Years ago, as a member of a cross country track team, I learned a concept that has helped me in life. Coach taught us, “The important thing is to start boldly and finish strong. What happens in between isn’t nearly as important as how we begin and end the race.”
One-Minute Motivators
These short messages from our company president, Bill Mansell, are filled with timely principles of success and motivation. (We call this our company blog.) They are designed to help you and your team stay motivated and to sharpen your success skills and attitudes. Each takes only one minute to read, but the profound principles could fill an entire seminar. Why not take a weekly one-minute break from your hectic schedule to read and internalize each message.
Moving from Why and Who to How
When something unpleasant happens to us, we go through a series of questions as we attempt to mentally process the event. Often our first response is “Why did this happen to me?”
How Happy are You?
Recently, I had dinner with an old friend who I’ve known for 28 years. Pat Hill is a world-class artist, illustrator, painter, and commercial designer–with talent up to his eyeballs.
Failure is Not Failure
How do you feel when you gave something your best shot and it didn’t work out as planned. It’s easy to name a project “dead” or “a failure!” But is it really?
Go Forward
Last week, as I was walking my Golden Retriever, another dog passed by with its owner going in the opposite direction. Naturally they caught the attention of my dog, who never wants to miss an opportunity to socialize with anyone.
Keep on Learning
The difference between those who are educated and those who aren’t is not so much about their level of formal education. Truly educated people continue to learn every day. If you want to reach your full potential, keep on learning!
Choose Wisely
Once, I dreamed that I was in a large room with dozens of tables filled with every kind of food imaginable. It was a buffet like no buffet I have ever experienced.
The Best Valentine is a Better Relationship
Today, you will likely buy chocolates, flowers, cards, or jewelry for a significant person in your life. For some, it is a heart-felt gift of love.
Don’t Put It Off
For many of us, procrastination has become a habit, a way of life that is difficult to change. Like other habits, we are often so close to it that we don’t see how it negatively affects our lives.
Proceed with Passion
Do you remember dreaming as a child about what your future would be like? Did you have big plans in high school or college to accomplish something truly great in your life?
Attraction Requires Action
Recent popular trends in the self-improvement industry have had people focus primarily on their thinking and beliefs, visualizing their future success. This, some say, is the long lost secret to success.
Make Your Resolutions Stick with Daily Motivation
Tired of making New Years resolutions that don’t stick? Here is a tip that will elevate your New Year’s resolutions from wish lists to permanent changes.
Holiday Giving
The holidays are a time of giving. People scramble around, rushing from store to store, spending hours online, scouring newspaper ads—just to find the perfect gift for a loved one.
Be a Driver!
I saw a bumper sticker on an old car the other day. It said, “I go where I’m towed.”
Cultivate Humility
Do you want to be among the most intelligent, charismatic people in the world? Do you want to be a top achiever and an effective leader, one who has the respect and admiration of peers? Cultivate humility.
Get Off the Energy Roller Coaster
It’s 3:00 in the afternoon, and you’re beginning to feel drowsy. Your mind is not as sharp as usual. Your head droops as you listen in on that conference call or read that report. So, you reach for a candy bar or cup of coffee to try to get you through the day. STOP!
How to Get Out of a Slump
We all have times when our effectiveness increases and times when it fades This happens in every area of life, including sports, the arts, family or spiritual life, and in business.
Learn to Translate
The ability to translate is the most important skill you can develop in yourself, and teach to others, to facilitate personal development. Without it, you can read every book self improvement book, listen to hundreds of business CDs or watch each and every personal development seminar on DVD–and still get nothing out of it.
Bumps in the Road
Recently, I ran into an old friend at a neighborhood event. This woman has been plagued with numerous chronic health problems throughout her life, yet she continues to serve others with a positive, upbeat attitude.
Pay Attention
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.
Can I Really Change?
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!
Keep Running, No Matter What
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.
Freedom to Fail, Freedom to Succeed
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.
You Can’t Fail
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.”
Blaze a Trail
Recently, I noticed a bumper sticker on a rickety old car. It said simply: “I go where I’m towed.
The First Lap is the Hardest
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.
Self Esteem Makes the Difference!
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.
How Audio Learning Can Change Your Life
As a sales trainer and motivational coach for over 20 years I have given away dozens of self-improvement and motivational books.
Stress Relief: How to Let Off Steam without Getting Burned
If enough heat is applied to water, it expands and becomes steam. In a closed container, the resulting steam builds up a great deal of pressure or force—enough force to power a locomotive or generate electricity.
Replace Fear with Action
In today’s society, there are plenty of things to worry about. Will I lose my job? What if my daughter gets involved with drugs? Am I getting too fat? Can I keep this relationship going? Will I have enough money at retirement? What if a natural disaster hits my town? Will the economy recover? Worry, worry, worry.
