2 Questions That Can Change Your Life

“Hey mom! Why do you cut the bone off the end of the ham?” the child asked. “You know? I am not sure; I guess it’s because my mother always did it. Why don’t you go into the living room and ask her why?“ Mom replied. “ Hey Grandma! Why did you cut the bone off the end of the ham?” Its simple grandma answered; “It wouldn’t fit in the oven!”

How many things do you partake in simply because that is what you have always done?

Two of the shortest but most powerful questions you can ask yourself are;

Eagles and Turkeys Don’t Flock Together.

“You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re spending all your time with the turkeys”

It’s been written that if I were to examine the lives of 5 of your closest friends I could probably describe your life pretty accurately. People tend to fellowship with those that have a very similar lifestyle. They shop at the same type of stores, their income brackets are usually very close, they have similar hobbies and they even tend to eat at the same kind of restaurants. While in and of itself this is not bad, it does tend to pose a problem for those wanting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and move upward. Even though friends and co-workers can do a pretty good job of keeping us where we are at they do very little in the way of assisting us up the ladder.

Become Success Minded!

Employers don’t like whiners, gossipers or complainers. None of those traits bring improvement to a bad situation and as a matter of fact, they cost companies money in lost productivity. The only thing that corrects problems or changes poor performance are solutions. That is where your mind needs to be.

If you are going to simplify your life you need to make sure you spend more time focusing on positive productive thoughts than entertaining negative destructive ones.

If you come across something that isn’t working or is causing a problem, instead of just bringing a complaint to your employer, try bringing with it a few ideas that will solve the problem. Employers are looking for people that think for themselves; the kind of person that sees a problem and corrects it immediately whether they caused it or not. Comments like “It’s not my job”, or “I didn’t do it” are not what employers want to hear. They look for successful results and the more problems you can solve, the more successful YOU will become in the process.

Effective Communication Tips

1. It’s not about you! Whenever you communicate, the one on the receiving end is always more important that the one on the sending. Think of your audience first; I mean before you speak, hit that send button, post that blog or mail that letter. Ask yourself: What do I want them to do after they receive this? How do I want them to feel when they read or hear what I have to say? What kind of an impact will this have on our relationships after they receive it? By putting your mind on the receivers end and thinking about your desired outcome, you will be more apt to work your content toward that outcome.

Learn how to say “No”

If you want to become as productive as possible and become a master at managing your tasks you must also become a master at saying no.

Here are 4 simple steps that will help you say no without sounding offensive.

I Quit!

I used to ski, I used to go camping every weekend in our motor home. I used to go to Nags Head for a week every year with the family, I used to have a boat and my wife and I would cruise the coast of Beaufort, fish and hit the islands for the best shells that washed up on shore the night before. I used to shoot pool; I used to go on vacation, a lot. There was even a time when we would have such big parties at my house that friends would come with their tents and campers. I used to play a lot of games, joke around and…… have fun; a lot of fun and then…….. I got busy.

Some people like to be busy — being busy is almost a status symbol to them, as if it shows you’re important and productive and a go-getter and achiever. If you’re texting during a power meeting and sending emails on your Blackberry and making calls during lunch you must be important, right? If you work 50-60 hours a week and take work home, you are better employee right?

Things are only as bad as you make or allow them to be.

I continually hear how people hope things will get better for them and how maybe now with a new president things will get better or now that gas prices are down or now that ……. Stop it already! To be honest I don’t want to hear it anymore. The only way a country gets better is for its people to get better and the only way for your life to get better is for you to get better. Sound harsh? Maybe but until people stop blaming everyone or everything else for their problems they will never change.

The only person responsible for your current situation AND your future is you.

Is the economy in great shape? No, that’s a fact but it will only affect you to the extent that you allow it. If your business slows down, you need to find different ways to receive income or different ways to market yourself. If you get laid off, you need to find another job. If there are no other jobs in your area of expertise, expand your area of expertise. Go back to school; take online courses, read something besides the sports section or glamour magazine. In other words, if the economy has affected you in a negative way, don’t whine about it, do something about it! Some people will allow their lives to be turned upside down from bad economic times while other will prosper. The difference? The choices they make!

Folks! You may not have a choice in the events that happen to you but you always have a choice how you respond to them. You can either become a problem solver or you can become a complainer. Which attitude do you think will live a healthier and happier life?

A pastor I know closed every sermon with the following request:

“Lord, help us to affect this world more than it affects us”

I love those words and try my best to live by them. Why don’t you do the same.

So…. The economy is in the pits right now, what are you going to do about it?

Bob.

If you know of anyone that may benefit from this post please do them a favor and forward it to them.
Why not receive Simplified Success Tips in your inbox today?

Fight Back!

Yesterday I read about Frank Bettger, a man whom at the age of 11 got up at 4:30 in the morning to sell newspapers to help his widowed mother make ends meet. He seldom had anything for dinner but cornmeal mush and watered down milk. At 14 he had to drop out of school to work as a steamfitter’s helper. There was no welfare, no unemployment, no food stamps, no HUD housing, and no, no-child left behind programs. You worked or you went hungry. You had to take care of yourself and if you had children, they helped. When Frank was injured in an accident at age 29 and was forced to give up his decent paying career he didn’t look for an unemployment check or file a workman’s compensation claim. Instead he started selling life insurance to make ends meet because that was the only job he could get without experience.

Some people would say that Franks story is a sad one, but not Frank. He wouldn’t trade it for anything because it was during those hard times that he learned how to work and work hard. He was forced to do his best or get fired and he learned the value of a dollar. He learned to save for the things he wanted and to make wise purchases. You see Frank’s story didn’t end here; the lessons life taught him the hard way are what gave him the drive and experience to become successful. So successful that he could have retired at 40 years old.

Today; hard work, dedication, commitment and saving for the things we want in life are rarely found. Doing what it takes to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads, even if it means taking a lower paid job is a rare trait as well.

Now we have government systems that hurt people and drain the economy by making them dependant on a hand out. We are bombarded by commercials to buy the latest and greatest while our mailboxes are filled with credit card offers. Then when we over extend ourselves because we can’t control our need to shop we have commercials from law firms telling us to fight back and file bankruptcy. Fight back?