What Have YOU Learned Lately?

If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where
we are headed.
~ Chinese Proverb
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We all have ability. The difference is how we use it. ~ Stevie
Wonder
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Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already
mastered, you will never grow. ~ Ronald E. Osborn
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What Have You Learned Lately?

By Barbara Winter

Every time I left my house, I used to see a poster near my front
door that read, "It's not where you're going...it's where you're
coming from." While that might sound like a bit of leftover
jargon from the sixties, it also bears a truth that touches us
all. Any project, any goal, any relationship with which we're
involved is colored by what we bring to it.

For a long time, I've had a strong predilection for being around
people who are positive, enthusiastic and creative. Somewhere
along the way, I realized that those nurturing kinds of people
would probably not show up in my life unless I was one myself.
And so my personal quest began to become the person I wanted to
hang out with. The quest isn't over yet, but the things I've
learned have been amazing. For example, how do ordinary people
become life's big winners?

One of the most interesting answers to that question came from
author Robert G. Allen in his book, "Creating Wealth." "The will
to prepare to win is more important than the will to win.
Preparing usually means doing those kinds of things that
failures don't like to do. It means studying and learning. It
means reading books, going to seminars. It means not being
afraid to corner experts and ask foolish questions."

Sometimes finding the time - or motivation - to keep learning
seems to be a huge challenge. As busy adults, we may have
forgotten to make Lifelong Learning a high priority. Or maybe we
never had the benefit of a teacher like Rafe Esquith who helped
us discover early on the joy of learning. I recently read his
book

"Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire" and was wildly inspired by his
story and the academic and creative wonders he consistently
turns out. Esquith teaches fifth grade in Los Angeles. Most of
his students come from immigrant homes where English is the
second language. Nevertheless, in addition to performing well
academically, all Esquith's students learn to play a musical
instrument and their annual Shakespearean performances have
received national attention. What Esquith - and all great
teachers - demonstrate is that the potential to soar resides
within all of us, but it needs to be coaxed and nurtured.
Happily, putting yourself in a roomful of others who are on the
same journey can accelerate that process.

Brian Tracy, one of the leading authorities on personal
achievement, makes this observation: "Increasing your knowledge
and skills is like using high-octane fuel in your engine on your
way to your destination...Unfortunately, for most people, their
earning ability is a fixed, or even worse, depreciating asset.
Because of this, most people just have a 'job' which stands for
'just over broke.'"

So it's probably no coincidence that the people who are the most
Joyfully Jobless just happen to be Lifelong Learners as well.
One of those folks was a woman named Donnie, but she didn't
start out with entrepreneurial ambition. Donnie Nair was a
successful real estate salesperson who came to her success after
being a housewife, mother and civil servant. Of those earlier
years she said, "I was absolutely happy and had no ambition
whatsoever."

So what unleashed this super saleswoman who continuously broke
sales records? Donnie said it sneaked up on her when she was
sitting in a Tom Hopkins Sales Seminar one day. "It was like a
light went off in my head. I just knew he was talking about me.
Success really was available to anyone who wanted it." Her
business took off like a rocket. "It didn't matter what goals I
set for myself," she recalls. "I always surpassed them."

What set Donnie Nair apart from those who are less successful
was her continuing effort to grow and learn. One evening she
called me as she was driving to a class. I asked her what she
was studying now and she said, "It might sound silly, but I've
always wanted to learn how to sing so I'm in a class for
beginners who can't carry a tune in a bucket."

Socrates said, "Let him who would move the world, first move
himself." With all the resources - the books, the seminars, the
insights of others - available for a pittance, it makes no sense
to skip the critical preparation stage. Because, in the final
analysis, winning isn't about what you have or even what you do.

Winning is about becoming the person you were meant to become,
no matter how long and difficult that journey may be. So study
and learn all you can. Take advantage of every resource you can
find. You never know what might happen if you do. Like Donnie
Nair, you could find yourself sitting in a roomful of strangers
and suddenly meet yourself.


About the Author

Barbara J. Winter is a Las Vegas-based writer, speaker and
enthusiastic fan of Changing Course. In addition to conducting
seminars for the Joyfully Jobless, she also publishes the
Winning Ways newsletter. Barbara is currently at work on a
collection of stories from people who have made the transition
from employee to entrepreneur. She'll be joining Valerie in
Northampton, MA on April 11-12 for the annual Work at What You
Love workshop (http://ChangingCourse.com/workshop.htm). Visit
Barbara online at http://BarbaraWinter.com

Benchmarks For Success

Welcome to this Bonus Lesson for the 'Keys to Success' e-Course.

For over 25 years, I've studied and read, watched and coached highly successful people, from self-made millionaires to professional golfers, to great ministers, parents and entrepreneurs. I've read over 2000 books in psychology, self-help, business, investing, management, leadership and success strategies. I've worked with Fortune 100 companies and I've watched sole proprietors both succeed and fail, and from all of that, I've tried to summarize the 6 Keys that I believe are the are critical, essential elements for long-term success in life.

You've read the Six Keys. You've had time to ponder them. I hope you've taken notes, and perhaps printed and re-read the lessons several times. I hope you've found some points you doubt or disagree with, or some items that in your specific situation might have to be modified to 'fit' just right. But I hope you've also seen the essential truth in each of the points. Let's re-cap them:

You will not achieve your dreams or be successful in life if you fail to take care of yourself. Insist on time for rest, time for fitness, time to review your goals, time to develop your plans and develop better strategies.

Beyond taking care of your body, mind and soul, you will need tools and equipment, skills and resources to achieve your dreams. You will need quiet in which to concentrate. You will need a 'problem free zone' where you can be productive, creative and effective. Highly successful people invest in a Personal Eco-System that lets them function at their best.

Dream big dreams, complete in every detail and rich in sensory cues. High achievers imagine the future exactly the way they want it, then develop plans and strategies to create the life they envision. Set goals. Develop plans. Write them down and review them daily. Once you have a goal and a strategy, pursue it with all your heart, mind, strength and energy. Use your imagination to create the life you want!

Ask better questions. Asking better, more powerful and more interesting questions will transform the quality of your life. Ask yourself, 'How can I?' Ask yourself, 'Who can teach me?' Ask yourself, 'What are my most important values, priorities and goals, and how can I reach them?' Focus on great questions and let the answers pull your forward.

Whatever you desire to achieve, start it today. Take some action in the direction you want to go. Then take another, and another. Action has power and decisiveness in it. Action gives us enthusiasm, builds our confidence and encourages us to go further. Success requires and is based on action. Do it.

Create a lifestyle based on repeated daily habits that reflect your values and your ideals. Living well doesn't cost; it pays! Living well is simple, orderly, and powerful. When you have a strong, reliable foundation of repeated daily habits you achieve more, with less effort, less stress and far less confusion. Remember the KISS formula: Keep It Simple and Stress-free.

And here is your bonus item: In every area of your life, develop benchmarks that let you know you are on the right track. Remember, 'what gets measured, gets done.' Track and benchmark your savings, your fitness, your sales, the time you spend with loved ones, or anything else that is critical to your success. Schedule a date with your spouse. Write it on the calendar, and better yet, put a date on the calendar each week for the next 12 months, then keep your promises!

Create simple charts or graphs to monitor your weight and put them on the wall where the whole family can see your progress and encourage you. Monitor anything and everything that you want to achieve. Even seemingly intangible things like 'peace of mind' can be tracked if you are creative. Simply rate your 'peace of mind' on a scale once a day and write it down. Anything that is important to your success deserves to be benchmarked, tracked and recorded.

Highly successful people have always known this. High achievers monitor their finances. The best sales people record the number of calls them make. Athletes measure their times, their distances and their Earned Run Averages. The numbers may not tell you everything about the quality of your life, but they are an essential tool for moving in the direction you want to go.

And finally, have and work with a mentor. As a professional coach, it's tempting to say, 'hire a coach', but that's not always necessary. Sometimes, a professional coach is the answer, and in that case, the sooner you make the commitment, invest the time and money and energy and get started, the faster you'll achieve your goals. But, whether you hire a professional or not, have and use a coach!

Work with someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve. Ask them to teach you, and schedule regular phone calls or have lunch with them once a week. If you cannot find an expert in your field, then read books, listen to tapes, go to seminars, take classes. Hundreds of people have said my 'Road to Riches' teleclass has been the key to achieving their financial goals. Classes work! Books help! Do whatever it takes to learn from the masters. You cannot afford to spend your life re-inventing the wheel. What others have achieved, you can achieve. But be smart and let them teach you.

Thank you for investing in this series. The cost was 'free' you say? No. I didn't charge you any money for it, but if you've taken it seriously, read and pondered these truths and taken action, you've invested something far more valuable than mere money. You invested your time.

Money is abundant. It can be created. It can be multiplied, replaced or borrowed, and it can grow. As economists say, money is 'elastic'. Your time is not. Time, once invested, is gone forever. Thank you for investing your time, and if you use these lessons well, I believe you'll find your investment will repay you thousands of times over.

Blessings to you, and best wishes for your continued and lasting success!


Phil

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Philip E. Humbert, PhD
'Helping You Have Your BEST Year Ever!'
Email: Coach@philiphumbert.com
Web: http://www.philiphumbert.com


(c) Copyright, 2002 by The Philip E. Humbert Group, Inc
All Rights Reserved. You are encouraged to forward or publish
this article in it's entirety, including by-line, contact info and notices
in the margin, but you may not use excerpts or make any changes
without specific written permission from the author and copyright owner.

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Here's to benchmarks!

Fran Watson

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