Create Business Success From the Inside Out

In today's fast moving, global world, many people suffer from the modern problem of information overload. We get bombarded by TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet, and the average person sees around 10'000 adverts a day.

As a consequence, we get intellectually, emotionally and psychologically overloaded about the way we should be living. This means that you start to doubt yourself because you live from the outside in. The media and the people around you are telling you how you should be living, that you should have that BMW and that boat. Because your friends are doing it, and so should you. In this scramble of keeping up, you don't stop and ask yourself whether you actually want it, or even whether it's logical.

The psychological literature calls this "normative influence", and in marketing it is known as "social proof".

Isn't it time for you to get in touch again with what's important to you?

You as a business person will have noticed that the pressure of doing more and more in the business is not getting you the success and results anymore that you are hoping for, because you are too caught up with "doing things".

Now, taking action is a very important component of business success, especially when the action is planned and is relevant to a well set goal. In a future article, we will look at how you can set achievable goals and create an action plan that allows you to reach your goals much more easily.

This article shows you how you can change small things in the way you think and do things, in other words change things on the inside which then have a big impact on your success. We will look at the 5 key factors of success and how you can apply them in your business and in your life.

This means that even if you're not in business, this is for you because these inside-out changes do not just transform business, they can transform lives, because they come from the inside.

Making changes from the inside out creates leverage, and this has a profound effect on business. W. Clement Stone says it beautifully when he writes "Little hinges swing big doors". Because by making small adjustments you can get big results. This is called leverage.

Do you make these common mistakes?

There has been an interesting study done by Pham and Taylor at the University of California. They took 5000 students and asked them what their goals were. They all had great goals and all of them had the greatest of intentions of achieving these goals. When they followed up 5 years later, they found that only 10% reached their goals. Now, it's interesting to check what these 10% did that was different from the 90% who didn't reach their goals.

What doesn't work?(remember, 90% of the participants did this. If you are currently doing these... GOOD! This means there's room for improvement!)

Visualising how perfect your life will be when _______ happensFocus on the negativeTry to suppress unhelpful thoughtsRely on will power (and grit your teeth)Motivate yourself by focusing on someone you admire

Here's what works (this is what the 10% of participants did who reached their outcomes)

Visualise the path and the actions you need to take to achieve success, not just your destination. This will create a step-by-step plan allowing you to achieve your goal.Focus on the positive aspects of reaching your goal, and having an objective checklist. For example one item on that checklist could be, "What qualities will I enjoy when I reach my goal?"Record your progress along the way. A spreadsheet software program works well for this where you can draw up charts to make a visual representation of how far you've come.Reward your progress. These rewards and celebrations don't need to be big. Extra time off, or a nice meal in a restaurant works well.Tell other people about your goal. This keeps you accountable and is an important source of leverage.

Don't climb the mountain on your own!

A series of studies, this time carried out by Simone Snall at the University of Plymouth, found the following interesting results:

Participants were taken to the bottom of a mountain. They were then asked to estimate how steep the mountain was, and how difficult it would be to climb it.

Participants who were there with a friend estimated the mountain to be 15% easier to climb than the participants who were there on their own.

What this indicates is that when you set out to achieve a goal or an outcome, it makes it easier when you take someone with you, say a friend or a partner. They can take the steps with you, they can be there with you, and very importantly, they hold you accountable.

A 1999 study by Brigham Young University shows that, in addition to having a clear goal, making an action plan, and measuring your results, if you have a coach or mentor who holds you accountable, you have a 95% chance of more success than if you do it on your own without a clear goal and a plan on how to reach it.

Make a commitment and think of one thing from this article that you're going to implement today. Or perhaps you've already started to implement one of the things you've been reading about here. And as you're noticing a change from the inside out, I look forward to reading your comments, observations and views below.

To your success from the inside out

Evelyne

Evelyne Draper is an NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Coach. She offers NLP coaching for business people and people who want to improve the quality of their lives. Very often people are not aware of how much their attitudes and beliefs influence how successful they are in business and in life. She is passionate about helping people achieve the results they want. For more information, go to http://www.nlpskills.org/. Evelyne lives in Wellington, New Zealand, with her partner Michael, and when she's not helping other people get what they want, she likes to go on long walks in and around Wellington, along the beaches and exploring nature.

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What The Subconscious Mind Really Is And How To Use It To Your Advantage

What is the subconscious mind? In simple words, it is the part of your brain that has all memories and thoughts kept within it. These thoughts and memories are not in your conscious mind at that point in time, but they are still part of your mind. The subconscious is used to store all sorts of things in your daily life from your habits, to your memories and experiences in different situations.

To understand how the subconscious mind works, let's take a look at an example. When you are learning to use a new machine at work and you are new to the whole experience, you are paying attention to every movement you make so that you use it correctly. At such a time, you are not able to perform other activities like talking. You are using your conscious mind to learn how to use the machine. However, after some practice, when you are familiar with the experience, you will be able to talk when working and even do other things like using your phone. You will no longer need to use your conscious mind to work with the machine. Your subconscious mind has all the mechanical actions of using the machine stored in it that help you drive, while you do other things with your conscious mind. Other actions that are performed by the subconscious mind include your habits such as switching on lights when you enter a room and even breathing. These are all mechanical actions that are store in our subconscious mind.

What good is our subconscious mind for? How can it help us? It plays an important role in the way you think. The messages that you pass on to your mind, such as feelings of trust etc all affect the way you think. So whatever you experience or feel determines the way you think because of your subconscious. By sending positive messages to it, you will end up thinking positively and optimistically. Most people do not understand this science, but it is very simple. If you look at things in a positive manner, your subconscious mind forces you to think in a positive manner and vice versa.

The subconscious mind is also responsible for your health. If you are too stressed, it registers your stress and it affects your health. It has even been researched that if patients are told that they are being given medication for their illness when instead they are just consuming sugar pills, most of them will claim that they are feeling better. That is the power of the subconscious mind. It can help your health as well.

You simply need to learn how to use your subconscious mind to your advantage. We have talked about 2 ways; your perception towards life and your health. There are many other ways in which you can use it to your advantage. Try exploring the different possibilities of how to use it and you will be amazed when you learn about the power within you.

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Tai Chi - My Laptop Just Did Tai Chi

What's That - My Laptop Just Did Tai Chi

As I sat there watching my laptop work away, I was blow away by the similarity between what I was witnessing and the experiences of a seasoned Tai Chi practitioner...

I recently upgraded my internet connection to a wireless one. Something I had wanted to do for a couple of years, so I researched by asking friends and techie types in computer stores, but was always receiving conflicting views on how stable a wireless as against a wired connection was.

The wired connection was fine apart from three points, 1. My artist wife Gisela could not use the notebook in her studio, 2. I fancied using my laptop in the garden. 3. We had a wire trailing across the top of the stairs to my office computer in a spare bedroom. Neither of these was convenient and in the case of the wire at the top of the stairs downright dodgy safety wise.

Then along came a well respected friend of the techie brigade and he assured me he thought we would be fine. In fact he had recently moved house and changed his ISP for his broadband connection who had kindly given him another router. This is the hardware that connects to the phone line and the other computers without needing wires. He offered to set it up for us using his old spare router and if we were not happy with it we could simply revert back to our wired system.

A free trial and easy to revert back to old system meaning no risk, I had no problem with that. So along he came a few days later and said it would take probably half an hour - Yeh right! We are dealing with computers here - So one and half hours later and a telephone call to my ISP for technical assistance, which I must say were excellent, we got connected. They supplied information we needed that we would never have discovered ourselves. Here is a very important point about learning the depth of Tai Chi or any other field of study, requiring sustained effort over time. But perhaps that should be the topic of another article as I am in danger of running off the subject of this one.

Over the next few days all seemed fine and so I grew in confidence using this new technology. Gisela took her notebook into her studio whilst working away on her mosaics and listening to YouTube.

A short time later we had a fine day and I took my laptop into the garden to do some work on our free monthly Tai Chi newsletter while getting some welcome sun on my face.

Then it hit me my laptop has just done Tai Chi.

You see, I needed a file from my other computer in my upstairs office, and here I was now downloading a file to my laptop from my computer upstairs in the house. No Wires, no obvious link between the two computers, and Bob's your uncle, there was the file. No trekking upstairs and sifting though this computer's files, then transferring it to a pen stick (a small storage device making it easy to transfer from one computer to another).

The very thing that separates Tai Chi exercises from most other forms of exercise is the way it works on and builds up the energy system of the body. Students new to Tai Chi exercises are usually concerned with improving their physical health and enjoying the relaxing feeling Tai Chi practise brings. Through the regular practise of Tai Chi and its sister arts of Kai Men and Dao Yin the benefits to your health are many and long lasting.

But, assuming they are still around in a few years time students usually become fascinated by the energy side of Tai Chi. Now before you think I am one of those airy fairy types who are off their rocker on cloud nine, let me point out that science now states that everything is energy. It is just that those solid objects vibrate at a different level to us and other things. Everything all around us inside and out is energy vibrating at different frequencies. Just because we can not see that does not mean it is not real.

If you care to read a book about the fascinating things that scientists are working on at the moment. The 'Dance of the 'WU LI MASTERS' by Gary Zukav An overview of the new physics is one amazing book. Check out 'The Dancing WU LI MASTERS' on YouTube where Gary talks about the book. There are many others to choose from, the 'The Dao of Physics' an Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, by physicist Fritjof Capra is another book I found informative and thought provoking.

Al Chung-Liang Huang a Tai Chi Master

Among contributors to the 'Dance of the WU LI Masters' is Al Chung-Liang Huang a Tai Chi Master. For me this books technical explanation were not always easy reading, but in most areas things are explained in language that is easily understandable and these are the areas I found totally fascinating. I drove my poor students mad for months afterwards as I linked things from the book to my lessons in Tai Chi, the comparisons were amazing. After 38 years studying and teaching Tai Chi, to me the principles appear in almost everything I learn about anything else. But how could it otherwise, Tai Chi exercises are based on the natural laws of the universe and everything in the universe must adhere to these principles also.

When we think - We activate our energy - Energy moves the body

So when we practise Tai Chi, we must first calm the mind, bring it under control and direct it to our purpose. If you haven't got a purpose for learning Tai Chi, it is doubtful you will continue for long. The mind untrained is like an unruly child. Undisciplined it will run into trouble sooner rather than later. Controlling the mind is one of Tai Chi's necessary traits and also attributes. So if you haven't got a purpose for your practise, bringing your mind more under your control may well be a good one for you.

Although your initial purpose does not have to be so lofty an ideal to start with, just wanting to relax more or get out the house and meet other people is enough to keep you going at the start.

Getting back to the computer when you want to use it to accomplish a task you open the required program and start the work. But first you had a thought, a purpose, something you wanted to achieve. Once you have that you can find the tools i.e. program in this case to start the work. A computer will not work unless it has energy (electricity). Then driven by your purpose, you can produce an email, edit a photo, create a drawing, write and article and send that out into the world to whoever you choose to.

Our brain is rather like a computer, it has a memory section (hard drive). The ability to analyze data with its processor assisted by its loaded programs, not unlike our power of reason that allows us to analyze information which we pass through our past experiences to come to a conclusion of the way forward.

Our brain then gives out instructions and our energy mobilizes to give fuel to our muscles and thought processes so we can carry out the task at hand. Without energy none of this is possible.

However, most of us never give this subject any thought, like our breathing we take it for granted, we assume it is an automatic function of our existence, and it is. But if for some reason we struggle to breathe or suffer a lack of energy we soon realise that a lack of either is very restrictive indeed.

So it would seem to me a good idea to learn a little about our energy systems. Not because we are in short supply now but to ensure that if in the future should we become deficient we will always have a way of ensuring we can build up adequate reserves again.

My Tai Chi teacher Master Chee Soo use to say when you are born you have a bucket full of chi when you use it up you die, so don't waste it.

When we are young we think we are indestructible and often flitter away out energy in unhealthy practices and behaviour. As we get older and develop we learn to conserve our energy and to the extent we do this we keep our health into old age.

Tai Chi teaches us to relax and conserve our energy and also how to replenish it, prolonging its life and keeping the quality of our chi good. Like the computer needs electricity to function, we need our chi, the quality and quantity should be of great concern to us. Healthy pastimes such as Tai Chi exercises along with correct breathing and good quality healthy food can make a vast difference to the quality of life we experience.

There are many forms of exercise available today but not many that have been around for as long as Tai Chi. Tai Chi survives because is it as perennial as the earth under our feet. Based on nature itself, a tool for self-development and in my opinion Tai Chi is the best health exercise system there is, bar none.

Howard Gibbon - Tai Chi teacher - Author - Publisher

Visit Howard's website to download your free Tai Chi book and learn the first three sets in the comfort of your own home, includes a video of the first 20 moves performed by Master Howard Gibbon and his wife on the cliff top in Scarborough, North Yorkshire near their home.

Website: http://www.howardgibbon.com/

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How To Think Good Thoughts In 5 Simple Steps

It's quite easy to learn how to think good thoughts. It simply takes a little bit of practice on your part, especially if you're not used to it in the first place. But once it becomes second nature to you, nothing will ever get in the way of your goal again.

What else are you waiting for? Start learning how to think good thoughts by following the steps below:

Step 1: Start Your Day Right.

Begin your morning routine with a positive attitude. When you wake up, think of all the opportunities that await you. Get out of bed with a sense of purpose. Take a refreshing bath and look forward to breakfast.

By starting your morning right, you are setting the pace for the rest of your day. When you find yourself getting out of the wrong side of bed, snap out of your negative stupor and get right back to thinking positive things.

Step 2: Read Inspiring Stories.

Learn how to think good thoughts by feeding your mind with inspiring stories. Read about the lives of those who have overcome paralyzing circumstances and have gone on to fulfill their purpose. Learn from their experiences and apply them to your own situation.

There are a lot of negative influences out there, but a simple shift in perspective can lead you to a brighter and better outlook in life.

Step 3: Revisit Your Goals.

To help you focus on positive thoughts, think about what you want to achieve in life. Think about your dreams and ambitions; fantasize about accomplishing all the things that you've always wanted to accomplish.

By revisiting your goals, you are motivating yourself to dwell on the things that make you think and feel good.

Step 4: Send Positive Messages.

To think good thoughts more often, you need to practice sending good vibes to other people as well. Give people compliments, text them inspiring quotes, or simply smile at those who you meet on the street.

Step 5: Create Your Own Mantra.

Mantras can be very powerful. You can pick a quote from any of your favorite writers, books or personalities. Or come up with something completely your own. Whenever you're feeling down, you just have to repeat the mantra to yourself to keep you back on track.

Learning how to think good thoughts is very important. No one is exempted from having a bad day; but armed with these 5 easy steps, you'll at least be able to defend yourself.

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Extreme Minimalism

Hi, I'm Alan. My full name is Alan Angela. I work in an office. But I'm not satisfied and unhappy with my job. I always believe that I should be a traveler and I would like to have more freedom. That's why I have decided to move towards extreme minimalism.

To achieve more freedom and more pleasure I'm trying to maintain minimalist principles i.e. omit needless things, identify the essential, make everything count etc. To achieve extreme minimalism I'm trying to learn many things about being minimalist and trying to maintain the things which I should follow such as to start by realizing I already have enough, cutting back on clutter, slowly edit everything and possessions and simplifying my schedule.

Minimalism is just a fancy word for keeping my life simple and my priorities straight. Being minimalist is a way to achieve balance in my life. By limiting myself in life to what is absolutely essential to my existence, I'll have more time for myself. I'll have more time to exercise and cook beautiful dinners again. I'll be able to focus on career goals that matter and not simply cranking out the next widget.

My biggest aim is to pack as lightly as possible as to keep my itinerary loose and light. I travel with just a carry-on bag, and don't check luggage, to make things as hassle-free as possible. My carry-on is just a small backpack. Here's my list I carry all times during travel: 4 shirts, 4 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, 1 pair of jeans, 1 jacket, Cell phone, cell phone charger, Cash, credit cards and Passport.

The path to a minimalist life is not an easy one. In order to achieve extreme minimalism my home will be:

a. Less stressful
b. More appealing.
c. Easier to clean.
d. Minimal furniture.
e. Clear surfaces.
f. Quality over quantity.

The definition of a minimalist workspace will be different for each person. The most extreme minimalist workspace, I think, would be to have no desk or papers or computer or anything of the kind - just yourself. You'd think, and talk, and maybe sit on the floor.

Minimalist Food will be very simple. Common answer is to eat less. How to eat less some ideas are following:

a. Eat until you're almost full
b. Eat smaller, lighter meals
c. Eat lots of fiber-rich and water-rich foods,
d. Avoid the restaurants that serve huge amount

With extreme minimalism finances don't have to be one of the most complicated things in your life. To save money I follow some things that I use cash not credit. I always try not to buy anything unless I need it, and only if I have the money. I think the first best step secret to happiness you can take to be happy, right here, right now, is to stop buying useless physical objects that you think will make you happy and the second best step you can take is to start eliminating the clutter in your life. Do this until you've pared down your possessions to the absolute necessities for your life.

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Contributors of Negative Energy in Life: Self-Worth Tied to Money

I had started discussing the topic of money in my last blog article. The idea is to understand money as a neutral entity in our lives. Money is neither good nor bad. It is the feelings associated with money, which are good or bad; positive or negative. However, money in reality is just neutral. Let us understand this better.

Most people do not like to discuss the topic of money as it makes them remember their deficiencies, and what they cannot do in their lives. For some, money means more confidence, esteem and power. Either way, the point is that somewhere down the line in modern evolution, money started getting associated to our self-worth. It is mainly because the people with more money tend to enjoy things that those with less money cannot. We need money for everything right from life nurturing food to life saving medicines. But ultimately, money is just an agent of purchase, nothing more and nothing else.

Still, whether we like it or not, somehow many of us feel only as worthy as our bank balance suggests. Funny thing though, as the bank balance keeps changing almost all the time. Does this mean that our self-worth also keeps varying? It is indeed an uncomfortable thing to admit. But if at all anyone sees themselves in this thought, I urge them to keep reading and start pondering over this thought.

I like my mentor, Bob Proctor's reflection over this. He says, "Most of us are born with infinite potential, some of us are just a little short of money".

We indeed are born with infinite potential. No one can ever tell us with even a remote shot at accuracy what we are, or are not capable of achieving. This is because all those who have been born with a functional mind have powers within them that they themselves do not recognize and realize. The society has no doubt given us many benefits, but it has also done many damages. The main one is that it continuously teaches us a lesson to conform.

Archibald MacLeish, the famous American writer, poet and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright writes in one of his plays, "The only thing about a man, that is a man, is his mind. Rest everything you find in a pig or a horse." This is a truth, which is known to just about everyone. Still, people instead of realizing their real worth, tend to associate them with a non-living entity - money. This is not to say that there are no other things that we associate our self-worth to. There are indeed many other things, for example, affection, relationships, physical appearance, how busy we can keep ourselves, etc. But presently, we shall focus on just money.

When our self-worth is tied to money, the latter becomes extremely important to us. What we often fail to see is that it is not money but our own self-worth that we wish to enhance.

Since, self-worth is intangible, we cannot see it. So, we focus on what is tangible. This is incidentally also true for other things mentioned above.

Have you ever noticed how money-making becomes an all time consuming pursuit for some people that they do not even devote any time to spend what they earn? This is because they feel worthy only if they are constantly making more and more money.

Such people do not realize that what really increases their self-worth is when they realize and start using their true potential. This is when they start doing what they are put on this planet to do, and their lives become purposeful. This is the only thing that can make us feel truly worthy. It is not money or any other things for that matter, although they are no doubt, extremely important.

Let us dissociate our self-worth from whatever entities it may be falsely tied with. Money makes a good starting point to begin the process. When we do this, only then we truly feel free to see ourselves in a new light. Stripped of all these entities, when we see our own worthiness we experience living a truly worthy life.

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Withhold Wrongdoing

Not long ago, I was talking to a Christian fellow at the local Starbucks. As we got to talking, he realized that I was one without religion, and he immediately questioned my ethics. I thought this was rather interesting, because religion has nothing to do with ethics. In fact many groups have been slaughtered over religious ideals, and they have killed their fellow man merely over a difference in belief. I would submit to you that that is an unethical action, and yet it was their religion which allowed them to do it in good faith.

Indeed, they believed they were doing the right thing, in the name of their God. This is completely problematic. Someone who is an agnostic, or an atheist is not necessarily unethical. And just because someone calls themselves a; Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any of a number of world religions does not automatically make that individual one with integrity, honesty, and a solid core of ethics. Now then, I would submit to you that it's up to every individual to withhold wrongdoing onto others, to live up to your ideals, regardless of where they come from.

Human beings have a mind, they can figure out what's right and wrong, it should be obvious. Anyone with a relatively average level of intelligence knows the difference. They hardly need to read it in a religious doctrine. In fact, I was rather taken aback by the nice Christian fellow at the Starbucks somehow suggesting that I did not have the moral foundation to do the right thing. It seemed to me that was about the heaviest insult that one could lay on another individual. And yet, he believed that with every bit of this fiber, he believed that those that were not Christian, could not possibly be ethical.

That is truly amazing. Over the years, I've met others who were either agnostic or atheist and I've asked them why they did something, perhaps they did something for the common good, volunteered with the local community, or raised money for important charity. Their answer has always been; "because it was the right thing to do." No one had to tell them that it was the right thing to do, they inherently knew the difference between right and wrong, and knowingly engaged in an empathetic, and righteous action.

We must all withhold wrongdoing, and when we see wrongdoing happening, we should stand up and say something. We should also be able to look in our own mirrors, know when we've made a mistake, and correct the problem. It takes a man to do that, and that man could be of any religion, or no religion at all. Indeed I hope you will please consider this and think on it, but most of all I hope you will withhold wrongdoing in your life.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,500 articles by August 24th or 25th will be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

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