Pay attention! I heard this phrase a lot while in elementary school. I remember once hearing it just before a yardstick struck the desk next to me and broke into pieces. I admit that there were times when I let my mind wander away from the subject at hand and needed some gentle nudging to get back on track.

As adults, we are no different. A few days ago, my wife and I were driving to a business that we've never been to before. As I drove, we were involved in an interesting conversation. Suddenly she said, "where are you going?" I realized that I had gone into "auto pilot" with my driving. I had missed the turn to the business and was heading towards the freeway as I typically did when driving down that road. Again, I wasn't paying attention.

We all do this at times. I've been thinking lately about the word "pay" in that phrase, "pay attention." Do we have to pay something in order to direct our attention where it should be? I've decided that, yes, we do. It takes an investment of energy to keep our attention focused. It means giving up what might be more interesting or exciting to think about at the moment, for that which is important. It means staying in the present moment rather than letting our thoughts wander. And, with the constant distractions of today, that's not as easy as it used to be. Too often we are, as the phrase goes, "lost" in our thoughts.

It takes practice and effort to stay focused on the task or topic at hand. One of the best techniques I have found is to remember that you are not your thoughts. Imagine your thoughts and emotions as a river. Now, imagine climbing out of the river and standing on the bank, watching and observing as your thoughts rush by. Then comes the empowering realization that you can control those thoughts and emotions. You have the power to change the course of the river, to decide what form and pathway it takes. It takes effort, but with practice, you can begin to control your thinking and your attention. As you do, your work will be more productive, your relaxation more relaxing, and your relationships infinitely better.

Success Tip: Don't just let your mind wander. Invest the time, effort, and energy required to train your mind to stay focused on what's important now. Invest in yourself: pay attention.

When I was a teenager, I visited the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis tower) in Chicago, Illinois. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world. As we drove into the city, the tower could be seen from miles away, rising like a huge pencil amid the matchsticks of other buildings in the city. I remember standing on the street in front of the building and gazing up, straining to see the top story 1,450 feet (almost five football fields) up. We rode the elevator to the observation level where we stood at the highest point in the state of Illinois and enjoyed a sweeping view of the landscape for miles around. 

The wind blows hard at the top of the tower and the building sways as much as 1 foot in either direction. Standing atop that giant building, I wondered what could prevent such a tall structure from simply being blown over. The answer is: the strength of the foundation. 

The foundation for the Sears tower is a massive cement structure that is 100 feet deep. In addition, the foundation is surrounded by 200 circular caissons, which are huge cement-filled cylinders bored an additional 100 feet below and set in solid bedrock. These caissons add stability to the building so that it stands firm--no matter what the conditions at the top. This foundation is completely invisible to the thousands who visit the Sears tower every year. But without the foundation, there would be no tower to visit. 

In some ways, we are like a skyscraper. We work every day to achieve higher and higher levels of achievement, wealth, recognition, and happiness. At the same time, we are susceptible to conditions that surround us. Storms of adversity, clouds of doubt, economic earthquakes and winds of change beat on our building. If we are to stand strong, we too must have a solid foundation.

Here are three elements that make up a firm foundation for life:

1. Character - This includes traits like honesty, integrity, fairness, respect for others, trustworthiness, optimism, and kindness. These may seem like old-fashioned values, but in both business and personal pursuits, they will make the difference between toppling over and standing tall in the long run. Those who possess these characteristics will always be prized and promoted over those who don't.
2. Education - Few things lift and strengthen a career like a solid education. This does not mean that you should give up if you don’t have an MBA from Harvard. Whether you had the opportunity for formal education or not, you can learn something new every day through your own reading and study. Take advantage of every opportunity to get more education. Make learning a lifelong goal and you will have more stability in times of difficulty. 
3. Supportive Relationships - Behind every truly successful person is a network of individuals who love and support. Nurture these relationships. Never take them for granted. Take time to make daily deposits into the emotional bank account with your partner, family, and friends. Then, when difficult times come, as they eventually always do, you will have a wide safety net of people who care about you, who will help you and buoy you up.

Like the foundation to the Sears Tower, our foundation is largely invisible to those who look at our accomplishments from afar. Little do they realize, there is no lasting success without a solid life foundation.

Success Tip: As you work every day to achieve your goals, don’t forget to take a little time to work on you by building a solid foundation of character, education, and supportive relationships.

This week, in thousands of locations throughout the USA, we will celebrate freedom. At these celebrations, we typically focus on political freedoms: freedom of speech and religion, freedom of the press, and so on. But, today I want to talk about the freedom to fail. What? Who would ever want to celebrate the freedom to fail? You and I should--because without the freedom to fail, we do not have the freedom to achieve real success.

Take away a child's ability to fall down and she will never learn to walk. Shield a teenager from consequences and he will never learn to take responsibility. Remove the risk of striking out in baseball, and that athlete will never hit a home run. Eliminate the risk of business failure or lay-offs, and you have removed the opportunity to excel.

It's normal to want to avoid failure. But, the fear of failure is the number one cause of procrastination and inaction, both of which rob us of opportunity. Action, even action that results in failure, takes us that much closer to success. But, paralyzed inaction takes us nowhere.

Michael Jordan said it this way:
          "I have missed over 9,000 shots in my career.
           I have lost almost 300 games.  On 26 occasions I have been entrusted
           to take the game winning shot . . . and missed! I have failed over and
           over and over again in my life -- and that is precisely why I succeed."

Success and failure are two sides of a coin; you must have one to possess the other. It is the failures that make the successes possible.  

Success Tip: Next time you stumble and fall along the journey of life, congratulate yourself because you just moved a little closer to your future success. The only time you make no progress is when you do nothing. Make sure that you risk enough to succeed because the old saying is true: The road to success is paved with failure.

Self Improvement is all about changing--identifying things that we would like to be different in our lives, then taking action to effect the changes. But, if you’re like me, you’ve tried changing some things in the past and found yourself slipping back into old habits. It can make us wonder if lasting change is really possible. I’m here to assure you, it is! 

In most cases, change is a process, it is not an event. How often have you said to yourself, "I’m going to think only positive thoughts from now on" or "I’ve got to lose this weight, I’ll only eat vegetables from now on" or "I’m going to stop watching TV" and on and on. Then, just a few minutes later, you realize you’ve broken your resolution. When this happens, it’s easy to get discouraged and feel that change is impossible. It’s not enough to just want to change or even to decide to change. Too often we expect that this will be enough, but these are just the first steps in the process.

Old habits do not readily let go just because we decided to change. Real change takes consistent effort, time, and determination. It often involves some discomfort as we move out of our comfort zone. Change produces withdrawal pains. Those who are able to produce real change have learned to expect this and to prepare to take on the struggle. 

In order to keep from slipping back into our comfort zone, we must keep the pressure up every day for a sufficient period of time. For example, if you are trying to change negative thought patterns and become a more upbeat, optimistic person, it may seem daunting to say, "for the next 21 days I will never have a negative thought." But, we can do it for an hour or a day at a time. An old saying says, "By the yard it’s hard, but by the inch it’s a cinch." A little at a time, inch by inch, day by day, it's possible. If we can keep up this consistent, daily effort for at least 21 days, we have a great chance of making the new habit stick. Once this happens, we have created lasting change.

Why is there a picture of coins with this article? A pocket full of change can be a great reminder of how we effect real change in our lives. How do you get change when making a purchase? You pay for your purchase with more money than is required. You never get change unless you first give something of greater value. Life change is the same. We have to put out extra energy and effort, more than would normally be required, until real change happens. 

Success Tip: Lasting change takes consistent effort, time, and determination. Anticipate that it will be difficult and pour extra effort and energy into it. Take it a day at a time for 21 days.

A number of months ago, some family members and I decided to run a 5K. We knew that we'd never make it unless we trained and prepared. So, we started training--running short distances at first, then going longer and further. My 12-year-old son watched us huffing and puffing with some amusement but said he wanted no part in our "little" race.

When the day of the race arrived, we all got up early and drove to the starting area. As we got out of the car, my son said, "I think I'll run after all." So, we signed him up, knowing full well that he would never make it. The starting gun fired and I saw my son take off like a shot. I smiled a little inside because I knew his energy would be gone around the next bend.

The rest of the story is:  I never saw my son again until the finish line where he beat me by nearly 3 minutes! He had almost collapsed with exhaustion at the finish line and was feeling pretty sick--but he had done it! He had beaten me.

No, I'm not saying that preparation is unimportant. On the contrary, I personally would never have made it at all without training in advance. And, just imagine how much better my son would have done had he trained and prepared for this race.

My point is this: as hard as it was, he wouldn't give up. That's a lesson for you and me. Yes, we should prepare in advance; yes, we should anticipate roadblocks and try to make the road ahead as smooth as possible. But, once we are on the road, no matter how difficult it gets, no matter how tired or discouraged we become, the winner keeps going no matter what.

Success Tip: As we travel the road of life, we will all face times when we are stressed, tired, and even discouraged. In those moments, your success is determined by your courage and determination to keep running, no matter what.

As a college student, I worked part-time under a wise sales manager, Mark Benson.  He often made the statement:  “You cannot fail in this business!  You can quit, but you cannot fail.” I didn’t understand this at first, but as I watched people come and go, I realized it was true.  You’re never beaten until you quit trying.  This shifts the focus from the results, to you—your personal attitude and effort.   And since a positive attitude coupled with massive personal effort always yields exciting results, this is where the focus belongs. 

Those who focus on results only tend to ride a rollercoaster of ups and downs.  When things are going well, they quit working.  Pretty soon, the results begin to slip and they have to work extra hard to get back on track. For these people, business is always up and down.

The key to success is consistency.  Mark was right.  You can’t fail, as long as you keep working.

Success tip:  Don’t focus on results.  Keep your focus on positive, consistent effort and the results will take care of themselves.   

Recently, I noticed a bumper sticker on a rickety old car. It said simply: "I go where I’m towed."

I chuckled for a moment, then thought, "we’re all like that old car to a certain extent." We go where we’re led; we do what we’re told; we learn what we’re taught. It’s true that by following good advice, we can avoid mistakes people have made in the past and benefit from the knowledge and experience of preceding generations. In most cases, this is a good thing. It starts our feet on the right path to learning, integrity and achievement.

But, once our lives are on a strong foundation, each of us must take responsibility for our own attitudes, beliefs, and thinking. Creativity and innovation demand thinking outside the box to generate ideas, concepts and solutions that previous generations could never have imagined. We must be willing to reject outdated notions from the past to embrace new truths--without discarding the wisdom of the past. Great leaders and achievers build on the knowledge and successes of previous generations, then move forward: discovering new ideas, surpassing previous accomplishments, blazing new trails.

Success Tip: Don’t just go where you’re towed. Learn all you can from the past. Then, have the courage to move ahead of the crowd and blaze a trail.

A couple of months ago, a friend and I decided to take up swimming. We decided that our initial goal would be to swim a mile. We joined a swimming facility and started. The first day, we swam 9 laps – which seemed like at least a mile because we were exhausted when it was over. On the way out, I casually asked at the front desk, “how many laps to swim a mile?”

“Only 32 laps,” was the answer.

Yikes! Suddenly, our little goal of swimming a mile became a daunting task. Not to be deterred, we decided we would add 2-3 laps each time until we eventually swam a mile. What happened? We did it of course! It took a little over a month, but yesterday, we swam our mile. I don’t need to tell you that each day, swimming got easier and easier, and we became faster and faster. So that when we finally swam the mile, we did it in about the same amount of time it took us to swim 9 laps that first day.

But here’s the observation that made an impact on me. Each day, the first lap almost killed us! It was as if we were back at the first day again. But, since we knew we could swim at least as far as we had the day before, we kept on. After the second or third lap, things got easier and we settled into a routine of swimming.

Life is like that. The first lap is the hardest. The first 5 minutes out of bed are the hardest. The first week on a new job is the hardest. Starting a new project is hard. Getting started is always harder than cruising.

Success Tip: Next time you are having a hard time getting started, just say to yourself, “the first lap is the hardest,” and keep going. Soon you will settle into a productive routine and things will be easier.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a world famous plastic surgeon, noticed that many people who don't really need it would come to him for plastic surgery. Their real problem was not their outward physical appearance, but their inner, hidden self-image. "These people were unhappy and unsuccessful because their hidden self-images compelled them to make mistakes, actually to do the wrong thing. Subconsciously these people were not aware that their self-images were the cause of their failure."

Success Tip: The way you feel comes from inside yourself, not from the way you look or dress. Your appearance is important, but not as important as nurturing a positive feeling about your self from the inside.

As a sales trainer and motivational coach for over 20 years I have given away dozens of self-improvement and motivational books. Never once, ever, did I have someone come back to me and say, "wow, that book, really helped" or "that book changed my life." But, in my career, I have also given out hundreds of audio learning programs, motivational cassettes or CDs, and sales training audio seminars. In almost every case, the person came back and either thanked me or commented on how much it helped them.

From this I have concluded that very few people--if any--actually read a book that is given to them. Even if they purchase a book with the intent to read it, most don't. As I write this, I'm thinking about my own library at home where dozens upon dozens of books lay waiting to be read. But, most people will listen to an audio program. Why is this? Why is audio learning so much easier to do? And, why does it have so much more power to affect our minds and attitudes and actions?

Here are 4 reasons why I recommend audio programs over books:

1. With the portable nature of technology today, audio is more portable than ever before. CDs can be played in your home, car or transferred to a portable player. MP3 programs can be downloaded to an iPod, MP3 player or digital phone. My phone can carry hundreds of hours of audio programs at once, so quality audio seminars are never farther away than in my pocket.
2. Listening to someone's voice is so much more warm and personal than reading words on a page. Face it, when you listen, there is an emotional connection with the author or presenter that just isn't there in a book. When the author encourages you to make a commitment or do something, you are much more likely to do it when personally invited verbally.
3. Audio dramatizes the words much more effectively than you can in writing. Voice inflections, humor, sarcasm, word emphasis, variations in volume and speed, all these and more reveal subtleties in meaning that can be lost in print.
4. Most importantly, you can do other things while listening to audio programs. Ever try to read a book while exercising? or driving a car? or doing dishes? or mowing the lawn? It is virtually impossible--and dangerous! The truth is reading a book requires your undivided time and attention. But with audio, you can safely and easily listen and learn while doing these mundane tasks. If you add up how many hours you spend a day driving, exercising, waiting, and doing household chores, just think of how much you could learn and grow by listening to audio programs at the same time.

Success Tip: Unleash the power of audio learning in your life. Always have quality CDs or MP3 files loaded and ready to listen to whenever you have the opportunity. Plan to have something to listen to while driving, exercising, or performing household chores. Listen over and over again to pick up what you missed the first time around. Just imagine how much more knowledgable, motivated, and positive you will be if you will just adopt this simple habit.