Newsletter for September 2009: Your Unlimited Personal Power
Strictly Business: Clarity of Purpose
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Beginning today make an absolute promise that you will USE YOUR POWER every single day. Choose a few key areas and decide that, day by day, you will do the things that move you forward. Remember the cliché‚ that "mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow?" The world's strongest athletes started with a few sit-ups or push-ups. The world's great fortunes often began with one small investment. Use your power! Whatever you have and wherever you are, begin and persist.
We all want to achieve more. Whether our goals are to make more money, to have more time with loved ones or to achieve some other goal, the thing This Months Thought subscribers have in common is the desire to do, have and become more. How do we achieve that?
We all know that some people really do achieve "more." And, we know that the difference is not intelligence or talent, or education or any other obvious "thing." In recent years, it's become popular to say the difference is "self-concept" or "self-esteem." Clearly, things like confidence, audacity, even physical appearance may play a small part, but it's just as obvious that none of these things can give us the answer we need.
I'm increasingly convinced the key to extraordinary results is both simpler and more profound. High achievers simply do more of the right things!
That's a very simple (even simplistic) statement, but it accounts for most of what we're looking for. Successful people do more things, and specifically, they do more of the right things, in the right way, at the right time.
The answer is our sense of what Tony Robbins called, "personal power." Lots of people have touched on this. Many years ago, Denis Waitley talked about "Positive Self-Direction" and everyone from Socrates to our mothers has talked about "self-discipline."
Power has lots of meanings, and lots of applications. For me as a coach, power is defined as "the ability to get things done" and here's the critical piece: We all have ENORMOUS personal power!
We ALL decide (every single day) what to do with our time. We ALL decide (every single day) how to use our energy. We ALL decide (every single day) how to spend our money, who to talk with, what we'll learn and what we'll eat. We ALL use our power every single day!
The difference is "how" we use our power, and "what" we focus on! And, that can be learned!
Now, some of us seem to have more power than others and there's no point in denying it. But here are two important truths - and this is where coaching can be enormously helpful. (1) Even the weakest among us are incredibly powerful, and (2) the weak can become strong.
Even the weakest can use the power they have to learn, rather than not learn. Even the weakest among us can use the power they already have to build quality relationships, to get better at what they do, to save money, and they can leverage their current power to get more! Via email and the internet, even the weakest among us have access to brilliant people, libraries, online business opportunities and endless resources.
Even the weakest have a daily choice to USE the power they have, or not.
Second, personal power is like a muscle. It gets stronger, more flexible and more resilient when we use it. Left unused, personal power atrophies and we feel we've "lost" it, but use it every day, and it grows infinitely stronger!
High achievers use their personal power. They get up early. They exercise. They make key phone calls. They read great books. They monitor their time, their nutrition, their investments, their relationships. And so can you!
Beginning today make an absolute promise that you will USE YOUR POWER every single day. Choose a few key areas and decide that, day by day, you will do the things that move you forward. Remember the clich‚ that "mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow?" The world's strongest athletes started with a few sit-ups or push-ups. The world's great fortunes often began with one small investment. Use your power! Whatever you have and wherever you are, begin and persist.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." -- Jeremy Kitson
"A day will never be anymore than what you make of it. Practice being a `doer'!" -- Josh S. Hinds
"Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do." -- Liz Smith
"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." -- Elinor Smith
Strictly Business: Clarity of Purpose
People often stumble over the question of their "purpose" in life, but in business there can be no question. There is absolutely no room for confusion on this issue. The purpose of any business is precisely this: to serve a well-satisfied customer.
Sure, you want to make a profit. Of course, you want to serve your customer in ways that are convenient, satisfying and (obviously) legal and moral. But the bottom line is always the same, to serve a customer.
So the first and primary question for any business is: What exactly do you do FOR your customers?
Some restaurants provide meals that are fast or inexpensive, that have particular ethnic or nutritional styles, or that are conveniently located. No restaurant can be all things to all people, but every restaurant has one main purpose. McDonald's provides predictability and speed. The Four Seasons provides elegance and memories. Ruth's Chris provides fancy steaks. Dominoes delivers pizza in 30 minutes or less.
Recently in North America, we can see this is the cell phone industry. Cingular (now AT&T) emphasizes "more bars" and fewer dropped calls. That's how they intend to serve their customers and distinguish themselves from other providers. Verizon, on the other hand, has emphasized their "network" and service.
Your business has only one primary purpose. When you are clear about that, and clearly communicate it in every message you send, your business is likely to grow.
I come across things like these and I thought they were wonderful. I had not seen this particular collection before and they made me laugh out loud! I hope you enjoy them!
JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: "Mom why have you got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?"
MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old she didn't remember any more. Melanie said, "If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six."
STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom goodnight. "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window."
BRITTANY (age 4) had an earache and wanted a painkiller. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a childproof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?
SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she said, "It makes my teeth cough."
DI (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "How much do I cost?"
MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?"
CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?"
JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt." Concerned, James asked: "What happened to the flea?"
TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for awhile and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?
I think this Mom will never forget this particular Sunday sermon. "Dear Lord," the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. "Without you, we are but dust." He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter (who was listening!) leaned over to me and asked quite audibly, "Mom, what is butt dust?"
Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life!
For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at214-485-2238.
Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!