4th Key: Positive Attitude
There’s been a lot of “rah-rah” hype written about the importance of having a positive attitude. But rarely does anyone deliver any concrete ideas about how to create and maintain a positive attitude.
After all, when things get hairy, either at home or at the office, (or both), the last thing you need is someone telling you to “cheer up” or have a better attitude. Besides being ineffective, it’s almost insulting.
When I hit rock bottom, when my attitude literally stunk, I got a well-deserved slap in the face from a friend and fellow teacher …Don Nelson. He taught me “the fuel principle” and got me off my pity pot. He told me that I could have the most expensive car in the world, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the car wouldn’t go an inch without fuel.
And in a similar manner, Don. Nelson said I could have a number of degrees, and a lot of knowledge, but if I didn’t have a positive attitude to “fuel” the use of that knowledge, I would never achieve extraordinary success.
That made a lot of sense to me, but I told Mr. Nelson I’d had too many setbacks in life. I could never become a truly positive person. Besides that, I had no idea how or where to get the “fuel” he talked about.
It was then that Mr. Nelson taught me the “action principle.” He quoted a verse from the Bible (of all places). It read, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
He said most people miss the point. They think IF they’re glad, IF things work out the way they want, THEN they’ll rejoice. Wrong!
Mr. Nelson said that’s not the way it works. He told me to look carefully at the order of the words. They contained a hidden secret that could forever change my attitude and my life.
The verse says you must FIRST “rejoice,” and THEN you’ll be “glad.” First comes action, and then comes feeling.
If I waited for my life to improve, if I waited for my feelings to change, if I waited for a more positive attitude to come along, I would wait forever. But if I took “action,” I could create the “fuel” that would move mountains.
So I went on another journey. A journey to discover the kinds of actions that would give me a positive attitude… all the time… no matter what. And I found 8 simple, powerful actions that changed my attitude around… for good.
They changed every aspect of my life and work, and I assure you, they will work for you as well. Listen to MaryAnn Sims-Cockshoot, an Analyst for the U.S. Army.
MaryAnn writes: “Even though I have been a ‘procrastinator extraordinaire’ for most of the 57 years of my life, I’m not anymore – ever since I attended the Journey to the Extraordinary experience. I feel more energized, enthusiastic, and happier every day. I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to. It has been a long time since I felt this good. I believe it has even helped my golf better – giving me more confidence. These may not sound like very big changes, but for me they are HUGE. You have an excellent program that has changed my life for the better.”
When you learn and apply my 8 attitude builders, not only will you more energized, enthusiastic and positive, but you will also learn how to stay in control of your emotions. Listen to Ray McElwee, a Superintendent at Groathouse Construction.
Ray writes: “The first thing I implemented after your ‘Journey to the Extraordinary’ experience was the principal of being an ‘actor’ instead of a ‘reactor.’ I was deeply in the rut of having my mood controlled by the moods of those around me. Not anymore! It is liberating. And I’m also aware of how I act and am careful not to bring anyone else down.”
At this point in my own personal “Journey to the Extraordinary,” I had to get gut honest with myself. I’d learned a great deal about the first four keys of Self-Esteem, Purpose, Goals, and Positive Attitude. And as I used those keys and applied their secrets, I was doing better. In fact I was doing better than I’d ever done before. But I had to admit that my life was still focused on “surviving” instead of “thriving.”
That’s when I discovered the …
5th Key: Risk Taking
Some of the things I was learning were initially outside my “comfort zone.” As a university professor, I was trained to look for the facts and check out the numbers. All this talk about Self-Esteem, Purpose, Goals, and Positive Attitude seemed pretty touchy-feely to me at first. But I wanted BIG results and BIG changes in my life, so I decided to take a risk and give it a try. When I did, I began to experience more miracles in my life!
That’s when I learned that taking risks is central to everything worthwhile in life. Without taking risks, you can’t make real gains, develop power, earn respect, or experience success. There’s simply no way you can grow without taking chances.
Unfortunately, 85% of the people are risk avoiders. In fact you may be one of them. But let me remind you that everything you want more of … a better relationship, a healthier body, a more promising career, or anything else … will be found outside your “comfort zone.” However, I can also assure you that you can get those things if you take the right risks in the right way. I’ll show you how in my “Journey to the Extraordinary” program.
Listen to Tammy Williams’ story. She’s from South Dakota Concrete Products.
Tammy writes: “As a result of your class, I have taken some major risks in the last few months. I quit my job as a Sales Engineer for a construction company, got myself back into school, and accepted a position with a church. Your class helped me look inside to see what is really important and how I wanted to live the second half of my life. Thank you for this amazing experience and the knowledge you shared. You gave me the support and courage I needed to take all these risks. And as a result, this has become my best year ever!“
Sara Archambault, one of the leaders at the Faribault Dairy Company, discovered the amazing power of constructive risk-taking as well.
Sara writes: “My life has seen DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS ever since I attended your ‘Journey to the Extraordinary’ program. On the personal side, I learned to believe in myself, take more risks, and even lose weight. On the professional side, I’m now thinking the positive and using the positive in my dealings with coworkers. As a result, I feel more respected by others, and the people around me seem so much happier! Thank you!”
Of course, I understand your reluctance in signing up for my two-day “Journey to the Extraordinary” experience. From your point of view, it’s a risk. You don’t know if you’ll get all the benefits that everyone else has experienced. So I want to make it easy and risk free for you to attend. Simply put, if you attend the Journey and are not totally satisfied, I will refund your complete registration fee. There will be no hassle and no hard feelings whatsoever. You can’t lose.
Which brings us to the sixth key…
6th Key: Balance
In my search for the keys to success, I sure needed this one.
With all my research, new-found knowledge, and practical action steps, I was soaring and scoring… according to the world’s standards. My Self-Esteem was in great shape; my Purpose was clear; my Goals were set and the proper language of my affirmations was in place; my Attitude was positive, and my Risk-Taking was making my dreams come true.
I was making more money in a week than I used to make in a year. My phone was ringing off the hook with people begging me to speak at their next conference or on-site meeting.
They all wanted to know the secrets I’d learned and how they could use those secrets to transform their lives, their relationships, their careers, their finances, their business, etc.
Of course, I was eager to help them. So I accepted their invitations. And for a long time I was delivering 150 to 200 programs a year, all across the world… in businesses, health care settings, government organizations, educational institutions, and association conferences.
Then it hit me. I was making a living, but I didn’t have a life. In fact, if I kept on going at the pace I was going, I knew that I’d end up in great financial shape, but sick, dead, or divorced. I didn’t like those odds one bit.
I needed to get a healthier definition of success. I needed more than achievements, riches and fame. I needed more than “market share,” a strong “balance sheet,” and a recognizable “brand.”
So my research continued. I wanted to find that one final missing link that pulled it all together. And most of the books and most of the training I found were dismally inadequate. They taught people how to “manage stress,” which was simply a fancy way of showing people how to juggle a dozen balls or fight a dozen tigers at once. Their solutions sounded worse than the problem.
The True Definition Of Success…
Then I discovered the true definition of success. It was something much deeper and broader than “making money” or “getting ahead.” It was balance… with mastery.
It was a matter of paying attention to and being effective in ALL 8 dimensions of life — Physical, Recreational, Financial, Occupational, Mental, Social, Emotional, and Spiritual — not just two or three of them.
When I applied this balance-with-mastery concept, I found myself becoming the kind of person I wanted to be, having the life I wanted to have, and getting the results I’d like to achieve. All without stress and burnout.
Of course, I had to get specific. I had to go beyond the academic concept of balance. I had to find some nitty gritty strategies that would turn the concept of balance into a reality.
I ultimately found 24 strategies in all. 24 strategies that create balance-with-mastery.
If you’re like most people, you’re always running, running, running. Well it doesn’t have to be that way. You can have a great life at the same time you’re making a great living … if you know and use these simple strategies.
That’s what William Salen, the Director of Training at the Nucon Group, learned.
William writes: “You taught me how to find the right balance between business and family. Great! I needed that. And you confirmed my feeling that experiential training (via interaction and exercises) is by far the preferred way for adults to learn. I deliver my own leadership training sessions with more confidence and conviction as a result.”
Iain Clark, the Head of Services for Aegon-Scotland, struggled with work-life balance for years until he learned the system I teach.
Iain writes: “One of the major reasons the ‘Journey’ works so well is your reinforcement program. You kept in touch with us. You kept on sending us reinforcements every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday … which made it so much easier for me to put into practice what I learned at the ‘Journey.’ Brilliant! As a result, I’m starting to win the battle of being focused only on work … to the detriment of everything else in my life. I’m getting some much needed work-life balance.”
Everyone seems to have too much work to do and not enough time to do it. We’ll take care of that problem at the “Journey.”
So far, I’ve given you the first 6 of the 12 keys. You can use those 6 keys to transform your personal life — to carve out and live an amazingly successful life.
But what does that matter if you’re surrounded all day by people stuck in ordinary lives, unwilling to change or constantly negative in their outlook and attitudes? You’ve got to know how to bring out their best.
In this department, I was fairly “lucky.” My family was poor. We lived in a 500 square-foot basement house because we couldn’t afford to put a house on top. Our car was a beat-up old rattle trap, and our clothes came from neighborhood yard sales. So I had to work if I wanted such luxuries as a bike or new clothes.
I was “lucky” enough to find work that… unknowingly… unconsciously… taught me how to motivate others. Through lots of trial and error, of course. It was either learn how to get ahead or stay poor. So by the age of 7, I was selling greeting cards door to door. And by the age of 14, I owned a small international import business.
Later I stumbled into a job that… unwittingly… taught me how to get the cooperation of others. I was hired as a teacher and counselor in a reform school. I had to get those guys on my side. I had to get them to work with me instead of against me, or I would have been dead meat.
I realized that if I could figure out how to get cooperation in reform school, I could get it anywhere!
The same is true for you. To truly break through and achieve extraordinary success, you need to discover how to rally your “team” … which might be comprised of your coworkers, customers, family members, friends, associates, advisors, and others. You need to know how to fire up your “team” to achieve extraordinary results, and you need to know how to build better, stronger, and healthier relationships on and off the job.
I discovered 6 more keys that will do exactly that. With these six keys, you can rally support and win people over to your side. You can pull them out of their little comfort zones, help them embrace change, and brush up their attitude. You can help them turn their get-by performance into get-ahead results. In short, you bring out their best… when you start with the …