A Little Mistake That Cost $100,000 A Year - Don’t Fall Into The Same Trap!
By Michael Griffiths
www.thebusinessleader.blogspot.com
www.michael-griffiths.blogspot.com
What an amazing time December is, summer begins, the days are longer with sunlight, the hot days turn into mild nights, people are out and about having fun letting down their hair after a hard year with Christmas parties, lunches and dinners while catching up with old friends.
In business December, if not November, becomes a very important time. In fact without this time you and your business would not continue past March or April the following year without it becoming a struggle.
I was reading over the weekend that small to medium business owners that fail to set up their goals, plans and outcomes for the following year make $100,000 less than those that do spend the time, set goals, make Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and know the direction they should be heading.
I’ve always believed that any small to medium business needs to do nothing other than FOLLOW WHAT THE BIG DOGS DO! Take a look at what the corporate sector does, how do they set goals, how do they plan, how do they market, how do they network, how do they sell, how do they follow up; I think you get the picture. The only difference between a corporate big dog and everyone else is they have more employees and bigger budgets, BUT they can all teach us some valuable lessons to follow and model.
The majority of people have heard the saying “Failing To Plan is Planning to Fail” however all the words in the world are fine until YOU TAKE ACTION. We are now half way through December, do you have a 2010 dairy, wall planner, do you have a plan for January and February, if not for the first six months or even better the whole year. Have you set out some KPI’s to measure your business by, to measure the direction you are heading. Do you have a 5yr, 3yr and 1 yr plan in place? Can you break that down into a 90/60/30 day plan and even further do you know your weekly and daily activities to make it happen for you.
Goal setting and planning is all about knowing what you need to be focused on over that period of time. Through many sources we have learnt that “What we focus on is what we get, to the exclusion of everything else.”
Does this start to make some sense on how you could be missing out on an extra $100,000 in 2010? If your plans and goals aren’t in place then how do you know what to focus on, who are you marketing to, who are you selling to, who do you need to speak to, who are you building relationships with, how many clients can you be working with at any given time? Planning and setting goals allows the answers to all of those questions.
A great friend of mine even goes a step further with his business; he and his wife go away on a 5 day planning retreat. Now, I don’t think they plan for the whole 5 days; however they put aside TIME EVERY year time to reflect, monitor and adjust from the previous year and set out their plans, goals, outcome, KPI’s for the following year. This then allows them to focus on what they need to be successful.
So what are you going to do for the rest of December, Planning to Succeed or Planning to Fail?
I realise that you might have all the right intentions in the world BUT just don’t know where to start.
We’ll here’s what I’m going to do. Send me an email at support@michaelgriffiths.com.au with the subject heading ‘Goal Template Help’ and I will send to you the templates that I use with my business clients.
Remember - Keep Dreaming
Michael Griffiths
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Why Don’t We Listen To Others
Question - Who is the most important person in the wolrd?
I’m sure you’ll come up with some different names, but deep down we all know the right answer. Don’t We! We all know who is #1, the best person around, the number one topic all the time, and YES it is ourself.
This is the case with EVERY single person, HOWEVER not everyone acts the same way or feels a need to justify their self worth through either talking over others, adding their own story or feeling a need to comment about their own experience in conversations.
When you are in a conversation with somone, what is your conscious telling you, where is your mind really at? Are you really paying attention, or thinking about what will be for dinner, or thinking about what comment or story you could tell to make the conversation about you.
How do you feel when a person listens to you 100%, when there actually interested asking questions and showing an interest in you. It’s a pretty awsome feeling.
I did a great exercise a week back with a group of leaders on listening. The task was to be in pairs and one member had to speak for 5 minutes non stop while their partner had to listen completely; no distractions, not taking their eyes of their partners eyes, no body langauage changes and at the end they swapped over.
The comments made after the task went generally along these lines;
The talker – It was amazing to have someones full attention for that period of time, to know that they were interested in my conversation.
The listener – That was the hardest thing that I have done. There were so many distractions that I wanted to look at.
So, if it feels so good when someone really listens to us, WHY do we not return the favour and ensure that we give 100% listening ability when others speak to us. Are we really that disinterested or have we formed such a bad habit that our time and self importance is worth more to us than listening to someone else?
I was speaking with a collegue last week and shared a story, I knew before I had finished, that as soon as I finished they were going to tell me a similar story that happened to them. This occurs probably 70% of the time. Why is my question? Are we really so insecure that we need to make ourself feel more important, by talking about our #1 topic.
The next time you’re in a conversation try this, look at the person in the eyes, the whole time that their speaking, ask some questions that shows that you have been listening, get curious about what they’re talking about and at the end say nothing about yourself and acknowledge them. It want be easy but trust me IT WILL BE A GREAT FEELING!
Until next time, take care and happy listening!
Michael Griffiths
I’m sure you’ll come up with some different names, but deep down we all know the right answer. Don’t We! We all know who is #1, the best person around, the number one topic all the time, and YES it is ourself.
This is the case with EVERY single person, HOWEVER not everyone acts the same way or feels a need to justify their self worth through either talking over others, adding their own story or feeling a need to comment about their own experience in conversations.
When you are in a conversation with somone, what is your conscious telling you, where is your mind really at? Are you really paying attention, or thinking about what will be for dinner, or thinking about what comment or story you could tell to make the conversation about you.
How do you feel when a person listens to you 100%, when there actually interested asking questions and showing an interest in you. It’s a pretty awsome feeling.
I did a great exercise a week back with a group of leaders on listening. The task was to be in pairs and one member had to speak for 5 minutes non stop while their partner had to listen completely; no distractions, not taking their eyes of their partners eyes, no body langauage changes and at the end they swapped over.
The comments made after the task went generally along these lines;
The talker – It was amazing to have someones full attention for that period of time, to know that they were interested in my conversation.
The listener – That was the hardest thing that I have done. There were so many distractions that I wanted to look at.
So, if it feels so good when someone really listens to us, WHY do we not return the favour and ensure that we give 100% listening ability when others speak to us. Are we really that disinterested or have we formed such a bad habit that our time and self importance is worth more to us than listening to someone else?
I was speaking with a collegue last week and shared a story, I knew before I had finished, that as soon as I finished they were going to tell me a similar story that happened to them. This occurs probably 70% of the time. Why is my question? Are we really so insecure that we need to make ourself feel more important, by talking about our #1 topic.
The next time you’re in a conversation try this, look at the person in the eyes, the whole time that their speaking, ask some questions that shows that you have been listening, get curious about what they’re talking about and at the end say nothing about yourself and acknowledge them. It want be easy but trust me IT WILL BE A GREAT FEELING!
Until next time, take care and happy listening!
Michael Griffiths
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Life Success Principle Part 3 – The Power Of Language
By Michael Griffiths
www.michaelgriffiths.com.au
I hope you really enjoyed part one and two of our journey through Life Success Principles. Today we are going to touch on an amazing topic and take a closer look at the power of language and how it is used. Everytime we speak the language we use is influencing others around us as well as ourselves, remember we model people from 8yrs of age onwards, so most of your language has probably come from your past.
I met a boy the other week, he was about 14 yrs old and we were talking about basketball and I was helping him with his shot. I would explain something to him and then he would generally reply or make a comment. Everything that was coming out of his mouth was so negative, not only about him not being able to do it, but about his circumstances in general. That got me really curious about meeting his parent(s), when mum came to pick him up I started asking some general questions about her son and playing basketball and the responses BLEW ME away. I don’t think I could have met a more negative person in the world. It was everyone else’s fault; nothing was ever good enough and on it went.
You see as an adult you have a choice and you can learn how to change things in your life if you’re not happy with it. Children however don’t have that realisation and model behaviour and language because they believe that is how it’s suppose to be done.
Your language will build on beliefs and habits which in turn allow you to have success or not. A person that uses the word ‘try’ a lot will usually always be ‘trying’ the whole life but never really succeeding. ‘I might’ is very different and will bring you very different results than a person who uses ‘I will’.
The great power of language is this - once you realise the downfalls that are preventing you in moving forward then you can move past the roadblock and remove or change that piece of language to something else. Remember in previous Life Success Principles we have spoken about cause and effect and how a person at cause is being 100% responsible for their thoughts, actions and behaviours.
Language is so subtle that we often don’t even realise what is coming out of are mouths and how it is effecting other circumstances in our lives.
Let’s look at a few recent examples of sentences that have been said to me over the past week and then let’s dissect them.
“You’re a better person than me, I could never do that”
A few things come up here; I could never do that (says who)
“Never” real strong negative word and means you probably won’t give it a go.
“Better than” in what context, says who, limiting belief
“I think I could achieve that”
It is amazing how many people use the word I think without even knowing it. It is similar to using the “try” I’ll try to do that. Both words aren’t terrible but your sub consious is very confused when you are either I might or might not. How about you replace them with ‘I am’ or ‘I will’ be definate in what you set out to do and finish it off!
The language we use every day is either preventing us or moving us forward towards our goals and dreams, what is your language doing for you?
Until next time have a wonderful time playing around with your langauage and becoming a positive person.
www.michaelgriffiths.com.au
I hope you really enjoyed part one and two of our journey through Life Success Principles. Today we are going to touch on an amazing topic and take a closer look at the power of language and how it is used. Everytime we speak the language we use is influencing others around us as well as ourselves, remember we model people from 8yrs of age onwards, so most of your language has probably come from your past.
I met a boy the other week, he was about 14 yrs old and we were talking about basketball and I was helping him with his shot. I would explain something to him and then he would generally reply or make a comment. Everything that was coming out of his mouth was so negative, not only about him not being able to do it, but about his circumstances in general. That got me really curious about meeting his parent(s), when mum came to pick him up I started asking some general questions about her son and playing basketball and the responses BLEW ME away. I don’t think I could have met a more negative person in the world. It was everyone else’s fault; nothing was ever good enough and on it went.
You see as an adult you have a choice and you can learn how to change things in your life if you’re not happy with it. Children however don’t have that realisation and model behaviour and language because they believe that is how it’s suppose to be done.
Your language will build on beliefs and habits which in turn allow you to have success or not. A person that uses the word ‘try’ a lot will usually always be ‘trying’ the whole life but never really succeeding. ‘I might’ is very different and will bring you very different results than a person who uses ‘I will’.
The great power of language is this - once you realise the downfalls that are preventing you in moving forward then you can move past the roadblock and remove or change that piece of language to something else. Remember in previous Life Success Principles we have spoken about cause and effect and how a person at cause is being 100% responsible for their thoughts, actions and behaviours.
Language is so subtle that we often don’t even realise what is coming out of are mouths and how it is effecting other circumstances in our lives.
Let’s look at a few recent examples of sentences that have been said to me over the past week and then let’s dissect them.
“You’re a better person than me, I could never do that”
A few things come up here; I could never do that (says who)
“Never” real strong negative word and means you probably won’t give it a go.
“Better than” in what context, says who, limiting belief
“I think I could achieve that”
It is amazing how many people use the word I think without even knowing it. It is similar to using the “try” I’ll try to do that. Both words aren’t terrible but your sub consious is very confused when you are either I might or might not. How about you replace them with ‘I am’ or ‘I will’ be definate in what you set out to do and finish it off!
The language we use every day is either preventing us or moving us forward towards our goals and dreams, what is your language doing for you?
Until next time have a wonderful time playing around with your langauage and becoming a positive person.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
FREE Life Success Principles Report
What We Focus On Is what We Get
This is probably my favourite principle. This principle goes to the heart of the results that we experience in our lives. What we focus on is what we will find evidence of, to the exclusion of everything else.
We can only experience what we search for, because everything else is outside of our experience. This means we don’t see things as they are, but as we are. So, the external world that we see is through the filtering lens of our personality – of who we are.
That’s why two people can look upon the same world and see it differently, based on who they are, what they sort for and what they expect to find.
Someone who experiences poverty is experiencing what is within them now. People who experience abundance are experiencing what is whin them now. If you are bad at relationships I want to know about your relationship with yourself.
If we had a box which we called 'Your World', you notice in your box (your world) it captures and focuses on what is in your thoughts, actions, experiences, personality. Everything outside the box is excluded. It can’t pick up what it isn’t focused on. Our lives and how we experience our world is the same thing. We will simply not be aware of things beyond our focus (world)
This can be seen in a diagram when you get your FREE 'Life Success Principles Report' from www.michaelgriffiths.com.au
This is probably my favourite principle. This principle goes to the heart of the results that we experience in our lives. What we focus on is what we will find evidence of, to the exclusion of everything else.
We can only experience what we search for, because everything else is outside of our experience. This means we don’t see things as they are, but as we are. So, the external world that we see is through the filtering lens of our personality – of who we are.
That’s why two people can look upon the same world and see it differently, based on who they are, what they sort for and what they expect to find.
Someone who experiences poverty is experiencing what is within them now. People who experience abundance are experiencing what is whin them now. If you are bad at relationships I want to know about your relationship with yourself.
If we had a box which we called 'Your World', you notice in your box (your world) it captures and focuses on what is in your thoughts, actions, experiences, personality. Everything outside the box is excluded. It can’t pick up what it isn’t focused on. Our lives and how we experience our world is the same thing. We will simply not be aware of things beyond our focus (world)
This can be seen in a diagram when you get your FREE 'Life Success Principles Report' from www.michaelgriffiths.com.au
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Life Success Principal Part 2 – The Map Is Not The Territory
Life Success Principal Part 2 – The Map Is Not The Territory
By Michael Griffiths
www.michaelgriffiths.com.au
I hope you really enjoyed part one of our journey through Life Success Principals and understanding your values. Today we are going to touch on an amazing topic and one that very few people can understand on their own. This is so powerful that it will change your outlook on yourself, your family, others around you and your life and that is ‘The Map Is Not The Territory.’
Everyone has their own map of the world and NO two maps are ever the same. A person’s map comes through their own thoughts, actions, experiences and what they hold as beliefs at the time. For example a man living in poverty on the street fighting everyday for survival is going to have a different map on ‘the benefits of welfare’, then an executive who is being paid $200,000 per year and half his income goes in taxes.
A person’s map can only come from what they have experienced and nothing more.
So why do we have ‘Maps’ and what do they do for us; A person’s map allows them to have an outlook of the world, it allows them to justify everything that is going for them and it allows them to belong.
How powerful is this; You cannot change another person’s map and you cannot put your map over theirs. A person’s map is what holds true to them, NOT YOU, and becoming curious around another person will be the only way you can find out about their map.
The same event that takes place in front of two people can have a completely different meaning for both. For example there are two children 13 years of age who are part of the soccer team they have been practicing and the coach yells out “Kick the ball harder” the tone is strong and firm. Child 1 hears this and puts meaning to it – I’m no good at soccer, I can’t even kick the ball hard. Child 2 hears exactly the same comment and puts meaning to it – I must be really advanced if I’m being asked to kick the ball harder.
Certainly I might have taken things to the extreme however it does show the point. You might actually remember a time when you were growing up where something was said, or done where you have placed meaning to it, that has stayed with you for ever.
I remember one event when holidaying on the Gold Coast with my family. I was barbequing with dad and thought I was doing a pretty good job, the hamburgers however started to fall apart as I hadn’t put them on the hot plate first, a comment was made and at that moment I placed my own meaning to that comment. “I was no good at cooking hamburgers on a bbq” I myself got over that fairly quickly but it shows a power of a comment or action and how we end up with limiting beliefs.
If you think of a time in which you thought something made so much sense, everyone should be able to see it ‘Your Way’, what’s wrong with these people. Can you see why it might not have been the case now? Your map, through your own experiences, thoughts and actions are completely different to the next person. Hence the world will always have different meanings for people on the same event.
A person can change their own map and become more aware of other peoples maps, but we can’t change another’s person map.
By Michael Griffiths
www.michaelgriffiths.com.au
I hope you really enjoyed part one of our journey through Life Success Principals and understanding your values. Today we are going to touch on an amazing topic and one that very few people can understand on their own. This is so powerful that it will change your outlook on yourself, your family, others around you and your life and that is ‘The Map Is Not The Territory.’
Everyone has their own map of the world and NO two maps are ever the same. A person’s map comes through their own thoughts, actions, experiences and what they hold as beliefs at the time. For example a man living in poverty on the street fighting everyday for survival is going to have a different map on ‘the benefits of welfare’, then an executive who is being paid $200,000 per year and half his income goes in taxes.
A person’s map can only come from what they have experienced and nothing more.
So why do we have ‘Maps’ and what do they do for us; A person’s map allows them to have an outlook of the world, it allows them to justify everything that is going for them and it allows them to belong.
How powerful is this; You cannot change another person’s map and you cannot put your map over theirs. A person’s map is what holds true to them, NOT YOU, and becoming curious around another person will be the only way you can find out about their map.
The same event that takes place in front of two people can have a completely different meaning for both. For example there are two children 13 years of age who are part of the soccer team they have been practicing and the coach yells out “Kick the ball harder” the tone is strong and firm. Child 1 hears this and puts meaning to it – I’m no good at soccer, I can’t even kick the ball hard. Child 2 hears exactly the same comment and puts meaning to it – I must be really advanced if I’m being asked to kick the ball harder.
Certainly I might have taken things to the extreme however it does show the point. You might actually remember a time when you were growing up where something was said, or done where you have placed meaning to it, that has stayed with you for ever.
I remember one event when holidaying on the Gold Coast with my family. I was barbequing with dad and thought I was doing a pretty good job, the hamburgers however started to fall apart as I hadn’t put them on the hot plate first, a comment was made and at that moment I placed my own meaning to that comment. “I was no good at cooking hamburgers on a bbq” I myself got over that fairly quickly but it shows a power of a comment or action and how we end up with limiting beliefs.
If you think of a time in which you thought something made so much sense, everyone should be able to see it ‘Your Way’, what’s wrong with these people. Can you see why it might not have been the case now? Your map, through your own experiences, thoughts and actions are completely different to the next person. Hence the world will always have different meanings for people on the same event.
A person can change their own map and become more aware of other peoples maps, but we can’t change another’s person map.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
How to Boost Your Self-Esteem (and why it goes down!)
Have you ever noticed your self-esteem seems to go down, and you don’t even know why? Each time I hear someone share their story of low self-esteem and difficulty making a decision, I know how they feel.
Two years ago my self-esteem was at an all time low. I had no idea how I’d got myself into this place, and even less idea of how to get out of it!
It seemed the more I wished I felt better about myself, the worse I felt. I used to say to myself “I’ll make this decision when I feel better about myself.” Or “When my confidence is up, then I’ll act.”
I had no idea that those thoughts were actually perpetuating my feelings of inadequacy.
What I have learned since then is –
…the less decisions you make, the lower your self-esteem will become…
…the more you put something off, the lower your confidence becomes…
…the more you wait for the courage to act, the less it will appear…
…the more you wish you felt better about yourself, the worse you will feel…
Explains a lot, huh?
The ONLY way to boost your self-esteem is to –
1. Make more decisions, and start caring LESS about how it MUST work out!
2. Get over your need for absolute certainty that everything will be perfect.
3. Let go of not being allowed to make mistakes! It’s okay to make a mess, just learn from the mistake and MOVE ON!
4. Stop procrastinating, and telling yourself you’re waiting for “the right time”. Who are you kidding?
5. Stop waiting for courage to turn up – courage is only needed when you act. As long as you sit there waiting for it, it won’t show.
6. Stop focusing on yourself and what you think you lack… because what you focus on is what you get.
7. Focus on what you can do, today, even if it scares you. If it didn’t get your heart racing, it wasn’t that important to you!
8. Give yourself permission to have a go!
Finally…If… and ONLY if… you are genuinely committed to positive change in your life…
Make a decision and act TODAY.
Whatever it is you have been putting off because you didn’t feel good, you weren’t confident, you didn’t know if you could do it, you were worried it might not work out… whatever it is that you have been giving up on achieving to appease the self-doubt you have nurtured for… how long?!... WHATEVER it is that you have been giving up on achieving…
The time to act is NOW.
You will feel great about yourself.
Your friends will notice the difference.
You will start to like yourself.
You will meet different people who also like themselves.
You will experience new things that excite you.
You will finally feel awesome self-esteem!
Two years ago my self-esteem was at an all time low. I had no idea how I’d got myself into this place, and even less idea of how to get out of it!
It seemed the more I wished I felt better about myself, the worse I felt. I used to say to myself “I’ll make this decision when I feel better about myself.” Or “When my confidence is up, then I’ll act.”
I had no idea that those thoughts were actually perpetuating my feelings of inadequacy.
What I have learned since then is –
…the less decisions you make, the lower your self-esteem will become…
…the more you put something off, the lower your confidence becomes…
…the more you wait for the courage to act, the less it will appear…
…the more you wish you felt better about yourself, the worse you will feel…
Explains a lot, huh?
The ONLY way to boost your self-esteem is to –
1. Make more decisions, and start caring LESS about how it MUST work out!
2. Get over your need for absolute certainty that everything will be perfect.
3. Let go of not being allowed to make mistakes! It’s okay to make a mess, just learn from the mistake and MOVE ON!
4. Stop procrastinating, and telling yourself you’re waiting for “the right time”. Who are you kidding?
5. Stop waiting for courage to turn up – courage is only needed when you act. As long as you sit there waiting for it, it won’t show.
6. Stop focusing on yourself and what you think you lack… because what you focus on is what you get.
7. Focus on what you can do, today, even if it scares you. If it didn’t get your heart racing, it wasn’t that important to you!
8. Give yourself permission to have a go!
Finally…If… and ONLY if… you are genuinely committed to positive change in your life…
Make a decision and act TODAY.
Whatever it is you have been putting off because you didn’t feel good, you weren’t confident, you didn’t know if you could do it, you were worried it might not work out… whatever it is that you have been giving up on achieving to appease the self-doubt you have nurtured for… how long?!... WHATEVER it is that you have been giving up on achieving…
The time to act is NOW.
You will feel great about yourself.
Your friends will notice the difference.
You will start to like yourself.
You will meet different people who also like themselves.
You will experience new things that excite you.
You will finally feel awesome self-esteem!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Life Success Principal Part 1 – Understanding Your Values
Over the next month we will put together a range of Life Success Principals that will allow you to go through a self paced course in creating change.
Part 1 looks at ‘Understanding Your Own Values’. To make any change in your personal, family or business life you must understand and appreciate the values that you stand for each day. A value is something that creates a great feeling for you when it occurs. If your value is honesty and integrity then everytime you are honest you will feel fantatsic with the actions you have taken. If your value is love and connection then loving, caring and being there for the people special in your life will bring great joy and happiness to you.
It is very easy however to have values come from your head and not from your heart. Values that comes from your head are usually values that you wish or hope to have but really don’t bring you any emotional feeling and therefore you can’t attach yourself to them. Values play a huge part in a persons makeup and therefore have a huge effect on the way they think, act and go about their daily life.
Our vales can be our compass for our lives and ulimately our choices. Values guide our every decision. When a person knows what is most important to them, making a decision is effortless.
Values include but are not limited to;
• Passion
• Freedom
• Adventure
• Love
• Comfort
• Pride
• Honesty
• Safety
• Health
• Happiness
• Repsect
Remember when you know what is most important to you then making a decision is simple.
Most people live their lives in reaction to the events around them, hoping, wishing and waiting that it will all work out. Or worse, they know what they want to have; more time, money, love, health without ever knowing who they want to be or who they have to be to achieve it. All they know is they want more!
If you want to know what it feels like to not live congruently with who you are and what you believe in, make a decision that doesn’t keep your values intact. The secret to happiness... no matter how tought the going gets... live congruently with your values.
Activity:
What core feelings and emotional states must you feel on a regular basis so that you know you are being true to yourself?
Part 1 looks at ‘Understanding Your Own Values’. To make any change in your personal, family or business life you must understand and appreciate the values that you stand for each day. A value is something that creates a great feeling for you when it occurs. If your value is honesty and integrity then everytime you are honest you will feel fantatsic with the actions you have taken. If your value is love and connection then loving, caring and being there for the people special in your life will bring great joy and happiness to you.
It is very easy however to have values come from your head and not from your heart. Values that comes from your head are usually values that you wish or hope to have but really don’t bring you any emotional feeling and therefore you can’t attach yourself to them. Values play a huge part in a persons makeup and therefore have a huge effect on the way they think, act and go about their daily life.
Our vales can be our compass for our lives and ulimately our choices. Values guide our every decision. When a person knows what is most important to them, making a decision is effortless.
Values include but are not limited to;
• Passion
• Freedom
• Adventure
• Love
• Comfort
• Pride
• Honesty
• Safety
• Health
• Happiness
• Repsect
Remember when you know what is most important to you then making a decision is simple.
Most people live their lives in reaction to the events around them, hoping, wishing and waiting that it will all work out. Or worse, they know what they want to have; more time, money, love, health without ever knowing who they want to be or who they have to be to achieve it. All they know is they want more!
If you want to know what it feels like to not live congruently with who you are and what you believe in, make a decision that doesn’t keep your values intact. The secret to happiness... no matter how tought the going gets... live congruently with your values.
Activity:
What core feelings and emotional states must you feel on a regular basis so that you know you are being true to yourself?
Monday, August 24, 2009
How To Overcome Shyness
If you think or believe you are "shy" or "withdrawn" then it's time to get a new game plan...
Holding back because you think you are shy is another way of saying "not me".
Stop making the excuse of shyness for you not putting yourself forward into the thick of it...
It may comfort you to say it, but it can never get you the results you say you want. People want to work with others who are certain of themselves, because invariably it's a quality they want for themselves!
How to get the Assertiveness Bug:
1. Know your values and live by them - even when it isn't convenient
2. Be decisive - the more decisions you make, the more assertive you feel
3. Don't wait for assertiveness to show up - it's waiting for you to act!
4. Say no when you need to
5. Use good, clear communication skills - say what you mean with warmth, not fear
6. Be an attentive listener - listen to the other person's point of view completely
7. Say yes when you need to - if you say no because you are afraid, you are missing an opportunity to build your assertiveness muscle
8. Take responsibility for your own actions - act as if it down to you to create the level of confidence and assertiveness you choose
9. Ask for what you want - don't hope others will know, state what you prefer
10. Stand up for yourself
Becoming assertive in your daily life will open many more doors of opportunities, allow a greater influence of friends and colleagues and place you on the pathway to the success you deserve.
Changing your beliefs about being assertive or holding assertiveness is easy to change. Remember ‘beliefs are all just made up bull’ that we have told ourselves over and over again. How about you start telling yourself some of these new beliefs;
• I am wonderful at speaking in front of other people
• I am wonderful at listening and enjoying other peoples company
• I am wonderful at making decisions
• I am assertive when required
See if you notice a change in the next month.
Take care and look forward to next time.
Michael Griffiths
Holding back because you think you are shy is another way of saying "not me".
Stop making the excuse of shyness for you not putting yourself forward into the thick of it...
It may comfort you to say it, but it can never get you the results you say you want. People want to work with others who are certain of themselves, because invariably it's a quality they want for themselves!
How to get the Assertiveness Bug:
1. Know your values and live by them - even when it isn't convenient
2. Be decisive - the more decisions you make, the more assertive you feel
3. Don't wait for assertiveness to show up - it's waiting for you to act!
4. Say no when you need to
5. Use good, clear communication skills - say what you mean with warmth, not fear
6. Be an attentive listener - listen to the other person's point of view completely
7. Say yes when you need to - if you say no because you are afraid, you are missing an opportunity to build your assertiveness muscle
8. Take responsibility for your own actions - act as if it down to you to create the level of confidence and assertiveness you choose
9. Ask for what you want - don't hope others will know, state what you prefer
10. Stand up for yourself
Becoming assertive in your daily life will open many more doors of opportunities, allow a greater influence of friends and colleagues and place you on the pathway to the success you deserve.
Changing your beliefs about being assertive or holding assertiveness is easy to change. Remember ‘beliefs are all just made up bull’ that we have told ourselves over and over again. How about you start telling yourself some of these new beliefs;
• I am wonderful at speaking in front of other people
• I am wonderful at listening and enjoying other peoples company
• I am wonderful at making decisions
• I am assertive when required
See if you notice a change in the next month.
Take care and look forward to next time.
Michael Griffiths
Friday, August 14, 2009
True Intentions
Let’s touch on True Intentions this week. What are True Intentions? ‘True’ meaning what is seen to be correct and ‘Intention’ meaning the act of determining mentally upon some action or result.
This meaning is interesting when we take a closer look. The word ‘mentally’ tells us that your Intention is something in your mind. Something you tell yourself through what I call your “mini-me” (your ego, yourself conscience.)
80% of the population struggle to control their mental thoughts and feelings. This is due to past experiences and habits which have been formed by them. Hence so many people struggle to follow through on their True Intentions.
We can overcome this in a few different ways.
1. Hold ourselves accountable to someone else that we hold in high esteem. It is human behaviour to not want to let someone down and therefore we take action.
2. Build a dream with so much desire that we are forced to take action daily.
3. Build a support team around us, a group of networks, and other successful people within your field. We breed success by watching success.
It is always easy to tell what someone’s true intentions are; we are all great at talking a good game, saying we are going to do something and not following through. A person’s true intention is what their actions do, it is results driven and quite often it can be harsh to realise that we don’t follow through on our true intentions a lot of the time.
A great business mind once said “Beliefs are all bullshit, they hold people back and stop them from following their true intentions by making excuses for them”
What are your true intentions and are you taking action daily to help follow your path and dreams.
Until next time please follow us through one of our other communication methods. We look forward to sharing more thoughts and personal development with you soon.
http://twitter.com/mcjsbusiness
http://www.facebook.com/mcjsbusiness
www.mcjsbusiness.blogspot.com
This meaning is interesting when we take a closer look. The word ‘mentally’ tells us that your Intention is something in your mind. Something you tell yourself through what I call your “mini-me” (your ego, yourself conscience.)
80% of the population struggle to control their mental thoughts and feelings. This is due to past experiences and habits which have been formed by them. Hence so many people struggle to follow through on their True Intentions.
We can overcome this in a few different ways.
1. Hold ourselves accountable to someone else that we hold in high esteem. It is human behaviour to not want to let someone down and therefore we take action.
2. Build a dream with so much desire that we are forced to take action daily.
3. Build a support team around us, a group of networks, and other successful people within your field. We breed success by watching success.
It is always easy to tell what someone’s true intentions are; we are all great at talking a good game, saying we are going to do something and not following through. A person’s true intention is what their actions do, it is results driven and quite often it can be harsh to realise that we don’t follow through on our true intentions a lot of the time.
A great business mind once said “Beliefs are all bullshit, they hold people back and stop them from following their true intentions by making excuses for them”
What are your true intentions and are you taking action daily to help follow your path and dreams.
Until next time please follow us through one of our other communication methods. We look forward to sharing more thoughts and personal development with you soon.
http://twitter.com/mcjsbusiness
http://www.facebook.com/mcjsbusiness
www.mcjsbusiness.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Self Help - Part 1
Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be. "George Sheehan"
Complete this exercise;
Write out the following
* What do you want to accomplish in the next 12 months?
* In the next 2 years
* In the next 5 years
* What will it give you when you have achieved this? What will it allow you to do?
Read this statement every day
Have fun!
Complete this exercise;
Write out the following
* What do you want to accomplish in the next 12 months?
* In the next 2 years
* In the next 5 years
* What will it give you when you have achieved this? What will it allow you to do?
Read this statement every day
Have fun!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
There Is Good In This World - Well Done Boys!
Thanks to the Coaching Insitute for this piece....
Two Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made
the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never
be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside
influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand
things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handi-capped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"
Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to
play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance
and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the
ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game
and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the
bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took
a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be
the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally
threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay , Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay" Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the
direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home,
stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
Two Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made
the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never
be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside
influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand
things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handi-capped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"
Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to
play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance
and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the
ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game
and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the
bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved
in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took
a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started
yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline,
wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be
the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally
threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay , Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay" Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the
direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home,
stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and
seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Living Life When You’re Not A Victim
Within our world there are victims everywhere. Victims every second of every day. We hear them all the time sharing their stories and problems as if the world was about to end. Do you have a victim mentality that’s holding you back?
Things take place every second of every day, it is how we look at those certain events that help us form opinions and influence our way of thinking and habits.
It’s amazing when you start the day off badly, things just continue to go wrong. You spill your coffee, then you miss the bus or the train, you drop all the papers you were carrying all over the ground and you can’t imagine what will happen next.
Funnily enough, if you had reacted differently to the spilt coffee the continuing bad events wouldn't of occured. The majority of people would be blaming someone or something else for that coffee being spilt. The reason for this is we naturally prefer to be the victim rather than the "Cause", and accepting it for what it is.
One of the great powers of the universe, that changes people’s lives forever, is when you start to understand the law of "Cause and Effect".
There is a "Cause and Effect"for everything that happens. Those with a victim mentality will always be the "Effect" and blame others, never take . They therefore live a life of unhappiness as they are always the victim, happily giving reasons and justifications on why things work out badly, couldn't work out at all or don't happen.
Those of us that realise they are the "Cause" of events have a completely different outlook on life. When events take place and you take responsibility for them you come from a completely different position of power and therefore you limit their effect. Taking responsibility for everything that goes on allows you to change what you don’t like, because you’re in charge.
How do you limit the "Effect"?
Well let’s get back to an earlier topic:
You Attract What You Think About Most Into Your Life
If you come from the "Effect" mentality then you are continuing to attract bad events or happenings because you haven’t moved on from the initial bad happening. I guarantee more bad luck will come your way.
If however you come from the "Cause" mentality, accept what has happened and move on, you can get back to attracting better things into your life for that day.
It’s amazing how such a little difference in a persons habit will make such a big change in a persons happiness. Try becoming a "Cause" person and take responsibility for everything that goes on, both good and bad, then realise the power you have just given yourself to change what you don’t like, as you are the boss of your own destiny!
Take Care
Michael Griffiths
Things take place every second of every day, it is how we look at those certain events that help us form opinions and influence our way of thinking and habits.
It’s amazing when you start the day off badly, things just continue to go wrong. You spill your coffee, then you miss the bus or the train, you drop all the papers you were carrying all over the ground and you can’t imagine what will happen next.
Funnily enough, if you had reacted differently to the spilt coffee the continuing bad events wouldn't of occured. The majority of people would be blaming someone or something else for that coffee being spilt. The reason for this is we naturally prefer to be the victim rather than the "Cause", and accepting it for what it is.
One of the great powers of the universe, that changes people’s lives forever, is when you start to understand the law of "Cause and Effect".
There is a "Cause and Effect"for everything that happens. Those with a victim mentality will always be the "Effect" and blame others, never take . They therefore live a life of unhappiness as they are always the victim, happily giving reasons and justifications on why things work out badly, couldn't work out at all or don't happen.
Those of us that realise they are the "Cause" of events have a completely different outlook on life. When events take place and you take responsibility for them you come from a completely different position of power and therefore you limit their effect. Taking responsibility for everything that goes on allows you to change what you don’t like, because you’re in charge.
How do you limit the "Effect"?
Well let’s get back to an earlier topic:
You Attract What You Think About Most Into Your Life
If you come from the "Effect" mentality then you are continuing to attract bad events or happenings because you haven’t moved on from the initial bad happening. I guarantee more bad luck will come your way.
If however you come from the "Cause" mentality, accept what has happened and move on, you can get back to attracting better things into your life for that day.
It’s amazing how such a little difference in a persons habit will make such a big change in a persons happiness. Try becoming a "Cause" person and take responsibility for everything that goes on, both good and bad, then realise the power you have just given yourself to change what you don’t like, as you are the boss of your own destiny!
Take Care
Michael Griffiths
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Why Do Some Make It, But Most Fail?
It is no surprise that so many people within the world struggle to achieve their goals, dreams or the life that they set out to have, when you sit back and look at what we have become.
As a society we are so quick to make decisions. Everything today is fast paced; we want information at our finger tips, we want faster computers, phones and the ability to reach across the world instantly. We also want our goals and dreams to occur quickly, in days and months rather than years and decades. As a society we have become impatient and spoilt, we expect bigger and better and we want it NOW....
This leads us to our problem and the reason why so many people fail and end up living the life they are given rather than the life they want to create.
There is a whole process to goal setting and re-programming your way of thinking that we will touch on another time, but to keep it simple lets follow these rules.
1. Goals are required to reach any level of fulfilment
2. What you think about most often is what you attract into your life
3. What you tell yourself daily is what your mind believes to be true
4. Taking action daily results in moving forward
Most people are able to set goals; they write it down on a piece of paper and put it away for a rainy day never to be seen again. This is the problem and why so many people then don’t achieve what they set out to do.
To change a humans way of thinking and habits takes 30 – 90 days of CONSTANT work.
That constant work involves reading goals over and over again, dreaming and seeing those goals in your life, telling yourself what those goals would mean for you and your family and then finally being ready to take ACTION when an opportunity arises.
The second biggest problem people have is taking ACTION when an opportunity comes their way.
It’s common practice in society and something that is drilled into us at an early age to check everything twice, make sure you know what you’re getting into, research it all first and then procrastinate until it’s too late.
If you have a goal, a dream and you start believing you can live the life you want and deserve, rather than the life you have been given then please act and give yourself a chance.
I’m excited about being able to hear about your success and would love to know if our advice has helped you in some way.
Take Care Until Next Time
Michael Griffiths
As a society we are so quick to make decisions. Everything today is fast paced; we want information at our finger tips, we want faster computers, phones and the ability to reach across the world instantly. We also want our goals and dreams to occur quickly, in days and months rather than years and decades. As a society we have become impatient and spoilt, we expect bigger and better and we want it NOW....
This leads us to our problem and the reason why so many people fail and end up living the life they are given rather than the life they want to create.
There is a whole process to goal setting and re-programming your way of thinking that we will touch on another time, but to keep it simple lets follow these rules.
1. Goals are required to reach any level of fulfilment
2. What you think about most often is what you attract into your life
3. What you tell yourself daily is what your mind believes to be true
4. Taking action daily results in moving forward
Most people are able to set goals; they write it down on a piece of paper and put it away for a rainy day never to be seen again. This is the problem and why so many people then don’t achieve what they set out to do.
To change a humans way of thinking and habits takes 30 – 90 days of CONSTANT work.
That constant work involves reading goals over and over again, dreaming and seeing those goals in your life, telling yourself what those goals would mean for you and your family and then finally being ready to take ACTION when an opportunity arises.
The second biggest problem people have is taking ACTION when an opportunity comes their way.
It’s common practice in society and something that is drilled into us at an early age to check everything twice, make sure you know what you’re getting into, research it all first and then procrastinate until it’s too late.
If you have a goal, a dream and you start believing you can live the life you want and deserve, rather than the life you have been given then please act and give yourself a chance.
I’m excited about being able to hear about your success and would love to know if our advice has helped you in some way.
Take Care Until Next Time
Michael Griffiths
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Need For A Purpose !
Everyone needs a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to keep on going! How do you get that purpose? Where do you search or does it just come into your life one day?
Empowering your life and thoughts come from within, they start from you and a little thing called a 'DREAM'. Everything in life begins with a seed, a dream and then a plan is put in place to make that seed grow.
In life you attract both good and bad things to you and it is this attraction of ideas, people and circumstances that shape our daily actions, thoughts and actions.
So why are some people so successful and others aren't. We need to dream and attract things to us. We should all be able to dream for great things, right?
The secret I'm going to share with you is what so many people fail to do,that would change their lives if they did it, and that is 'They Fail To Live Their Dream Everyday, Making The Good Things Happen For Them DAILY'
You see most people will try something like this for a few days, maybe a week or a month and then give up with the comment "Well That Was Waste Of Time". It is that attitude that ensures success never comes their way in life.
To gain a purpose:
Dream how you want to live your life,
See it everyday and then you'll start attracting the right thoughts, people and ideas to you and NEVER stop dreaming!!
Empowering your life and thoughts come from within, they start from you and a little thing called a 'DREAM'. Everything in life begins with a seed, a dream and then a plan is put in place to make that seed grow.
In life you attract both good and bad things to you and it is this attraction of ideas, people and circumstances that shape our daily actions, thoughts and actions.
So why are some people so successful and others aren't. We need to dream and attract things to us. We should all be able to dream for great things, right?
The secret I'm going to share with you is what so many people fail to do,that would change their lives if they did it, and that is 'They Fail To Live Their Dream Everyday, Making The Good Things Happen For Them DAILY'
You see most people will try something like this for a few days, maybe a week or a month and then give up with the comment "Well That Was Waste Of Time". It is that attitude that ensures success never comes their way in life.
To gain a purpose:
Dream how you want to live your life,
See it everyday and then you'll start attracting the right thoughts, people and ideas to you and NEVER stop dreaming!!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
What's Your Reason Why?
It's very easy to go through life day in and out not quite sure WHY it is your doing something. In fact until you have that reaosn WHY, you are never going to change.
Yt is the reason WHY that will change our habits, Why we quit smoking or eating fatty foods, go to the gym or start a home based business. It is the reason WHY which will fill your desire for success.
What is your reason WHY? When you realise WHY you will change.
Yt is the reason WHY that will change our habits, Why we quit smoking or eating fatty foods, go to the gym or start a home based business. It is the reason WHY which will fill your desire for success.
What is your reason WHY? When you realise WHY you will change.
Why A Home Based Business?
A home based business or working part time or as a hobby in a home based business makes a lot of sense to many people. Today there is very little certainty about what will take place in the future OTHER than what you put in place yourself.
The people who are financially secure in the world and retire with money to spend, enjoy their last 15 - 25 years rather than worrying. ALL have 1 thing in common. THEY PLANNED and THEY ACTED on their plans well before reaching that age of 65.
The positives of a home based business is a list something like this;
- No office rental or purchase costs
- Lower overheads
- No travel to and from work
- Close to family or loved ones
- Work the hours required rather than having hours set for you
- Being your own boss
- Controlling your own destiny
A simple list, BUT most people could relate to something on that list. Being your own boss is fine if you know what you are doing and how do it. Not many people that have their own business have any sort of formal training in marketing, sales or running a business and therefore they either need to spend a lot of time in training courses or they end up failing. This is the biggest negative of a home business.
Lets look more specifically at a distribution or product brokerage home based business in which the owner sells or distributes products from point A to B. The advantages are that the business owner doesn't need to have the stock, they just get the product shipped from A to the end consumer. The owner also doesn't need large spaces or offices, they don't need large amounts of money to get started. These all seem pretty good positives and certainly makes things easier to get started and start making an extra income.
Still the biggest problem lies in being trainned and understanding how to run a business. There are some great organisations and individuals that help solve this problem. When I hear someone say they were in a home based business but it didn't do very well and know they've quit, it is often due to the fact that they we never taught, trained or helped along the way and therefore didn't know what to do next.
If this is you or if you have never looked into a home based business, casually, part time or full time it might just be the right time to take a look at how you could plan for your future and secure a bigger paycheck per week.
Till next time happy hunting!!
The people who are financially secure in the world and retire with money to spend, enjoy their last 15 - 25 years rather than worrying. ALL have 1 thing in common. THEY PLANNED and THEY ACTED on their plans well before reaching that age of 65.
The positives of a home based business is a list something like this;
- No office rental or purchase costs
- Lower overheads
- No travel to and from work
- Close to family or loved ones
- Work the hours required rather than having hours set for you
- Being your own boss
- Controlling your own destiny
A simple list, BUT most people could relate to something on that list. Being your own boss is fine if you know what you are doing and how do it. Not many people that have their own business have any sort of formal training in marketing, sales or running a business and therefore they either need to spend a lot of time in training courses or they end up failing. This is the biggest negative of a home business.
Lets look more specifically at a distribution or product brokerage home based business in which the owner sells or distributes products from point A to B. The advantages are that the business owner doesn't need to have the stock, they just get the product shipped from A to the end consumer. The owner also doesn't need large spaces or offices, they don't need large amounts of money to get started. These all seem pretty good positives and certainly makes things easier to get started and start making an extra income.
Still the biggest problem lies in being trainned and understanding how to run a business. There are some great organisations and individuals that help solve this problem. When I hear someone say they were in a home based business but it didn't do very well and know they've quit, it is often due to the fact that they we never taught, trained or helped along the way and therefore didn't know what to do next.
If this is you or if you have never looked into a home based business, casually, part time or full time it might just be the right time to take a look at how you could plan for your future and secure a bigger paycheck per week.
Till next time happy hunting!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Importance Of Networking
Here I was on Tuesday sitting at a luncheon thinking to myself I can’t believe more people don’t take this opportunity anymore to get out of the office and speak with others in the business world.
There speaking was one of the greatest sales and marketing men of all time, after taking Harvey Norman from 12 million in sales to 570 million in sales in just a short few years providing his wisdom on how small businesses could grow.
Yet it was even his talk and the number of great things that I could do with McJ’s Business that became the highlight of the day.
Before lunch and after lunch gave us a great opportunity to meet the other 60 people in the room and to find out what they did and how they were going.
I strongly believe that people today use these 2 main reasons to buy to not to buy.
1. They are time poor so it needs to be convenient for them
2. They need to trust the person it’s coming from so if it’s coming from a friend’s recommendation or someone you have met personally you’re more likely to do business with them.
Therefore the more people you build relationships with the more “Talking Billboards” you have out their promoting you and your business.
A “Talking Billboard” is the best form of advertising and marketing. It’s FREE and generally it has more passion than what any other form of advertising can give because it’s a personal testimonial.
Personal testimonials are more powerful than what people give them credit for, even better, a video testimonial to allow the prospect / customer a real chance to feel engaged and relate to the person giving the testimonial.
Most people would say, Michael I know all of this stuff! Then my question is why do you think that sitting in your office for 2 hours is MORE important than getting out to a Chamber of Commerce lunch, after hours drinks or going and listening to speakers. These opportunities give you a chance to build business relationships with others and also to promote your business to many more people to become “Talking Billboards.”
I hope to see you out and about shortly!
Stay tuned until next time and you can always find McJ’s Business on Facebook and Twitter to follow along.
There speaking was one of the greatest sales and marketing men of all time, after taking Harvey Norman from 12 million in sales to 570 million in sales in just a short few years providing his wisdom on how small businesses could grow.
Yet it was even his talk and the number of great things that I could do with McJ’s Business that became the highlight of the day.
Before lunch and after lunch gave us a great opportunity to meet the other 60 people in the room and to find out what they did and how they were going.
I strongly believe that people today use these 2 main reasons to buy to not to buy.
1. They are time poor so it needs to be convenient for them
2. They need to trust the person it’s coming from so if it’s coming from a friend’s recommendation or someone you have met personally you’re more likely to do business with them.
Therefore the more people you build relationships with the more “Talking Billboards” you have out their promoting you and your business.
A “Talking Billboard” is the best form of advertising and marketing. It’s FREE and generally it has more passion than what any other form of advertising can give because it’s a personal testimonial.
Personal testimonials are more powerful than what people give them credit for, even better, a video testimonial to allow the prospect / customer a real chance to feel engaged and relate to the person giving the testimonial.
Most people would say, Michael I know all of this stuff! Then my question is why do you think that sitting in your office for 2 hours is MORE important than getting out to a Chamber of Commerce lunch, after hours drinks or going and listening to speakers. These opportunities give you a chance to build business relationships with others and also to promote your business to many more people to become “Talking Billboards.”
I hope to see you out and about shortly!
Stay tuned until next time and you can always find McJ’s Business on Facebook and Twitter to follow along.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Free Business E-Videos
Do you operate a home based business? We have a number of great free e-videos to help set yourself up as the epxert, attract people to you and build your organisation from anywhere in the world.
Find them at www.mcjsbusiness.com
Find them at www.mcjsbusiness.com
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Why Does Your Business Need A Website?
These days many businesses have websites, but what do they use them for? It was a question that I've wondered for a long time so I went to find out. The answers really surprised me.
Most businesses when speaking with them decided to have a website because it was the 'in' thing to do back when the Internet started to take off. Another small % used their website to provide a flyer on their business while a smaller % again used their website to provide information.
With this is mind I've decided to write about "Why does your business need a website". Online marketing should be nearly costing you the same in advertising as the traditional methods of newspapers, TV, Radio, Direct Leaflet drops etc. Using the power of the Internet and in particular search engines allows a business to attract people to them from all over the world. Now fair enough you might be Joe the plumber in Blacktown you don't want people from Liverpool UK finding you as you can't help them, however that in itself shows you the power.
Today the majority of people who have computers are online throughout the whole day and also a little of an evening, so when they need a haircut in a particular area they use a search engine to find the spot, when we need to get clothes fixed, dry cleaned, tailored we use search engines rather than telephone books and the list can go on.
Now having a website is only the beginning, HOWEVER it is the most important beginning as that is where you are sending people to. If you were to send people to a place in which they can't find what you provide, where you are located and a contact number or form to fill in then you have lost them for good.
So having a website no matter what business your in provides you with a valuable tool. With a website we can now use google adwords. Google adwords allows people looking for your product or service to find you when they type in keywords using search engines. This then takes them straight to your website and then straight to you inbox or telephone. At present 45% of Australians find what they are looking for through search engines and google adwords. Are you missing out on business?
If you would like to find out how your business could be attracting more customers, making more money selling online or just need some advice then please feel free to speak with our team at McJ's Webdesign
Most businesses when speaking with them decided to have a website because it was the 'in' thing to do back when the Internet started to take off. Another small % used their website to provide a flyer on their business while a smaller % again used their website to provide information.
With this is mind I've decided to write about "Why does your business need a website". Online marketing should be nearly costing you the same in advertising as the traditional methods of newspapers, TV, Radio, Direct Leaflet drops etc. Using the power of the Internet and in particular search engines allows a business to attract people to them from all over the world. Now fair enough you might be Joe the plumber in Blacktown you don't want people from Liverpool UK finding you as you can't help them, however that in itself shows you the power.
Today the majority of people who have computers are online throughout the whole day and also a little of an evening, so when they need a haircut in a particular area they use a search engine to find the spot, when we need to get clothes fixed, dry cleaned, tailored we use search engines rather than telephone books and the list can go on.
Now having a website is only the beginning, HOWEVER it is the most important beginning as that is where you are sending people to. If you were to send people to a place in which they can't find what you provide, where you are located and a contact number or form to fill in then you have lost them for good.
So having a website no matter what business your in provides you with a valuable tool. With a website we can now use google adwords. Google adwords allows people looking for your product or service to find you when they type in keywords using search engines. This then takes them straight to your website and then straight to you inbox or telephone. At present 45% of Australians find what they are looking for through search engines and google adwords. Are you missing out on business?
If you would like to find out how your business could be attracting more customers, making more money selling online or just need some advice then please feel free to speak with our team at McJ's Webdesign
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