were right. 4. Sometimes you need to talk. One thing the ‘Peanuts’ gang understood was the importance of talking things out. Whether leaning up against Schroeder’s piano or atop the brick wall, they always had someplace to discuss what was of concern to them. 5. Sometimes you need to listen. Even crabby, self-indulged Lucy knew the importance of listening. She started the famous ‘Psychiatry Booth’ where any and all could come and be heard. 6. Do what you love to do. Through all their adventures, Schroeder remained constant in his appreciation of Beethoven and his love of playing the piano. He loved to play piano and that’s what he did, regardless of the circumstances. Charlie Brown flew his kite, played baseball and football, not just to win (he knew he wouldn’t), but because he loved to do those things. 7. It’s important to have friends that care. The ‘Peanuts’ gang was made up of individual characters, each with their own foibles and talents, but through it all they were always there for each other. 8. Big dreams lead to big things. Snoopy was the biggest dreamer of them all, but his wild imagination often led to even wilder, more fantastic adventures in real life. Snoopy knew that you must have a big dream if you are going to lead a big life. 9. Action creates reality. As Charlie Brown was reminded time and again after prodding from Linus: it takes action to bring about change. Though he often failed, Chuck took action quite regularly… and every now and again things would go his way. 10. Laugh every day! While the kids themselves may not have seen the humor in the things they did, Schulz made sure that we did. Life is only as serious or as humorous as YOU make it. Lighten up. Go play softball. Fly a kite. Dance with your dog. Smile… it makes people wonder what you’re up to. Jim Allen is a professional life coach, speaker, and writer. Get more great ideas in you email every week by subscribing to Jim’s weekly newsletter, THE BIG IDEA, ©2001 Jim Allen & CoachJim.com
DON’T LET FINANCES RULE OVER YOUR SELF-ESTEEM by Terry L. Sumerlin
I know a barber who had the opportunity of buying one of the oldest and best barbershops in his city. He had worked there for a few years, and knew it was a good investment. So, he made arrangements with the owner, and took the plunge.
However, it wasnt long before he realized he was in serious financial difficulty. Actually, he was in trouble before the purchase of the shop, and the added debt put him in way over his head.
Prior to obtaining the barbershop, this fellow had several bad business ventures. They were all legitimate. Just bad choices! Generally, they all involved selling, in which he was not exactly a shining star.
Oh, he did manage to sell a few things such as his house and his car. It was not quite that bad, but almost.
About the same time as the business failures and the purchase of the barbershop, his wife and two daughters were in college.
So the debts really began to pile up, as the pressure became intolerable. Also, fatigue set in because of the three jobs he was working so that he could continue to tread water.
The barber/entrepreneur did a couple of things he thought might relieve some immediate pressure. He borrowed on credit cards and from the Internal Revenue Service (by not paying estimated taxes). Eventually everything started to come apart, as the IRS threatened a tax lien.
For lunch one Saturday the barbers family came to his shop after hours, as they often did. He was so overcome with worry and stress that he verbally threw them out.
Then he went home, closed his bedroom door and considered how he might end his life without destroying his family or disappointing his God. As it turned out, only thoughts of God and family keep him from doing the unthinkable.
As you might guess, I know the fellows story so well because Im the fellow. Today, Im pleased to say that, because I obtained the help I needed emotionally and financially, Im well on the way to being completely debt free in few years (except for a home mortgage).
And, I lead a happier, fuller life than ever. However, Ive been left with some lessons Ill never forget.
The first lesson is: Debt robs a man of his self-respect, and makes him almost despise himself. (P.T. Barnum). Thus, theres a need to use credit wisely. Self-esteem is at stake.
And, while you might buy things on credit that you cant afford, because it temporarily lifts your spirits or gives you something to show to others, its not worth the shame and loathing when debt becomes overwhelming. Learn to live within your means even if it involves doing without!
The second lesson is how a loss of respect due to financial woes affects ones attitude toward others. Sherry can always tell when Im not happy with myself. Thats when Im unkind to her. Im the same way with customers.
In fact, theres no telling how much business I ran off while I was drowning financially and emotionally. I could easily have lost both my family and my business.
The third lesson I will pass along is that there is more satisfaction in rational saving, than in irrational spending. (P.T. Barnum). As per the financial advice I received for turning our circumstances around, Sherry and I began a consistent, well-planned investment, retirement program.
That, combined with the fact that the barbershop is now paid for, is very satisfying. Its much more satisfying than new, showy things that we dont need or cant afford. Im no longer interested in a big hat. I want the cattle!
Lesson number four is to learn from others. Experience (the school of hard knocks) is a great teacher, but not the best. Thats because much of its value is lost in the time it takes to learn the lessons. Time-tested principles are the best teachers, and they can be discovered in writings, seminars, counseling and advice from those who have been there.
Yet, it still takes time to learn these things. And, as John Wayne said, Were burnin daylight.
BARBER-OSOPHY: Control your money or it will control you.
Copyright 2004, Sumerlin Enterprises.
Permission is granted for you to copy this article for distribution as long as the above copyright and contact information is included. Please reference or include a link to www.barber-osophy.com Terry L. Sumerlin, known as the Barber-osopher, is the author of “Barber-osophy,” is a columnist for the San Antonio Business Journal and speaks nationally as a humorist/motivational speaker.
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