Ghaibat.com

Reaching Out With The Spirit

By

Dr. Gary S. Goodman 2005

President, Customersatisfaction.com

At first, I thought he was just cold. The casino’s air conditioning was pumped up, and it did feel a bit brisk.

But then, he turned to the side, and instead of seeing the outline of crossed arms beneath his tee shirt, I saw a flat silhouette. Instinctively, I turned away.

I didn’t want to acknowledge that the gentleman standing in front of me in the buffet line, the chap who seemed so nonchalant, easygoing, and totally comfortable surrounded by three family members, had no arms.

An odd mix of emotions suddenly coursed through me, making me woozy.

I wondered how he managed everything. My two days of carefree card playing, dancing, roller coaster and log rides, embracing my loved one, swimming, climbing to the top of the water slide, all of these things, things I could do flashed before me. Most of my pleasures had involved grasping, gripping, touching, feeling, balancing, gesturing, and thousands of effortless manipulations, of which this gentleman was nearly incapable.

How would it feel to be him, to be in that body? I wondered.

Instantly, I was flooded with self-pity, hopelessness, and despair. I wouldn’t want to live, I thought.

It was then that I realized what a coward I must be, compared to this guy. He seemed the least self-conscious person standing in line. I felt grotesque, as I considered how I shrink from challenges, large and small.

Like a kid, I tell myself I don’t want to do this or that, and so I don’t. If he could only have a day indulging the opportunities I turn down, it would be nothing less than heaven.

Traffic was light, heading back to LA. I easily made it to my Black Belt class. The Sensei had us hitting bags. His instruction was simple: Outdo anything you’ve ever done before.

I held nothing back, as the image of that fellow glowed in my mind.

Over and again, with renewed spirit, I struck the bag for both of us.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books. He is the author of the Nightingale-Conant audio program, The Law Of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable. Gary teaches Entrepreneurship and Consulting at UCLA Extension, and he is President of Customersatisfaction.com and The Goodman Organization, in Glendale, CA. He can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com.

What separates those who succeed and those who live their lives feeling that things could have been better?

Ask any truly successful person why they achieved and they will all tell you they had a dream, a vision for their future. Those who are successful leaders have been able to share that dream with others with such conviction that they have convinced others to join them on their quest to achieve that dream.

Can anyone achieve their dream? Having a clear strategy can help you make your dream a reality. It isn’t rocket science, or magic. Take the following steps and fulfill your dream. Make it your reality.

The first step is to understand that in order to achieve success you must take action. Inertia is the most common reason for lack of success!

What is your dream? Your goals for the future? What do you want to achieve in your life in the next week? month? year? 5 years? What would you like people to remember you for after you have left this world?

Think big - challenge yourself. Reach for the stars!

Be clear about where you are now. Audit your strengths and areas for development

What needs to be done to eliminate the gap between your dream and the reality?

Prioritize - Look for quick wins, consider those things which will have maximum long term impact. Build solid foundations, think of sustainability!

Set challenging but realistic targets. Aim high.

Communicate your vision, and keep doing so. Ensure that all stake holders understand and subscribe to the same vision.

Who do you need to involve? How will you ensure they sign up to and stay committed to the vision?

Think about the language you use - sound positive, if others think you are confident it can be achieved they will gain confidence too. Develop a “Can do” mentality within your staff. For every problem there is a solution, encourage others to see themselves as problem solvers not problem givers.

Create clear lines of communication that operate at every level and in all directions.

Break each priority down into small achievable steps; involve your team.

Who needs to do what - by when? Set a timetable

Identify the roles and responsibilities for all staff; ensure that staff take ownership without creating a “jobs worth” approach.

Ensure that people are appropriately trained and that training is constantly updated.

Build in the monitoring and review process from the start so you can evaluate performance and be prepared to adjust as necessary. (By creating a culture of development rather than blame huge potential will be released.)

Celebrate success! and remember to thank people for their contribution, give credit where it due and be generous with it.

Develop professional honesty within your staff, constructive feed back can be invaluable.

Finally leave your ego behind as it will simply get in the way of your success.

Anyone can be a farmer, it is not rocket science. Growing plants can be done almost anywhere. You don’t have to have large fields and hundreds of acres. You have to have imagination. People who grow dope do it in cellars and in caves. Select plants to raise that that you see being sold in quanity by local nurseries or garden centers. In our area Arborvitae are in hot demand. These plants can be started from cuttings or you can buy rooted cuttings. Thousands can be grown in a 20′x20′ area in small containers. Arborvitae are not the only plants that you can choose. Dwarf conifers and bonsai are other avenues to consider. The first thing to consider is what plants you like. They make a nice starting point. I like arborvitae. Plus they are easy to grow. There are many types that are available. These can be grown from cuttings or you can purchase rooted cutting or small liners. I suggest that you raise Emerald Greens. They are compact and very popular. A 2-3″ rooted cutting in 3 years should be 2′ if growing conditions are optimal. These might sell for as much as $5-10 depending on your market and quality. If you were to raise 1000 of them that might be $5-10,000. You can market them just as I do on the internet. Being small you can ship them via UPS practically anywhere.

An example of a plant that is not suitable for small plot urban farming is an Oak tree. It is very fast in growing (good), but has a big tap root, and is best marketed when over 6-8′ tall. You will use up your space with a hard to confine, large tree that is not suitable for close compact container production. Shipping will also be more costly as starter plants tend to be larger hence larger shipping fees per tree. Besides I have sold many people 50 -100 arbs at a time but no one, 100 oaks at a time. My largest order for arbs to one homeowner was 265. Try to target plants that will sell multiples to a customer rather than just one at a time. If you target single plants to individual customers you need high value plants for your sales cost per unit will be higher. You will hear the same story from your customers about 1 plant as you will about 10 plants. I can tell you without a doubt that each customer will tell you about his property and his neighbors dog. I would rather hear the story once for each 10 plants that I sell. That is why I like plants that sell in multiples to a single customer. Additionally an unusual or exotic plant is seldom purched in quanity and the buyer has little knowledge of the plant. They will have many more questions about this plant. This translates to a higher amount of time spent on a smaller volume of product sold.

Arborvitae are commonly used evergreen shrubs or trees useful in urban areas where low maintenance and durability is needed. Many cultivars with forms such as being globed in shape, columnar, or narrow pyramidal, tend to be near buildings, doors, and walkways. Other forms which are larger are used for screens and buffers that are planted in rows. These plants will be easy to raise on your small urban lot.

The form of arborvitae is small, medium, or large depending on the cultivar. Some reach 50′, others only 3′. Most prefer full sun to partial sun. Planting in dense shade conditions should be avoided. A moist , well drained, loamy soil in full sunlight are ideal conditions for growing healthy arborvitae. These plants will tolerate rocky, clay, urban conditions of heat drought and pollution. The most important pest we have is bagworms which must be controlled to prevent complete defoliation. Some cultivars have multiple leaders which also prove to be a detraction for the plant. Pruning out multiple leaders in some cultivars is a simple remeady.

As you raise these plants if you find that you are selling more than you can raise on your property, an add in the newspaper such as, “Wanted: land to grow trees on” will help you find vacant parcels to use in growing more stock. This land may be free to use as many owners want in urban areas land to be used as it is then maintained. We have had many offers of free land to use in raising nursery stock. (You should check with your local BTK Code Enforcement Officer to make sure that this use is acceptable.)

Another suggestion is that you work for another local urban grower. They may have facilities set up that they would allow you to use after hours. When they see that you are a willing go getter, they might even ask you to grow special plants that they don’t want to grow because the volumes are light or they are to intensive in labor. At any rate it is the best way to learn the trede and its secrets. Most nurserymen will tell all their trade secrets because its the best way to help the industry and build a network of reliable and knowledgeable associates.

Confuscious, the Chinese Philospher is quoted as saying : “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” In other words, it is in the ‘doing’ that we appreciate and learn the meaning of an action or activity, not in thinking or day dreaming about it.

Many teens daydream often about the things they would like to do. Do you? If you can ‘dream,’ you can ‘do.’ You need to maintain a positive ‘can do’ attitude and like many successful people have done, you need to write your goals down along with a timetable and plan for achieving them. You need to discover what it will take, what your willing to do to accomplish your goal, identify possible obstacles and determine how you will overcome them. You must resolve to stay the course even when other’s discourage you or when problems seem insurmountable.

And there will many of those times; if it were easy everyone would be a star. Post reminders of your goals in prominent places like your bedroom mirror. Give yourself a pep talk every day. Reward yourself when you make significant strides.

Need more help on goal setting write us at info@lunchbagnotes.com.

Ann Marie is a published author and senior at Cal Lutheran University, majoring in Elementary Education. Currently living at home with her parents and younger brother, Anthony who is also a published author.

Do you consider yourself creative? How about super creative? Most people may not think of themselves as creative, but I believe that everyone has the potential for great creativity. They just need a little understanding and practice.

Think of two parts of the mind: the conscious, and the subconscious. The conscious is the part that thinks. It’s the part that you are aware of. The subconscious handles everything else. Your bodily functions, sensory input, memories, feelings, associations, and more are all handled by the subconscious.

The subconscious is much more powerful than the conscious. The subconscious handles thousands of things every minute. The conscious mind can only focus on one. Even when you think you multi-task, you are actually switching your focus very quickly between different things.

The real power of creativity lies in the subconscious. Your creativity comes out of all the things you are not aware of — memories you don’t remember, things you have seen but have not noticed, and feelings within you that naturally occur. All of your new great ideas are lying inside of your subconscious, right now. The trick is in figuring out how to access them.

Most people have a lot of ‘gunk’ (no, that’s not a scientific term) inside of them. The first step towards getting to that creative subconscious part is to clear that gunk out of the way. So how does a person do that? There are many ways, but here we will talk about two common ways: meditating and Journaling.

Meditation has the reputation of being mystical and religious. For our purposes, meditation is just sitting in silence. This sounds simple, but it is very difficult. In our society we are constantly bombarded with input — TV, radio, the Internet, other people, etc. As a result, we never sit in silence with ourselves. When you first meditate, your mind will race. These thoughts are what’s in your conscious mind, and as long as they are there you are not getting in touch with your subconscious. The key here is to relax and let those thoughts go. This will seem impossible at first, but practice it. Start small, with 5 minutes a day, and work your way up.

Journaling is similar to meditating in that you are trying to get past conscious thoughts. Journaling is simply writing your thoughts down. Unlike keeping a diary, though, the kind of Journaling we are talking about it is free flow writing where your pen never stops moving and you don’t care about what you write. When you start, it is ok to write ‘I have nothing to write’ over and over until something comes up. Don’t censor yourself, and don’t let your pen stop. It is best to journal in the morning, before your conscious mind has been filled with events of the day. Journaling should be done by hand, not on the computer. When you write, try to fill three pages. The first page or two will be basic conscious stuff you need to get out of your mind. Filling three pages helps get past all that.

For a good deal more on Journaling, read ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron.

If you want to start tapping into your creativity, start clearing out your gunk. Start doing some meditating (sitting in silence) or morning Journaling everyday. It won’t have an immediate effect, but over time it will make you immensely powerful.

Avish Parashar has a refreshingly unique approach to speaking and training: identify the fundamentals of success and then give people the tools to implement those fundamentals. Avish’s approach can be deceptive; it’s fun, funny, interactive, engaging, entertaining, and ridiculously simple. Success isn’t complicated, it’s simple. So visit the web site to learn more about the “Ridiculously Simple Ideas That Everybody Needs and Nobody Uses.”

Learn More:
http://www.avishparashar.com

Free Creativity Mini-Course:
http://www.avishparashar.com/creativity-free-minicourse.html

• Have you been working long hours?
• Have you been managing 10 (or more) tasks at once?
• Are you combining several different personal and professional roles?

99% of my clients are experts at managing lifestyles similar to those above and this issue is dedicated to all of you.

Your reward for managing your lives so well is permission to have some FUN.

Did you know that children laugh an average 400 times each day but by 35 years old this has reduced to only 15 times per day. When you are having FUN your body is calm and stress-free, you experience an increase in oxygen, endorphins and blood flow to the brain. In this HAPPY state you are able to think more clearly and productively, you remain alert and are keen to experience more of the same. Having FUN induces a state of pure energy and reflects the real joy of living, and being in the moment. Stress melts away and our physical ailments bother us less What have you done that is fun today?

Having fun is contagious. If you are having fun, people want to join in - you become interesting and attractive. If you enjoy your job and have fun at work it is reflected in everything that you do. Your presentations become more dynamic and people are more likely to take notice of what you say. Often creativity improves and projects can seem easier to manage and complete.

Setting new goals and challenges can be a FUN activity. Blue-sky thinking can be exhilarating as there are no limitations to how incredible we would like our lives to be. Imagine if money, time, location was not a problem - how different could you life be. Imagine if the word “can’t” really did not exist - what would you be doing differently?

One of my personal values is to incorporate FUN into my life wherever possible. However, before coaching, one of my limiting beliefs was that I need to have permission to have FUN, that it had to be earned or set aside for another day - once I had completed my mundane tasks. After coaching, I realised that by injecting FUN into those same tasks then they took on a new personality - they started to be enjoyable. The changes do not have to be earth shattering, it can be as simple as hovering to your favourite song; listening to an audio book while filing, or composing a poem while jogging.

When the activity incorporates FUN, it stops being routine and mundane; instead it becomes something to look forward to. Onerous tasks that require concentrated effort without interruption can come with a FUN reward on completion - just make sure that the reward is tantalising enough to keep you going at even the darkest point in the project. This can work equally well for a tem as an individual and can be a great motivator - especially if the team decides the reward themselves.

Suggestion for this week:
What can you do to make your life more fun?

Rachel Saint
A troubleshooter for your life
Telephone: 44 (0) 1843 841582
http://www.worklifebalanceenterprise.co.uk
http://www.busymummy.co.uk
Sign up for my newsletter at rhscoaching@yahoo.co.uk

We can settle for the way things are and survive or we can pay conscious attention to making changes and learn how to thrive.

4 steps to making changes

I call this one the 4 Ds of change.

Decide that something has to change. This is when you take the “no matter what this in going to change” approach.

It’s also called reaching the level of enough. You have had enough of living with the way things are, and you will not live that way anymore.

Determine that you are the only one who can get you to change. In this way, you do not have to wait on anyone else to do anything else, it’s up to you.

That is a very powerful place to be. You are in the driver’s seat for making the changes you want in your life.

Do everything, all the necessary things it will take to achieve the change(s) you desire.

No excuses are allowed. Once you set a goal to change, there are two possible outcomes: you either reach the goal or have a list of excuses why you did not reach it.

Distinguish between what is working and what is not working.

If it is working, keep moving ahead.

If it’s not working, be smart enough and flexible enough to find something that does.

Go back to step three and take different approaches and actions until you get the outcome you desire.

Visit The Article Guy for more leading edge tips and tools for writing articles that bring you prospects, publicity and profits. You can also subscribe to our monthly Article Writing & Marketing Tips Newsletter. You are also invited to visit my Express-Start Article Writing Program for more information on the next article writing tele-seminar.

“I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult…. I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.”

Og Mandino

It strikes me that beyond the difficulty of getting started, it is even more of a challenge to keep going, to carry on and hang on in there. How many times have you started a project only to abandon it part way through? How many unfinished works-in-progress are tucked away in various corners of the house and your workplace. They are not exactly screaming at you to get finished, but the sense of them being there is very much like voices whispering at you. You see, the start was relatively easy. It’s the carrying on which will be the challenge.

How about you? What do you need to persist in? Have you got a project that you are part way through and you can feel yourself flagging? How do you need to motivate yourself to hang on in there?

If you feel that your resolve to see a project through is beginning to crumble, perhaps it is time to take a break, step back and remove yourself from the detail of the project for a short while. Sometimes just allowing yourself to have a breathing space, possibly by going out and taking a calming walk, can help to ease your sense of overwhelm. Distancing yourself for a while, although it can seem like a negative step, can often help to get you over the hurdles of carrying on. Also reminding yourself, and those you may be working with, what the ultimate goal is, can often refresh your enthusiasm for the tasks in hand.

What essential task has been slipping down the to-do list? What are you resisting doing? It may not necessarily be a large or even difficult task, but in your mind it may have grown into a problem of gargantuan proportions! It’s time to assess whether the pain of putting it off is worse than the pain of facing up to it and doing it. The other question to ask is, ‘Can I delegate this?’

What do you really want to achieve for yourself? Today? This week? This month? This year? Next year and beyond? Do you have a vision of how you would like things to be? Do you know how you are going to get there? Have you taken the first steps? And are you hanging on in there? Is your vision keeping you going? If it’s not, then it’s time to reassess your vision and choose another one that excites you.

When a task is beginning to create stress and distress, that is one of the times to give yourself a break. Doing something active will help to lower your stress levels, as well as increasing your fitness, so that you will be physically and mentally more able to cope with what awaits you. You can return to your task with renewed energy and vigor.

How did you come to be doing this project or task? Was it imposed on you by someone else, or did you choose to start it yourself? If it was given to you to do by someone else and you are struggling with maintaining your enthusiasm, how do you think you could get a sense of eagerness for the project? What do you need to inject some fresh interest? If someone else is able to help you do this, then go ahead and ask them. The worst that could happen is they could say ‘no’! If this is something that you chose to take on, then the same applies. What drew you to this in the first place? Just remembering that may be all it takes to give you a jump-start again.
What can you be doing every day to help move the project along? How is your time most profitably spent? Do you need to learn something new to assist you with what you are trying to achieve? If you need a break from work, sometimes doing something totally unrelated and creative can refresh you. Using your hands and mind in producing something purely for pleasure can calm you down and lower your stress levels. You will also end up with something you’ll enjoy looking at!

Sometimes carrying on seems to be the last thing you want to do. You may even think that you are putting in all the effort only to get nothing from it. Hanging on in there and seeing the project progress to the next stage and then the final stage can be tough under these circumstances, but if you really believe in what you are ultimately aiming to achieve, then it will not be for nothing. Keep the end in sight. Hang on in there!

Kate Harper is based in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Check out her website http://www.harpercoaching.com

She works with people who are fed up with moaning about their lives and have decided to do something about it. If that is you, please take a look at Kate’s website. Her special interest is in promoting Wellbeing through coaching. She is happy to work with people from any part of the world.

“The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult.” Madame Marie du Deffand

Take your first step today and contact Kate.

“He (she) who endures to the end wins,” said the Chancellor of the University of Santa Monica during a visit to our graduate class. The statement stuck, and it has been true for me during my many years as a business owner, student, wife, mother and competitor.

Recently I gave a speech for a woman’s organization. As part of the package, I was offered a table on which to sell my products. The speech was a great success, the table another story! Unknown to me, the organization planned the business meeting and agenda items for presentation directly after my speech. The majority of attendees had arrived late due to a major traffic accident, missed networking and an opportunity to view my table before the evening’s program began.

It was late, I was tired, I was trapped. Short of offending folks by taking down my products table and leaving in the middle of their meeting, I could see no graceful way out of my dilemma. So, I waited, and I waited, and I waited some more. I watched the audience begin to trickle out as the night deepened, morning beckoned and the meeting droned on. Oh well, I thought, win some and lose some. At that thought, a small still voice within cautioned me, “The night isn’t over until you’re home. Be patient. Wait and see.”

What a concept. That evening I fell into a “why bother” trap. Have you ever been hungry, angry, lonely or tired AND have to perform in some way? I think we all have at one time or another. The challenge is to step back and change your attitude. I do it by commenting to myself, “SHow fascinating….this meeting is long, I’m tired, etc.” Distancing ourselves from the apparent upset and accepting that there is something fascinating to be learned moves us into a state of cooperation with the events as they unfold, rather than what we project they should be.

Sure enough, patience was the name of the game that evening. As the unwieldy business meeting, raffle and auction drew to a close, the president asked the audience to stop by my table. A short time later, I sold everything I brought with me, handed out information and re-connected with my audience. I was the last one to leave the room, satchel empty, pockets full.

He (she) wins who endures to the end. If you’re tired, over worked and out of patience, just take a moment - breathe in, breathe out and “wait and see.” It may be a cliché, but, “It ain’t over til it’s over.”

Copyright 2005 Lin Morel. You are welcome to use this article online in electronic newsletters and e-zines as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info).

Too hard to start a business, you say? Think again. Does it take
sustained effort and discipline to start your own business?
Absolutely. Are you capable of exerting yourself that much?
Certainly. In fact, you’ve probably done it lots of times. You
remember in school how you had to work for hours, days and even
weeks on a single assignment? And for what? A good grade that
would contribute to your overall evaluation at the end of the
term? That’s nice, but has it netted you anything? Maybe you
went on to college and even graduate school… Talk about
sustained effort and discipline! It goes something like this…
You spend hours doing research in order to complete a project in
order to get a good grade on that assignment in order to get a
passing grade in the class in order to complete the semester
successfully in order to finally get a degree in order to have
to then start looking for a way to earn a living. Whew!!! Am I
anti-education? No, I truly am not. I do, believe, however, that
much of our effort is simply “jumping through hoops” that yield
little if any profitable returns. So why is it that many people
manage to jump through all of these hoops in order to make it
through school, but not nearly so many succeed in operating
their own home business? SUPPORT is the key. In school, you have
professors, advisors, peers, counselors, etc. who are there
dangling the tantalizing carrots in front of you each step of
the way. At your job, your boss, manager or supervisor does the
dangling. Or more likely threatens to withhold the carrot (your
paycheck) unless you continue to perform. And so you DO perform,
on time, come rain or shine, whether you feel like it or not,
etc. If you’re a “solo-preneur” as so many of us are, you have
to find a way to either dangle your own carrots or pay a mentor
who will. People balk at the idea of investing money in such a
seemingly “unnecessary” expense. But IS it unnecessary? If
you’re capable of generating your own motivation by being
accountable to your subscribers or by motivating other people,
or by being a regular contributor at forums, or by reading and
digesting a regular motivational newsletter or two, maybe you
don’t have to spend the money for outside help. But what happens
when you fall down, as you undoubtedly will from time to time?
(This is a good thing, by the way. It teaches you better than
any roadmap where the potholes are.) If you’re able to get back
up, dust yourself off, stand proud, and most importantly, GET
BACK IN THE GAME, then you are definitely on the right track.
Remember one thing, though. We don’t get very far all on our
own. Any millionaire will tell you that she or he didn’t do it
alone. You can choose to tap into other people’s knowledge and
motivation through their products, services, newsletters,
seminars, forums or mastermind groups. With such a wide array
available, there’s something that’s bound to appeal to every
personality type and budget. Any money invested in yourself, for
either your personal or professional gain, is money invested in
the very best asset you will ever have, your own remarkable
self. So is it too hard to succeed as an entrepreneur? Only if
you try to go at it alone. Fortunately, you are not alone. With
a little help from your friends, present and future, you DO,
indeed, have what it takes to succeed. Keep on truckin’, Friend.