Jim Rohn - Personal Development - Living An Exceptional Life

5 Fundamentals for Success in Life

by Mark Harrison | 64 comments

What can we do to become more successful? How can we excel in all areas of life, whether professional or personal? A vast body of literature has been written on this subject over the decades, but here are five points which I regard as being fundamental.

How to Be Succeessful in Life

1. Be Proactive

Viktor Frankl said that between stimulus and response there is a gap, and within this gap lies all our freedom. Even as he was suffering immense privations in a Nazi concentration camp, he realized that he was responsible for his thoughts and actions and was not simply a bundle of conditioned responses.Like Frankl, we should strive to be the creators of our own destiny, orchestrating our experience of life. Everything starts in the mind and ripples out, so what happens around us is a reflection of our own inner world. Whether we allow our inner world to grow wild, whether we let weeds spring up and take hold or whether we cultivate a green and pleasant garden – it is all our choice: this is what it means to be proactive.

2. Take Responsibility

Since we have the power to choose our experience, we also need to accept responsibility for this. Perhaps not that everything that comes our way is a direct result of our own thinking (though some might say it is) but what we attract into our life is, largely, a reflection of our thinking. Much of this occurs on a subconscious level, but the subconscious takes its lead from the thinking mind, so changing our thoughts will change our world, and we are responsible for this.

Our behavior is a natural outcome of our mental images, and so we are responsible for our behavior too, and also for the behavior we tolerate in others. If we allow others to ride roughshod over us, then we have ourselves to blame.

3. Be a Good Leader

We cannot be effective in any area of life unless we have good leadership skills. Leadership is an art and each of us needs to find our own approach to it. Primarily, we need to understand how to lead ourselves, and this means having a compass, a direction which guides all our actions. This compass often takes the form of a personal mission statement, a document spelling out the values we live by.

As we lead others, whether as parents, bosses, in families or organizations of which we are a part, we need first and foremost to lead by example, making it clear what our values are and that we live by them. Any inconsistency in our professed values and our behavior will be spotted, seen through and will ruin our effectiveness. Personal complicity and double standards are the nails in the coffin of our ability to lead.

A good leader will lead quietly and subtly, from the rear, without fuss, without fanfare. In the words of the Tao Te Ching,

‘A good soldier does not inspire fear;
A good fighter does not display aggression;
A good conqueror does not engage in battle;
A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;
This is how to win the cooperation of others;
This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.’

4. Don’t Let Fear Stop You

I love the movies of M Night Shyamalan. My favorite is The Village. The film is about facing the fears that haunt us and realizing that, when we do so, they disappear – nothing is as it seems. I heard once (though I can’t remember where) that the most commonly given command in the Bible is ‘do not be afraid.’

Whenever we grow, there is fear. Whenever we do something new, there is fear. Whenever we push ourselves to new heights or expand our comfort zone, there is fear. This is the nature of life. Life is always moving – either we are moving forward, growing, or we are moving back, dying. We have a choice – we can either grow or we can die. Growth and fear go hand in hand. It’s part of a package, and if we fail to embrace the whole package, we will die.

Don’t fear failure – failure is inevitable and necessary. Look at the life of any successful person and you will see a litany of failure. This failure is the foundation of success, so long as we learn from it.

Don’t fear other people. They are as vulnerable and as beautiful as you are – only sometimes they lash out in various ways to protect themselves. Everyone is doing their best, so be gentle on other people and don’t be scared of them.

When you face your fears, they will vanish like smoke.

5. Never Stop Learning

I have come to the conclusion that learning is the fundamental activity in a successful and purposeful life. If we fail to learn, we fail to grow, and this means that we die. Life gives us endless opportunities to learn, and the more difficult the situation, the more we are likely to learn.

We can learn from other people, especially difficult ones – they are like angels sent from heaven to teach us about ourselves. We can learn from the things happening around us. And most of all, we can learn by watching ourselves, seeing how we react and reflecting deeply on what moves us.

These five activities, if they can become habits, will lead to success in all areas of life. They are not a quick fix, but are the foundation of a life lived well.

http://www.thechangeblog.com/success-in-life/

Photo by pshutterbug

Does Working From Home Really Work?

by Veronika Shoebridge on March 4, 2015 in Development, Productivity, Success

Every side has its own arguments when it comes to working or not working from home. But if the boss and the employee alike take a look at this issue from the eyes of the other person, they can sooner find a suitable and pleasing outcome for both sides.

More and more people demand flexibility in their lives or look for a work-life balance. Companies started to listen, allowing staff to work from home either permanently or a few days per week.

But there is still some tension between employees and their bosses, when speaking about home office.

Employees: The bright side to “home office”

I feel comfortable and relaxed: You generally feel best while at home so doing work from home can make you feel at ease and less stressed.
I save time on the everyday commute: Wake up and start working. Its easy to put in extra 2 hours of work if you don’t have to spend them on a public transport or stuck in a traffic during peak hours.
I can organize my time and workload my way: This can be true to a certain extent. If you work as a freelancer and are the sole employee then it is possible, but if you are a regular employee only having a day of working from home then the schedule that would normally apply to you in the office still applies.

The ugly on “home office”

I cannot concentrate on work: This is a strong point when deciding whether to or not to work from home. Many people argument that they like to have a clear line drawn between their home and work lives and working from home would break this rule. Homely atmosphere can make it hard to bring on the working mode as the TV, bed or a coffee machine are within reach.
I have noone to chat to or ask for help: People can feel alone if they work from home and have noone to chat with or ask for help if a problem arises.
I have way too many distractions: The dog/ cat needs feeding, clients keep coming and going, the telephone would not stop ringing. Sounds familiar? These are the downsides of working from home. And especially if there are other family members who also work or run their business from the same home.

Is there ever the “right” time to ask for the benefit of home office and if, when is it?
Yes the right time is whenever you prove you need it. As with everything have some reasons and arguments up your sleeve. Possibility to work from home should be beneficial not just for you personally, but for your employer too.

You can argument that working from your home office will make you more productive by being able to take on more workload, easier to reach or that you will be available for longer time due to not having to commute.

Best thing both sides can do is trying “test period” of working away from the office for Your boss and you would see if this arrangement is working out in favour of both sides. This could just be your way into persuading your boss to let you work at home.

Employers and their yes to “home office”

Now lets turn the cards around. Its important to get the views of both sides. So lets see how the bosses see it.

I save money on buying / renting an office space & equipment: Not having to pay rent for an office or furnish & equip it with the necessary supplies obviously saves a huge amount of money that the employer can rather invest in a further development of his business or pay his staff higher wages.
I feel good that I give my employees freedom: Many employers want to have a friendly and open relationship with their staff and one of the ways how to get there is to allow them to work from places of their choosing. Why? It can be a form of reward for their hard work and visible positive results.
Since I am freelance I can visit my clients personally: Because the boss isn’t tied to one central office space and moves around the city throughout the day it makes it easy for him to visit his clients in their offices. This can in turn have a very positive effect on his business relationships by showing the client the motivation to achieve the best possible outcomes while working on his project by for example visiting him directly in his office, rather than making the client meet with you elsewhere.
Some say no

I wanna keep track of my staff: Many employers view home office as their staff’s excuse to work less or not to work at all and still get paid and are therefore afraid of it. If everyone’s under one roof the boss knows what is happening and when is it happening.
I need everyone to attend meetings in person: Some employers like to have all staff attend meetings in person. Simply because they want to make sure everyone understands and knows what they are supposed to be doing.
I am old school and don’t like to use modern technology: They want to be sure that whenever they need to speak with an employee they can meet in person right away rather than sending emails or talking via skype or a videoconference call.

How will an employer benefit if he lets his staff work from a place of their choosing, e.g home office? Will he benefit at all?

Yes he can benefit but he has to have some control mechanisms in place to make sure the work is getting done even from home offices of his staff.

You can make sure your staff is doing what they should by having all of your tasks in a project management system like AllThings, where each day the boss can check how far each project has progressed, if at all.

Another barrier you need to overcome is communication. You can hardly replace a good water cooler talk with a colleague with a software, but Slack does the job pretty well. Great for having an instant access to your colleagues without having to call or send an email to them.

Last but not least issue is time tracking. You can’t manage what you can`t measure. Clevork can show you, if the time spent on a particular project is corresponding with the desired output. Visual timesheets will provide a referral point for an employer to determine, whether home office works for the company or not.

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2015/03/working-home-really-work.html

7 Ways To Trust Your Intuition (Even If You Don’t Think You Have Any)

Posted on March 8, 2015 by zenife |

Intuition everyone talks about it, but not everyone is aware of when they are having an intuitive flash. Whether you call it listening to your gut or tapping into your intuition or following your instinct, understanding how to pay attention to your natural knowing is a vital skill for success in business and life.

In fact, even the top CEOs and notable people like Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet have attributed part of their success to their “ah-ha!” moments.

Albert Einstein once said that it is our most valuable asset, and one of our most unused senses.

Now, you may think that you don’t have the intuitive gift, but that’s just not true. We’re all intuitively wired. It is our most natural biological function. Each of us has our own “feeling” of what is worthwhile and right for our lives, and you’d certainly like to learn how to tap in to the infinite power of your intuition, but you don’t know how to do it.

So, here are seven actionable ways to tune into your gut.

1) Listen to a physical reaction

Do you have butterflies in your stomach? Goose bumps? Did you experience physiological responses, like queasiness, shortness of breath, sneezing or a headache?

Your body is a powerful intuitive communicator. There’s a reason it’s called a “gut feeling”. If you experience nagging thoughts and feelings of suspicion, anxiety, doubt, curiosity or wonder for a particular situation, it’s up to you to follow them and see where they’ll lead. Listening to your body’s subtle signals is a critical part of exercising your intuitive sense.

2) Meditate

Close the door. Turn off the phone. Shut down your computer and take a few deep, slow breaths to relax your body. Meditation is one of the most powerful practices that, in my opinion, every human on the planet should take up. The first reason why most of us can’t hear our intuition, is because our mind is like a drunken crazy monkey.

Clearing your mind of repetitive thoughts and worries is one of the best ways to listen to your inner voice. When meditating, be still while fully immersing yourself in the flowing torrent of your own mind. Let your thoughts roam and be open to the ideas and solutions that come to you.

3) Ask your inner wisdom for guidance

Whether you call it, God, Universe or Cosmic Consciousness, each of us has access to an unlimited infinite source of wisdom. So, if you’ve found yourself stuck in a certain situation, simply ask for guidance. Pose an inner question to yourself and really pay attention to signals and patterns that may arise. Be open minded.

Inwardly pose a question to yourself, like “Why am I here? What message was I brought here to share with other people? Is this life path right for me?” Stay open to any flashes, sensations or impressions you receive.

4) Tune into higher vibrations

Every single thought and word that comes into your head and out of your mouth has an impact on the world around and within you. Every thought or feeling has a vibration that can be measured. By learning to raise these vibrations you will be able to connect with your inner wisdom. People who speak about their vibration and their intuition comfortably experience it very regularly.

5) Stop and take a moment

The goal here is to take a moment to quiet your mind and bring yourself into the present moment. Sitting at your desk trying to hammer out a solution to a project won’t allow your intuition to turn on, while stepping away from your pc, getting out of the office and doing something that has nothing to do with work can help you tune in to your powers of intuition.

Steve Jobs was known to take long walks when stuck on a problem to experience a moment of real clarity. That clarity is like a fresh breath of pure inspiration. So, no matter what you are doing, take a break and jump, dance, go for a run or have a nice long walk.

 6) Pay attention to your dreams

Intuition is the language of dreams. Research shows that during dream-time the brain does creative problem-solving, which can help you make the right choice in your waking life. Before you go to sleep each night, reflect upon questions and issues for which you couldn’t find solutions during the day, such as “How can I fix that problem?”.

Think about and explore different possibilities. This will trigger your imagination and put your subconscious to work at furnishing you with creative solutions while you sleep. If you’re attuned to your dreams, you can get a lot of information about how to live your life. The next morning, immediately write down any dreams or great ideas you remember before getting out of bed. Then see if and how the dream answered your question.

7) Keep an intuition journal

Meditation, dreams and long walks can bring up lots of insights, so it’s a good idea to track every thoughts or “feeling” you experienced. Write down questions or concerns, then take a deep breath and listen for a response from your inner wisdom. Let yourself write automatically.

Next time you are having difficulty making a decision, pick up a pen and some paper and let the words flow out of you. Reflect on the situation, explore those feelings, and consider the bigger picture. By regularly recording your thoughts can be a wonderful catalyst for removing blocks and letting your intuitive voice lead the way.

Your intuition is your inner guide. If you don’t listen to it, you are not living at your full potential. Intuition unleashes your creativity and imagination, puts you in touch with your subconscious power and helps you make better and more integrative decisions. Developing your intuition is like learning any new skill. The more you practice, the better you get at it. So, be patient. Results don’t always happen right away. Like exercising any muscles, start off slowly and gradually build your “intuitive muscle.”

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/7-ways-to-trust-your-intuition/

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LEADERSHIP – IT’S ALL IN THE MINDSET

Leadership – It’s all in the mindset

Steve Siebold in his book, How Rich People Think, says that the “haves” believe that money reveals who people really are, whereas the “have-nots” believe that money changes people from who they were into someone else. The same thing can be said of those who find themselves in positions of leadership. Those who know how to handle it, also knew before they were given it, while those who misunderstood from the beginning simply proved that fact when they got promoted.

Effective leadership is all about adopting the right mindset . Understanding what is expected of a leader (by yourself and others) and valuing those things.  If you value the right things then you are more likely to invest the time to doing the right things!

If you already know how to use the power that you’ve been entrusted with, then the following five leadership mindsets will seem like common sense. But if you are among the majority who are still learning to be an effective leader, or simply looking to raise your game, then study these points carefully. Even you can learn to dance.

It’s better to be a shepherd than a lion tamer.

In most cases, employees need to be nurtured. They need to be encouraged to be all that they can, but within the limits of what they are capable of.

Shepherds do this. They let their sheep wander across the hills to look for the grass that appeals to them the most. But sometimes those sheep get lost. They end up in places where they shouldn’t have gone. That’s when the shepherd comes along and helps them to get back to where they belong. Shepherds, however, don’t use a chair to keep their sheep at an arm’s length; neither do they use a bull-whip to demonstrate who’s in charge. Even when they have a sheepdog to help, they provide gentle support and guidance that helps ensure the sheep are corralled and moving together.

Leadership Mindset #1: Coaching is an important skill of effective leaders.

It’s better to over-appreciate than to under-appreciate.

Many leaders and managers take their subordinates for granted. They assume they’ll always be there, and their opinion is that “no news is good news.” Which means that the only time that they saying anything is when those who work for them, in their opinion, have caused a problem.

The truth is that you need them more than they need you. In fact, your success depends almost entirely on the work they do. As a leader, your job is to finesse, to shape, to direct, and as necessary, to dig in with the troops.

Leadership Mindset #2: Celebrate the success you achieve through and with others more than that achieved through your own efforts.

Knowledge that is hoarded will undermine your success.

Contrary to popular opinion, information is kinetic power. That means that it only has the potential to be powerful. But to unleash it, you must share it. If you don’t, then it makes youpowerless. It prevents you from doing anything through others and let’s face it: You can’t do it all by yourself.

You demonstrate real power when your people can do a great job without you. If you to hold their hands all the time, then you’re doing something wrong.

Leadership Mindset #3: It’s better to share what you know than to keep it to yourself.

It’s easier to keep people motivated than to motivate the demotivated.

Hardly anyone starts a new job demotivated. Usually they’re so excited that they can’t wait to get busy, they arrive at their new company, or new job, on the first day feeling like a rock-star, wanting to be a rock-star. The demotivation comes later, after they’ve been there for a little while. Six months seems to be about the average. There are many possible causes, but the biggest one probably is that they realize that their boss or their organization doesn’t value them anymore; that instead, they’re just a warm body.

Do yourself a favor: Remember that you hired them because of the value that you believed they would contribute. Make sure that that they know that you know that and, while you’re at it, provide them with a supportive environment so they can.

Leadership Mindset #4: You hired rock-stars, help ensure that everyone gets to play to their strengths.

 It’s easier to make a good decision than to try to fix a bad one.

Good decisions come from obtaining salient information; and to get it, you have to listen.

Listening is a lost art. Most people believe that it means to pay attention just long enough to gather their own thoughts so that they can interject their ideas as soon as the other person pauses for breath. And if the lung capacity of the one seems to be more than a few seconds, they interrupt anyway, because they’re convinced that what they know is far more relevant than what anyone else does.

In the words of a wise sage, learn to shut-up. You may be responsible for making the decisions, but you certainly don’t have all the answers.

Leadership Mindset #5: Exceptional leaders W.A.I.T. They ask themselves “Why Am I Talking?”

If  you put these five leadership mindsets into practice, then you’ll be well on your way to exercising the power you’ve been given responsibly, and your staff will reward you by giving you more cooperation than you imagined possible.
http://peopledevelopmentmagazine.com/blog/2014/11/12/leadership-mindset/

How To Develop Persistence by Napoleon Hill

• Motivation

by Carla Schesser - 

Image Credit | ventureburn

‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill is unarguably one of the greatest personal development books ever written. Highly endorsed by the world’s top leaders such as Bob Proctor and Tony Robbins, if you haven’t read it you’re already behind.

I first read ‘Think and Grow Rich’ about 4 years ago and since then have read it at least once a year and I have the audiobook on repeat in my car.

One of my favorite chapters is on Persistence (Chapter 9) and I have identified the key takeaways for you to enjoy. If you haven’t read ‘Think and Grow Rich‘ yet, this should give you a good taste as to what it’s like and if you have, a reminder never hurts!

How to Develop Persistence:

4 Steps that lead to habit of persistence:

1. A definite purpose backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment.
2. A definite plan, expressed in continuous action.
3. A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances.
4. A friendly alliance with one or more person who will encourage you to follow through with both plan and purpose.

Definite Causes of Persistence:

1. DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE. Know what you want is the first and, perhaps, the most important step toward the development of persistence. A strong motive forces you to surmount many difficulties.

2. DESIRE. It is comparatively easy to acquire and maintain persistence in pursuing the object of intense desire.

3. SELF-RELIANCE. Believe in your ability to carry out a plan encourages you to follow the plan through with persistence.

4. DEFINITENESS OF PLANS. Organized plans, even though they may be weak and entirely impractical, encourage persistence.

5. ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE. Knowing that your plans are sound, based upon experience or observation, encourages persistence; “guessing” instead of “knowing” destroys persistence.

6. COOPERATION. Sympathy, understanding and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence.

7. WILLPOWER. The habit of concentrating your thoughts upon the building of plans for the attainment of a definite purpose leads to persistence.

8. HABIT. Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes part of the daily experiences upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies, can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage. Everyone who has seen active service in war knows this.

 http://addicted2success.com/motivation/how-to-develop-persistence-by-napoleon-hill/