Denny Strecker’s Blog

How do you start your day? Years ago I started planning mine by writing everything down I would have to do, the night before. I found that drawing up your list the night before prompts your subconscious to work on your plans and goals while you sleep. When you wake up, you feel ready to tackle your challenges.

When prioritizing and planning your time, consider the following points:

*** Key questions. ***

* What is the highest value-added action I can do?
* What can I and only I do that I’ve done well before to make a difference?
* Why am I on the payroll?
* The answers to these questions help identify all that needs to be done and in what order. That, in turn, will bolster personal productivity.

*** Values. ***

Decide what’s important to you, and in what order. Make sure your values don’t conflict with work. Energy spent worrying diminishes your abilities.

*** Consequences. ***

Every action has consequences - good and bad. Consider what rewards you’d reap by completing a task. Then, compare those rewards with the consequences of putting it aside. This process makes it easier to see which goals have a higher value.

* The Pareto Principle.

Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century engineer, argued that 20% of what you do accounts for 80% of the value. When considering the importance of a task, ask yourself whether it’s among the 20% that creates the most value.

* Urgency vs. Importance.

An unexpected phone call or a drop-in visitor may be urgent, but the consequences of dealing with either may not be important in the long run. The urgent is other-oriented, it’s caused by someone else.

Important things are self-directed and have the greatest value for you.

*** The Limiting Step. ***

Standing between you and what you want to achieve is the limiting step.

That’s the bottleneck that determines how quickly you can reach your goal. It’s important to identify that step and focus single-mindedly on getting that one thing done.

*** A Written Plan. ***

Lists of goals, tasks and objectives are of no help unless they’re written. Putting your plans on paper makes a seemingly elusive goal more concrete. There’s a connection that takes place between the brain and the hand. When you don’t write it down, it’s fuzzy, but as you write it and revise it, it becomes clear.

*** Visualization. ***

See yourself doing what you need to get done. Visualization trains the subconscious to focus on completing tasks. Say, for example, that you want to begin each morning by exercising. Visualizing yourself doing sit-ups and push-ups the night before conditions the mind to do those the next day. When you prime you mind, it wakes you up even before the alarm clock goes off.

Remember you are a winner and preparation goes a long way in helping you achieve all your goals.

About the Author:
Brian Tracy is a leading authority on personal and business success. As chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, he is the best-selling author of 17 books and over 300 audio and video learning programs.

By John Seeley

What do you desire that you don’t have now? A new job? A new relationship? A new home? Make a list of all the things you want in every category you can think of. Everything you desire that you don’t have is outside of your comfort zone. Do you want to release some weight or be in better shape? If you do, then you just got your answer on how to find everything else on your list. Einstein said, “To continue doing the same thing, expecting different results, is insanity.” The implication is if you want different results, you have to do something different.

That is where most people stop. They either feel that they can’t change, or they come up with reasons not to change. Either way, nothing new happens. Change is scary for many people. Men might not admit it, but it scares them too. Change usually represents the unknown. Fear of the unknown is a big cause of stuckness. If we can recognize the fear and push through it, we usually find that whatever we were afraid of isn’t as bad as we thought. Sometimes it’s not only pleasant but down right exciting!

Change happens instantly. Deciding to change usually takes time, sometimes years. The easiest way to change is the baby step process. Set your goal, but then break it down to very small and very doable tasks. Begin by choosing something you can definitely complete today. It could be as easy as looking up a phone number. You don’t even have to place the call. Just look up the number. You may find that you will place the call, but the goal was only to look up the number. When you complete your small goal, you are retraining your subconscious mind to work with you. Since the majority of our lives are run by our subconscious mind, it’s best to get it to align itself with our conscious mind.

Sometimes we don’t want to choose for fear we might make a mistake. Not choosing is a choice. It’s another way we stay stuck. Procrastination is putting off the inevitable, which usually makes it worse. Why not empower yourself by taking the time to evaluate your choices, choose the best one, and take action? If it’s something that involves something unpleasant, why not get it out of the way, which allows the healing to begin to take place?

Sometimes it helps if you have support while going though your changes. So build a support team. Find people that will be supportive of the changes you want to make. Oftentimes the people closest to you are actually the ones that oppose you changing. So be careful who you choose. A professional has your best interest at heart. Whether a coach, a trainer, a therapist, or a friend or family member, be sure they know how you want to be supported. We each like support in our own way. Once you have a plan and a support system in place, dip your toe in the water outside your comfort zone and see what you find. Chances are you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

As a thank you for reading my blog you are invited to a free teleseminar titled, “How To Create a Happy Home That Will Turn Your Child Into a Superstar!”

During this powerful 1 hour session, I will show you how to effectively create an environment that will improve your child’s self-confidence and self-esteem.  During this session, I will discuss:

- Effective Rules and How to Enforce Them
- Creating Quality Time
- Should Children Have Chores
- How to Teach Your Child the Value of Money
- What is the Responsibility Model?
- How to Empower Your Child For Success

I will demonstrate how to setup and use these ideas for your home in a fun and entertaining way. I will also discuss how to avoid becoming the Drill Sargeant
of the home.

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Seminar Details
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The one-hour seminar will be held:

Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Time: 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST

This session will be recorded, so you can listen to it later at you convenience!

To participate in the live tele-seminar or to get the recorded version, please go to:
http://www.dennystrecker.com/homeseminar.html

I am looking forward to fielding your questions on these important topics. Hope you can make it!

Want to be more highly valued…more highly compensated in the workplace?

 Become an expert at getting along effectively with ALL types of people.

Not just the ones who are easy for you to like. Anybody can get along with this group.

Learn to appreciate, to value, and to enjoy ALL different types of people in the workplace.

Lots of people are skilled in doing their work…but miss out on raises, increased responsibility, and advancement because they can’t get along with other people in the workplace.

This thinking should also be used by parents. Teach your child to get along with everyone at school and they will then have this skill by the time they get to the workplace.

My wife, Andrea and I went out last night to enjoy a nice dinner out. As generally happens, I start to watch parents and how they interact with their children. This evening was no exception. Unfortunately it rarely takes me long to find a parent who may have the best of intentions - but they don’t see the harm they are causing their child and tonight was no exception.

At dinner, we sat next to a mother and her young son who was probably 5 years old. She had a Bluetooth headset in one ear, while talking on a cell phone on the other ear, and she was texting while holding these other conversations. All the while, her son was left to entertain himself and what do you think happened?

 Mom did not care for the way he was entertaining himself so she would stop her conversations to scold him and tell him to “Stop that!” or “Knock it off!” There was very little - if any - other conversation between them that I saw.

 Now granted, I don’t know what they did before or after dinner. They may have had a fantastic conversation in the car or during the day…I wouldn’t bet on that as people tend to act in a similar fashion on a regular basis.

So what message was the mother sending her child? Everything else is more important than you! Spending time answering your cell phone or texting a message when you are with someone is poor etiquette in general - and even worse when you are with your children. Now I understand you may be a high power executive that is making decisions that will effect the entire company and you MUST be in contact 24 hours a day - and if you are one of those people, CONGRATULATIONS! Now you should have the authority to delegate work to others and let them know that you will be unavailable as you will be spending time with your family.

More often than not though, I hear general and non-relevant conversation going on about where they are, what they are doing, and what is going on later. Just because you are there with someone doesn’t mean you are spending time with them. I am certain the wives reading this know what I mean.

 It constantly surprises me that my clients are surprised when I don’t pick up the phone if we are in the middle of an important conversation. We will be in my office and a parent will be telling me about a challenge they are having with their child and the phone begins to ring.

The parent will almost always say, “Do you need to get that?”
To which I always reply, “No. Go on with what you were saying.”
After a couple of seconds of disbelief, they continue where they left off.

Here is the great thing about cell phones: they have a SILENT button. Even more important they all come with voicemail!

Here is the great thing about your regular phones: they have ANSWERING MACHINES.

Here is the great thing about your time: YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO ANSWER YOUR PHONE EVERY TIME IT RINGS!!

If you find it important enough that you are calling me, then it should be important enough that you leave me a message so I will call you back. If you don’t leave a message then your call could not have been that important. I don’t except the excuse:

“I don’t like to talk to machines so I will call back.”

To which I reply, “OK, and I will probably still be busy.”

Try it! Give yourself permission to not answer your phone. Give 100% of your attention to the person you are with - especially if it is your child - and watch how your relationships improve in the next couple of weeks.

3. Physical exercise. Run, jog, walk, and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

2. Positive attracts positive. Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins, and hazardous places.

And the Number One Way to be Happy:

1. LET GO, LET GO, LET GO! Letting go of the layers and layers of negative emotions, feelings, and habits is the number one critical key to being happy all the time. There is no way around this. Fortunately, there is a simple, all-natural way to do just that, quicker than you ever dreamed. It’s called the Abundance Course, and you can find out more at the link below.

These are the few simple things you can do every day to be happy.

And always remember Abraham Lincoln’s wise words: “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Decide to let go and be happy all the time right now. You can do it!

7. Laugh and laugh heartily every day. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say, “Laughter is the best medicine.”

6. Express your feelings, affections, friendship, and passion in healthy ways to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Let go of pent-up anger and frustrations, as this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

5. Working smart instead of hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives us a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us; they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel are worthy of your time. And don’t forget to celebrate them once they are completed!

4. Learning is a joyful experience. Try and learn something new every day. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons…and could also give us more opportunities in the future.

By Larry Crane 

Almost everyone has heard the hit single “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferrin’s simple message surely made a lot of people focus on happiness by simply telling them not to worry or fear, and just BE happy.

Living a happy, resilient, and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress (anxiety and fear) is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke. It is also what is keeping you from having total abundance on every level.

One of the better things ever said is “The only thing in life that doesn’t change is change,” and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation, we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too invariably must and will change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different. The key is accepting people for who or what they are, avoiding clashes and constant arguments, and LETTING GO of all of your resentments, fears, and negative habits that are holding you back.

To be happy is relatively easy; it begins with a decision. Simply decide to be a happy person.

Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really; choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this:

11. Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner, and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mail, thank the police officer for making your place safe, and thank God for being alive. Whatever you can find to be grateful for, find it.

10. News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can’t start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it — 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad, fearful news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do, does it?

9. A religious or spiritual connection is also recommended. Being part of a spiritual or religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers, and meditations foster inner peace.

8. Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do, and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine-tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

To be continued tomorrow…

Have you ever noticed that some people brighten up the room when they come in?

And other people give off a negativity that’s contagious…dampening the mood of

the room and the people in it?

The underrated quality?   Cheerfulness.

Plain old, vanilla cheerfulness.

Don’t be a sourpuss. Add  to the good feeling wherever you go!

Change can be upsetting. We get used to doing things in certain ways…and then something changes! We feel inconvenienced, or threatened, or somehow certain that things won’t be as good as they once were.

And, yet, somehow things always seem to stabilize. The comfort level we feel with the “old” way is relative. Because, before the “old” way – it used to be a different way. And the old way was once the new, uncomfortable way.

Whether we like it or not, changes continue to come. About the only thing that doesn’t change is that things DO change!

If you can, relax and enjoy the journey. Change usually brings unexpected, pleasant surprises.