Personal Development 101

The Following 4 Part Series on Personal Development was posted on "YourGreaterSuccess" Blog by Merideth Cohr, a friend and business contact who possesses a great insight for success in internet maketing. If you want to become successful in this or any business, learn from these tips in Personal Development.

When I first started In Multi-Level Marketing some 30 years ago, there was a phrase often used that I will always remember. "Leader of One, Leader of Many...If you can't Lead One, You can't Lead Any."
The first time I heard it, I didn't fully understand it, but it didn't take long once I understood what Multilevel was all about.....George

Originally Posted, Tuesday, November 14, 2006

I have been doing some soul searching lately about a topic very near and dear to my heart - personal development and how necessary it is to our success as businessmen and businesswomen. For a long time, I was of the mind that I just needed to find the 'formula' for success in my home business...that all I needed to do was figure out the right places to advertise, and the right ad copy to use. Piece of cake. A very striking result of being a Type A Operations Planner in the military...everything has a logical solution (with corresponding checklist!).

But this is absolutely not the case when it comes to finding success in your home business. What I realized is that your attitude is reflected in every thing you say, write, draw, create, etc. If you think the phone calls you're going to make will result in nothing but rejection, they WILL. Your prospects will hear or sense the negativity and lack of confidence in how you speak, in the tone of your voice, etc, and will respond accordingly. Don't believe me? You should....I have seen this first hand with my own actions over the years. I can tell you almost to a T when I'll be successful and when I won't because it's what I project and what I expect.

Anyway, I could ramble on for many hours on this subject (and I will, but I'll save my thoughts for other posts!), but I'd like to present this article to you. It's a pretty great one written by Tom "Big Al" Schreiter. ENJOY. This marks the first in a series of personal development articles I'll be sharing with you over the next several weeks.

“I am shy. How can I change and learn how to overcome my fear of talking to people or selling to strangers?”

Do you ever notice that the successful network marketers have a positive personality type?

Does the positive attitude come from them being already successful?

Or, maybe these successful network marketers had the positive attitude first -- and that positive attitude propelled them to success?

You be the judge.

While it is easy to have a great attitude when you are already successful, usually the positive attitude comes first and demonstrates itself by attracting success.How can people overcome their fear of contacting prospects?

It’s a matter of desire. People usually get what they want most.

For instance, there is a choice between a good television show and attending an opportunity meeting. Some people will want to see the television show more than they want the success that comes from attending opportunity meetings with guests.

So, they watch television because they truly want that more than the long drive to hear a boring speaker at the meeting.

The same holds true when talking to people. What does a person want more?

Does this person want the calm, non-threatening day-to-day life void of rejection?

Or, does this person want prospecting success more than he desires to avoid rejection?

Sobering, isn’t it? Many people say they want success, but deep down they want activities that pose a lesser challenge.

What your prospects would really like to know.

When I conduct training workshops, I don't spend any time talking about my credentials. In fact, I don’t even introduce who I am. The workshop participants don't care about my credentials. And, they are right. My credentials won't make them a cent.

I wrote six books on how to sponsor distributors. Because I wrote those six books, not a single workshop participant will earn an extra dollar on his or her bonus check. Even if my credentials included a Ph.D. degree in Networking, my credentials don't mean a thing.

Why?

The training workshop attendees don't want to know about credentials, they want to know about experiences.

Book theory and my personal bank account balance won't put money in the workshop participants' pockets. Real life experiences, case studies, proven "real world" strategies and techniques are what distributors want to hear.

The same principle applies to sponsoring.

What don’t your prospects want to know?They don't want to know how big your car is.

They don't want to know how big your bonus check was last month.

They don’t care what management or leadership title you’ve achieved.

They don't care how many heavy hitter awards you have won.All these things are things you have accomplished. Your prospects may not believe they have the same skills or abilities to match your accomplishments.

So, what do your prospects want to know?

Experiences.

They want to know how you helped other distributors become successful. They would like to hear about how other people in similar circumstances have been helped by you to become successful.

If you're successful in networking, you should have lots of these real life experiences to share with prospects. Your prospecting and sponsoring presentations will be easy.

For instance, let’s say that you have your own web page. One of the links on your home page could send prospects to a special page where some of your distributors tell their stories. A few of your distributors might have a story like this:“I joined on August 1. Of course I was nervous. I didn’t know anything about having my own business. However, my sponsor (that’s you) sat down with me and we filled out a short “to do” list. My sponsor did all the talking and presenting for the first three days. I observed.

“Well, after those three days I already had six new distributors in my organization and I’m eligible for my first bonus check. For the next two weeks we worked closely together. Now I have 21 new distributors on my team.“

I wouldn’t have even started in this business without the help and assurances of my sponsor (that’s you). Now I’m on my own and this business just gets better and better.

”If a prospect read this on your web page, what would the prospect think? I bet he’d think:

"Wow! Everybody promises support and they say that their business is easy, but this person really delivers.”

What if you're not successful in networking or just starting? What should you do then?

Sounds like a great time to start building your successful experiences. Instead of sponsoring wide, wide, wide, why not concentrate on your best distributor? Put some extra effort into helping your distributor make it to the top.

Once you have your first success story, move on to your next. You'll soon get the reputation of being "somebody who makes people successful." That's a great reputation to own. And, prospects will be attracted to you.

It makes sense. Prospects don't care what you have done for yourself. They want to know what you have done for the people you sponsored.

technorati tags: network marketing MLM home business personal development personal growth personal confidence

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Personal Development 102 - The Strangest Secret

This article in my personal development series focuses on what it takes to be successful. Many people may read this article and say to themselves, 'oh no kidding...', but it is one thing to understand how to do something and quite another to actually do it. Put these concepts into practice, hold them close to yourself and make them your own. Only then will you truly find yourself moving toward true success in your life.

The Strangest Secret By Earl Nightingale

When we say "nearly five percent of men and women achieve success" then we have to define success. The following is the best definition we've found: "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

"If a person is working toward a predetermined goal and knows where to go, then that person is successful. If a person does not know which direction they want to go in life, then that person is a failure.

"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."Therefore, who succeeds?

The only person who succeeds is the person who is progressively realizing a worthy ideal. The person who says, "I'm going to become this"… and then begins to work toward becoming it.

Have you ever wondered why so many men and women work so hard and honestly without ever achieving anything in particular? Why others do not seem to work hard at all and yet get everything? We sometimes think it is the magic touch or pure luck. We often say, "Everything they touch turns to gold." Have you ever noticed that a person who becomes successful tends to continue this pattern of success? Or on the other hand, how a person who fails seems to continually fail?

Well, the answer is simple -- those who succeed have established personal goals.

Success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success and success is in direct proportion to our service.

Here are five steps that will help you realize success:

1. Establish a definite goal.

2. Stop running yourself down.

3. Do not think of all the reasons why you cannot be successful -- instead think of all the reasons why you can achieve success.

4. Trace your emotions back to childhood -- discover where you first got the negative idea you would not be successful -- face your fears.

5. Renew your self-image by writing a description of the person you want to become -- Act the part -- You are that person!

George Bernard Shaw said:
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."Well, that is pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed – for a while – that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Now, it stands to reason that a person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that's what he's thinking about. And we become what we think about.

Conversely, the man who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion and anxiety and fear and worry, becomes what he thinks about. His life becomes one of frustration and fear and anxiety and worry.

And if he thinks about nothing…he becomes nothing.

So decide now. What is it you want? Plant your goal in your mind. It's the most important decision you'll ever make in your entire life. All you've got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, and work steadily toward your goal, and it will become a reality.

How do you begin?

First: It is understanding emotionally as well as intellectually that we literally become what we think about; that we must control our thoughts if we're to control our lives. It's understanding fully that…"as ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Second: It's cutting away all fetters from the mind and permitting it to soar as it was divinely designed to do. It's the realization that your limitations are self-imposed and that the opportunities for you today are enormous beyond belief. It's rising above narrow-minded pettiness and prejudice.

Third: It's using all your courage to force yourself to think positively on your own problems, to set a definite and clearly defined goal for yourself. To let your marvelous mind think about your goal from all possible angles; to let your imagination speculate freely upon many different possible solutions. To refuse to believe that there are any circumstances sufficiently strong to defeat you in the accomplishment of your purpose. To act promptly and decisively when your course is clear. And to keep constantly aware of the fact that you are, at this moment, standing in the middle of your own "acres of diamonds."

And fourth: Save at least 10 percent of every dollar you earn.

It's also remembering that, no matter what your present job, it has enormous possibilities – if, you're willing to pay the price by keeping these four points in mind:

1. You will become what you think about.

2. Remember the word "imagination" and let your mind begin to soar.

3. Courageously concentrate on your goal every day.

4. Save 10 percent of what you earn.

Finally, take action – ideas are worthless unless we act on them.

technorati tags:
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Personal Development 103 - Finding Motivation

The quest to find and maintain motivation is a journey that each of us undertakes at different times in our lives. Some of us struggle with this more than others of course, but the issue is common among us all. There are times when we have no desire to iron the laundry, scrub the pots, or clean the sink, but we do those things to avoid living in a filthy mess. There is no such obvious negativity waiting for us, however, when we choose to not turn on the computer, write that ad, or pick up the phone. The negative effects are there...your business does not grow!...but they are not so easy to see (or smelly).

The home business industry is all about motivation... But your duty here does not end with starting your quest toward financial freedom or time at home. No my friend...that is only the beginning...Enjoy this article.

Yours in Greater Success,
Merideth

Finding Motivation:
What To Do When You Don't Feel Like Doing Anything
by Chris Widener

The measure of your success usually comes down to who wins the battle that rages between the two of you. The 'you' who wants to stop, give up, or take it easy, and the 'you' who chooses to beat back that which would stand in the way of your success - complacency. -- Chris Widener

In all of my interactions with people, I've never found anyone, regardless of their level of success, who doesn't sometimes find themselves simply not wanting to do the things that they need and want to do. It is a part of human nature that there will be times that, in spite of all that we need to do, and even desire to, we will find ourselves not wanting to do anything. And what separates those who will become successful from those who will maintain the status-quo, is the ability at those very crucial moments of time when we are making decisions about what we will do, to choose to find the inner motivation that will enable us to conquer our complacency and move on in action.

I find that I confront this issue in my life on a regular basis, so the following success strategies are not merely pie in the sky techniques, but proven ways to get yourself to go even when you don't feel like doing anything.

Honestly evaluate whether or not you need a break.

This is the first thing that I usually do what I find that I don't want to get to a specific action. The fact is that oftentimes we will have been working very hard and the lethargy we are feeling is really our body and emotions telling us that we simply need a break. And this is where it takes real intellectual honesty because when we don't need a break our mind is still telling us we need a break! But sometimes we do need a break. I'll give you a good example. I don't particularly like to exercise, but I do almost every day. Sometimes, I find myself before going to the club thinking about how I just didn't feel like going. Most of the time I am just being lazy. However, sometimes I realize that my body needs a break. So from time to time I will take a one or two daybreak from working out. The benefits of this are two-fold: One, my body gets a break to regenerate itself. Two, after a day or two, I begin to miss my workout, and eagerly anticipate a turning to the gym.

Other examples: Perhaps you are a salesman who has been phoning clients for a week straight, day and night. You wake up one morning and just don't feel like doing it any more. Well, take a break for the morning. Go to a coffee shop and read the paper. Go to the driving range and hit some golf balls. Take a break and then get back to it!

Start small

I'm at a point in my workout schedule now where a typical workout day for me consists of 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise, and about 30 minutes of weight lifting. So when I find myself not wanting to get up and go to the gym, I will sometimes make a commitment to go and just do a smaller workout. Instead of deciding not to go, I'll commit to doing 15 to 20 minutes of aerobic exercise and 15 to 30 minutes of weight lifting. This is also good for two reasons. One, I actually get some exercise that day. And two, it keeps me from getting into a cycle of giving up when I don't feel like moving toward action. Other examples: Maybe you are a writer who simply doesn't want to write today. Instead of the long day writing you had planned, decide that you will at least outline a couple of new articles. You will at least get these done, and you may have found that you put yourself into the writing mood after all.

Change your routine

I have found that what keeps me in the best shape and burns the most calories for me, is to do 30 to 45 minutes on the treadmill every day. Now let me be very blunt. I find running on the treadmill to be extremely boring. Usually I can get myself to do it, but sometimes I need to vary my routine. So instead of 30 to 45 minutes on a treadmill, I will break down my aerobic exercise routine into a number of different areas. I will do ten to 15 minutes on treadmills, 10 to 15 minutes on the reclining cycle, 5 to 10 minutes on the rowing machine, 5 to 10 minutes on the stair stepper, and then back on to the treadmill for five to 10 minutes. I still get my exercise, but I'm bored a lot less.Other examples: Maybe you are in construction and you have been working on the plumbing for a week, and it is getting monotonous. Don't do the plumbing today! Go frame-in the office.

Reward yourself

One way that I motivate myself to do something when I don't feel like doing it, is to tell myself that if I get through the work that I need to, I will give myself a little reward. For instance, I may tell myself if I to get up and go to the club I can take five to 10 minutes off my treadmill exercise, which will shorten my workout routine, and I'll allow myself to sit in the hot tub for a few extra minutes. Hey, it works!Other examples: Maybe you are a mortgage broker who feels like sleeping in. Tell yourself that after the next three mortgages you close you will take your kids to the fair, or your spouse to the movies. Maybe you'll give yourself a night on the town with old friends.

Reconnect the action with pleasure rather than pain

Psychologists have long told us that we humans tend to connect every action with either pleasure or pain. Tony Robbins has popularized this even further in the last few years with something he calls Neural Associations. That is, we connect every action with either a pleasure, or pain. When we are finding ourselves lacking motivation, what we are probably finding about ourselves is that we are associating the action that we are thinking about with pain, rather than pleasure. For instance, when I'm considering that not going to the health club on any given day, I am usually associating going and working out with having no time, the pain of exercising and weight lifting, or the boringness of running on a treadmill for an extended period of time. What I can do to re-associate is to remind myself that by going in and doing my exercise I will feel better about myself, I will lose weight, and I will live longer. This brings me pleasure. When we begin to run those kinds of tapes through our minds, we find our internal motivating force unleashed and changing our attitude about the action that we are considering.Other examples: Maybe you are a counselor who really doesn't want to spend the day listening to people. Your association may be that it will be boring, or that you will be inside while it is sunny outside. Instead, re-associate yourself to the truth of the matter: Someone will be better off because of your care and concern. Think of your clients and the progression they have been making recently and how you have been a part of that.

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Personal Development 104 - Personal vs Professional Development

For the fourth installment of this personal development series, I wanted to share this really interesting article on the 'difference' between personal and professional development. I actually get asked this question every so often, and I'm glad to find an article that articulates my often rambling responses a bit better ----------

Personal and Professional Development - What's the Difference?
By Kevin Eikenberry

When people ask me about my business, I tell them I’m in the learning business – that we help organizations, teams and individuals reach their potential through learning. This is a fine statement and it does describe the breadth of what we do, but it often leads to the follow-up question like . . . “Do you do personal development stuff or just business skills training?”

My answer is yes.

Because I don’t believe there is a significant difference between personal development and professional development.

Why do I say that?
The Reasons Why

Since my opinion might differ from yours, or perhaps you’ve never thought about it this, it makes sense to explain myself. There are at least five major reasons why I think personal and professional development are the same thing.

Learning is Learning. We were granted an amazing potential for learning at birth. Most of us haven’t used very much of that potential. It’s like we are mowing our lawn with a jet engine. Sure the jet engine has enough horsepower to turn the blade, but it has virtually unlimited potential that isn’t being used. When we are learning we are increasing our capacity to learn more because we are flexing and exercising our “learning muscles.” In other words whenever we are learning we are increasing our capacity to learn even more.

All Experience Counts. One of the powerful ways that we learn is by connecting new learning to what we already know. As we continue to build our knowledge and experiences, it allows us to make new connections faster. In other words, the more we learn, the more successful we will be at learning new things and in most situations; more quickly with deeper understanding.

We’re a Whole Package. It isn’t like we go to work and don’t use anything we know from our personal life to be more effective professionally. And while we may not need to know how to repair rotating drum equipment at home – those skills might help you diagnose the problem with your washing machine. And even though you don’t have to back up the system database at home, you might be able to deal with your home PC better because of what you learned at work. And while you hope you’ll never need to follow the new Customer Service procedure at home, that procedure might teach you something a following a process, or being more understanding when you are the Customer.

The bottom line is that we are complete humans, and as such we take our entire work knowledge home, and bring all of our personal knowledge and experience to work. So any form of growth or development will benefit you both personally and professionally.

The Most Important Skills are Always the Most Important. Where does being a better listener help you – at home or at work? Both, of course. When you learn how to coach more effectively at work does it make you a better parent? It sure can! We could make a long list of these valuable skills, from communication to dealing with conflict, to learning how to learn, to giving better feedback to being more creative… you get the idea (and have probably thought of five other examples yourself by now). There are many skills that we might learn as “self improvement” that will help us at work, and vice versa. So why label it one or the other?

Serendipity Rules. Because our learning grows based on connections, you never know when something you learned on the Discovery Channel might give you an ‘aha’ at work, or that the insight shared by the seminar leader at work helps you solve a vexing problem at home. Again, all development, all learning, all growth helps us in all parts of our lives.

But Wait

Does all of this mean that as I become a better knitter or bowler, I’ll be more productive and successful at work? Yes, for the reasons I described above (and some others too).That doesn’t mean that your organization should send everyone to knitting class or bowling lessons, but it does mean that there is substantial merit in supporting any form of learning regardless of the content.

In the end, my goal is to help you view all skills more broadly in their application – instead of classifying some things as “personal development” and therefore they don’t matter at work.Learning is learning. Personal development is professional development. When you stop worrying about the distinctions, but rather think about the applications, you serve yourself and others much better.

----------Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The KevinEikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advicego to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317)387-1424 or 888. LEARNER.

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