First of all, success is maximizing your God given potential.

Secondly it can be defined as this: doing the best you can with what you have where you are. Success is not circumstantial. Some of the most successful people are those in the worst of circumstances, but they make the most of them. That’s success.

A third definition: the people who know you the best respect you the most. We care way too much about what strangers think of us, but they won’t be the ones at our graveside. I want my wife and my kids to respect me the most.

Definition four: success is trying until the day you die. I think most of us give up on our dreams much too easily and way too quickly. We stop trying, but why? If you’re still trying you’re succeeding!

One key to success is not worrying about the outcome. Winning or losing isn’t the issue. Trying is winning!

The measure of success is this: how hard did you try?

If you pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you, you cannot fail.

I know, it may sound a little corny to some of you. However, knowing your “why” is one of the most important steps in achieving any goal or getting through any project or anything that you do. In fact, “why” is the most important word when setting any goal. If you don’t know why you want something, then you probably don’t need it or want it and most likely you won’t ever achieve it.

When ever you do anything out of the norm or you want to try something new or you are just taking a close look at your current life and the things you are doing or want to do, it is critical to know your why. Is your why in line with your values? One of the first steps is to imagine what it will be like when you are there. What will it feel like? What will you be doing? What will you have? You need to stop, take a step back and visualize what the end result is. If you know what the end will look like, you are more likely to work harder to achieve it. “Begin with the end in mind” ~Stephen Covey~

If you have trouble understanding the fundamental of why, try asking yourself, at least five times, why?  The first answer is likely to be somewhat  empty and without substance. However, with each successive answer you will be digging down deeper and deeper into the true reason for your goal. This is truly not  an easy exercise, yet it will certainly strengthen your why once you have done it.

Frequently, people have great ideas and get enthusiastic about them only to talk ourselves out of moving forward because of the “hows” or the “whats”. We start asking ourselves, “How will I ever do that?” or “What was I thinking?” or “I don’t know enough about that so I’ll never be able to do it”. There are many of reasons not to do something, so your “why” has to be strong enough to get you through.

Once you understand your why, the hows and the whats will just seem to appear. They will no longer be the obstacles they appeared to be. If the why is strong enough, resources will show up or you will be inspired to seek out the answers wherever they may be. The internet, people we know, books are all great sources of information that will help remove the fog of the unknown. If your why is strong enough, you will do everything  and anything in your power to find out how to make it happen.

Conceptualize with a friend, using a trusted mentor to bounce ideas off, or using a coach are some of the ways that will help you discover your why, get your whats and hows organized and prioritized. Keep on your toes though, your why may not be good enough for other people and they will try very hard to discourage you. Be careful of who you tell your goals to, and know that they may not understand your why.

What is one thing that you would really like to accomplish? Now ask yourself why you’d like to accomplish that. Think about it for a few minutes. What will that accomplishment give you? Will it serve others? Once you know the why, close your eyes and visualize what it will be like when you achieve it. Hold that picture and make a mini-video of what you will be like, what you will feel like and what it will mean to others. Run that video in your mind first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Remember, we become what we think about.

Are you ready to fire your boss,
set your own hours, and start making
MONEY working part-time from
the comfort of your home?

True Financial Freedom!

True Financial Freedom means having all the money you could ever want AND having time available to enjoy it.

And that’s what this home business can do for you.

I made some really great connections there and met some of our top distributors including Jeff Packard; who is a great guy. One other mention, John Pullum (www.funnybaldman.com) if you ever get the chance to see him or your company is looking for a motivational speaker and funny guy… John is the man for that gig. He was awesome and I had the pleasure, although short, to speak with John. He is a great guy! I look forward to having him for dinner (I did invite him) and seeing him perform again.

So for those of you that don’t know what SOC Super Saturday is all about; its a one day training and team building event for SOC distributors. Its a great way to get your business started or to get it fired up.

If your on my team you’ll hear all about it from me and I encourage you to attend the next SOC Super Saturday. If your on someone else team; you need to talk with your sponsor if you haven’t heard about or attend one.

Looking forward to the next SOC SS and meeting you there. I am also looking forward to having my team host a Super Saturday.

Definition of Change
1. to become different
2. to become altered or modified
3. to become transformed or converted
4. to pass gradually into

To become different you must THINK differently. To become altered or modified you need to ACT on your needs and desires and to transform you will need to FEEL the transformation you want to become. You do this by thinking outside the box, acting outside the box and start feeling outside the box.
If you think you can’t – you can’t! If you feel frustrated – you will give up! If you do nothing – you’ll do nothing!
If you currently do something you don’t like to do, but have to do it to live you have a couple of options. First, stop doing it! In most cases that’s not possible, you need the money so you do the job and complain about it every second you get a change to complain. As a matter of fact many people that hate what they do spend more time complaining about it than they do at it. Your second option is to change the way you THINK about what you do. Start thinking about what this provides to you. Money, food, shelter, vacations perhaps, activities for your kids maybe.
There are so many reasons we do things we don’t like to do. You need to find something you love to do and that will make you an income and do it. Imagine, doing something you love everyday and making money money from it, would you stop complaining? You see most don’t think they can do this because they need their current job – that they hate – to survive. Well start thinking different. Use your current job to continue paying the bills and to also start financing what you love to do until what you love is making enough money to allow you to stop doing what you hate. Whew… that’s a lot to absorb. It’s really simpler than it sounds. Simply start THINKING differently and make a plan to change. ACT on the plan. Don’t just make a plan and wish for it to happen because it won’t. This is what most do and they wonder why they don’t hit their goal. You have to do what you say you are going to do. Keep a journal or get a buddy to keep yourself accountable and set specific time lines to meet your goals. Change the way you ACT.
Finally, change the way your FEEL. I know I have heard it before, ‘but you can’t just change the way you feel’, well I am here to tell you that you can and you must. If you tell yourself or others that you feel like crap, then you’ll feel like crap. If you tell yourself or others ‘this is the greatest day of my life’ then it will be the greatest day of your life to that point and you can do this every single day. You need to change how you feel. Start right now by telling yourself and others that ’2010 is the best year of my life’. Not ‘will be’ or ‘could be’ but ‘IS’ every day and see what starts to happen.
So, change is in you. Change three things and watch everything else around you start to change.
Change the way you THINK – Think positive!
Change the way you ACT – Do what you love!
Change the way you FEEL – Everyday can be the best day of your live!

2010 is the best year ever!
Cheers

Most of us have a need for 20 plus cards per year because building relationships with friensd, family and co-workers is important to most people. There is an endless number of reasons for sending greeting cards. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and thank you to name a few. Some people could send 60 or more cards a year but don’t because its too inconvenient, too costly ($3-$5 /card + postage) or they just don’t have the time. People love to receive greeting cards in the mail and many of those keep the greeting card on display for all to see for a couple of weeks then put it in a box to reflect back on days, months or years later.

Every professional and business wants to connect with and impress their key business contacts or clients, build long-term relationships with them, generate referrals and increase their loyalty. However, like most of us,  many business owners and professionals simply do not have the time or resources to set up and execute an effective “Appreciation Marketing” follow up program.

Now there is a simple solution for sending cards to say Happy Birthday or Thanks For Your Business – a web based service that allows you to sending out custom greeting cards to friends, family or clients and business associates for 1/5 the price you would pay at the store. You don’t have to leave your home or office and you don’t even have to go to the post office. Real paper cards in envelopes with stamps mailed for you and can even be in your own handwriting. Now that takes the problem of cost and time out of the equation and makes sending greeting cards fun, fast, affordable and simple for the individual, professional or business owner.

Some of you may ask ~ Does it work? Think about it – when was the last time you received a greeting card that you didn’t open and did not appreciate? You see, receiving a  greeting card – be it a “Birthday Wish” card, “Thank You” or “Merry Christmas” in your handwriting, customized with a picture added to it or even just a really nicely worded card – makes everyone feel great and appreciate the gesture.

Who should be using this online greeting card services?

YOU! Any individual that has every given or send a card to someone. Think of the people in your life that you see every day, the people you see once in a while and the people you haven’t seen for years. They all have Birthdays and anniversaries. Most celebrate holidays and there are many other occasions that a greeting card would show how much you appreciate them.

Businesses and service professionals. Manufactures, retail stores, consulting and law firms, chiropractors, massage therapists, other health care professionals, accountants, CPAs, financial professionals, dry cleaners, carpet cleaning companies, designers and graphic artists, freelancers, dentists, optometrists, orthodontists, contractors and many others should all use this service to show appreciation to their customers and clients. This can make your business or practice stand out form the competition. Your client will keep a personal greeting card and throw out the junk mail.

Tell us more…

Now I must have gotten your attention. For more information on how you can start your Appreciation Marketing campaign, Relationship building or just to send a Birthday Card to grandma check out the links below.

If you want to use is for personal use send cards to friends, family and others in your life check it out here.

If you are a professional or you are a business owner, check it out here

The “would have”, “could have” and “should have” excuse really isn’t going to get you very far. The reality is that you can’t turn back time. All you have left is the opportunity to start now – from this very second. The trouble is that we don’t! It’s such a simple thing to do. But so few people do it. The principle is straightforward: Start now to change your life for the better… start dreaming big.

Do you believe that success is hit-or-miss? Or that successful people are simply lucky, or they were probably born rich? If your finances are not where you’d like them to be, having little to no money is not the problem; it is simply a symptom of what you are doing and your mind set. If your career, finances or just your life in general are not where you want them to be, stop playing the blame game. Don’t blame it on your education, your boss, or your failed ventures. It’s because you are not dreaming big enough or you are not doing anything to act on your dream.

Nobel Prize winner Anatole France once said, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” We need a dream, and we need to dream big! In business terminology, the dream is typically called the Vision, and it defines the final destination of your business. This can also be the case for your personal life as well. The dream tells you where you are going and becomes, in effect, your compass.

Start dreaming big or begin now to do something that has long been a dream, something that makes you approach each new day as a journey to accomplish what you want and desire. Follow your compass.

2010 is going to be a fantastic journey for me, my family and those that choose to be around me. I know where I want to be by the end of the year and have a good idea how I going to get there. I AM DREAMING BIG, how about you?

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year To All.

Mike

A South Korean woman has taken the saying “if at first you don’t succeed — try, try again” to a new level.

The 68-year-old finally passed the written exam for a driver’s license on her 950th attempt. Almost every day since April 2005 Cha Sa-soon has attempted to get her licence.

She has spent more than 5 million won ($4667US) in fees but had failed to score the minimum 60 out of a possible 100 points needed.

Sa-soon has passed the written test but now needs to pass a driving test before getting behind the wheel.

She told The Korea Times newspaper she needed the license for her vegetable-selling business.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Now, if ever there is an example of determination and a will to succeed, this is it. Cha Sa-soon did not give in to failure, but, tried again and agian until she accomplished her goal. Now some of you might think that this is just plane silly. Many if us try to reach a goal, but, when we fail we quit. Would you ever really think of trying to succeed after failing not once or twice, but, 949 times?

I have come to realize that failure is a part of life and you can’t be successful in everything you do, but, if you quit after one try you will never succeed. Failure should be used as a tool to life’s success. Learn from your failures and gain more knowledge so that you don’t make the same mistakes. You can do the same thing over and over and each time fail, but, learn and change something. The quickest road to repeated failure is to do the exact same thing over and over again and expect different results. Your not learning from your failure and you aren’t changing how you do things so you become frustrated and quit.

When do you give up? Never. You need to change what you are doing and how you do it and you will reach your goals. Look at what other people who are successful are doing and do that. Way to go Cha Sa-soon!