July 2007

MARK'S DAILY THOUGHTS: July 2007

2007-07-01 - Discipline your Thinking
Discipline is what can power all of us to achieve great results. We achieve everything by taking action, and all action begins with our thoughts. Therefore, disciplining our thinking is our ultimate driver of success. We all have the answers inside us to life's challenges, and it is just a matter of disciplining (focusing) our thinking in order to find them faster.

2007-07-02 - Actions Drive Attitudes
Everyone talks about how having the right attitude is important in life. However, a good attitude doesn't just happen! Good attitudes often come from taking action and seeing the results of those actions. Actions drive attitudes, and remember; you have never seen a person with a great attitude who was lazy.

2007-07-03 - Stretch Yourself to Discover your Potential
Everyone needs to be constantly stretching himself or herself to understand their true potential. If you keep doing the same things and never challenging yourself, how would you ever know what your true potential is? Take a look at your life right now. Are you stretching yourself (to grow) in the right areas?

2007-07-04 - Be Willing to be a Little Unreasonable
Sometimes to accomplish great things, we have to be unreasonable. It often takes doing what others are not prepared to do that makes us successful. To the successful people, it is just something they need to do that's going to get them to their goals. To others, it just appears a little unreasonable.

2007-07-05 - Shut Off the "Why Bother" Voice
We all have heard the inner voice inside us say, "why bother". It was always when we thought of something big to do and our inner voice was telling us it was not possible. Successful people have shut off that "why bother" voice permanently. They view everything as possible and never let others or even themselves tell them it's not.

2007-07-06 - Be Afraid Not to Do it
Everyone gets afraid. However, there's a big difference between successful people and unsuccessful people with being afraid. Unsuccessful people are afraid to take action and never accomplish everything they would like to. Successful people are afraid not to take action and accomplish great things. Be afraid not to do it. Take action today.

2007-07-07 - Get Good at Marketing Yourself
Everyone is in marketing to be successful. We all need to market ourselves, and both communicate & demonstrate our value to others. The starting point is being clear on our value and in what ways we can provide it. Remember, good marketing is simply showing our value to others in ways that they see the benefits to them.

2007-07-08 - What will you do with Success?
Success is something everyone strives for and defines it for themselves in all different ways. Once you have your definition of success, why not take the time to decide what you will do with it. What will you do for others or what legacy will you leave behind by using the success you achieve?

2007-07-09 - Plans Need to Be Specific
We all know that planning ahead is important for us to achieve our goals in the right timeframes. However, we often don't get specific enough in our plans. Our plans need the right level of details to make sure we keep taking consistent action, as consistent action always delivers faster.

2007-07-10 - See Beyond your Current Circumstances
The majority of people can never see themselves not being in their current circumstances. Successful people view their circumstances not as fixed, but something they can change. They have goals and plans that help them see beyond their current circumstances. You can too.

2007-07-11 - A "but" Devalues the Thoughts of Others
Some people really use the word "but" far too often. You will use it less when you think of the word "but" in the following way. The word "but" devalues the thoughts of others as in - I agree with you..., but... Eliminate "but", and use the word "and" instead.

2007-07-12 - Big Dreams and Action Attract Big People
Most people don't accomplish much in life because they don't dream big enough. You attract into your life the size of people equal to your dreams and action. If you want to accomplish great things, big dreams and action will attract the very people who will help you achieve it.

2007-07-13 - Question the Way Things Are
All advancements in the world have come from people who questioned how things were. They simply didn't accept what others had said to them. When you question the way things are, you start to "Think"; and thinking leads to "Change".

2007-07-14 - Once Your Mind Buys In
It is really true. Once you have convinced yourself that you can do something, nothing will stop you and you will overcome any challenges that get in your way. With that being true, the best thing for all of us to do on anything new is to first convince ourselves that we can do it. Then, it is almost a given that we will achieve it.

2007-07-15 - Learning to Say No
A key habit to develop and understand well is the ability to say no. If we want to be successful, we cannot say yes to everything. We sometimes have to say No to the "good", so that we can say Yes to the "best". A great criterion to use for saying Yes or No is: Will this take me closer or further away from reaching my goals?

2007-07-16 - Never Allow a Bad Day to be Visible
The happiest and most successful people have bad days just like everyone else. However, the big difference is that no one can spot them. These people have made the decision to not "bring to others" the problems they have. They know that they will get more help from others and enjoy the day better if they look past their problems and just get on with it.

2007-07-17 - "Ask" is more Powerful than "Tell"
All successful salespeople know this very well. When they are asking questions, they are in control of the conversation and are learning more and more about the customer. So you see, asking versus telling gives you more information, and as they say; information is power.

2007-07-18 - Execution is What It's All About
There are a great number of people who are good talkers and give wonderful presentations about what they are going to do. However, talking is never doing, and the people who are great at execution (doing) are the ones who achieve great success. Watch your talk versus DO ratio.

2007-07-19 - You've Got to Know that You Have It
Everyone has inside themselves the abilities for greatness. The successful people know what's inside them and this creates the expectation that they will achieve what they set as their targets or goals. It's not ego, just a strong expectation. Invest the time in yourself to create that expectation in you.

2007-07-20 - Be Prepared When Opportunities Come Along
Opportunities are always coming to the people who are focused and have goals. It is almost magical as to how you attract these opportunities when you have a focus. However, you need to be prepared to take advantage of those opportunities when they arrive. That's why your own personal development plan and actions are important, as it will prepare you for both the opportunities (and challenges) that come your way.

2007-07-21 - Your Income is Determined by your Thinking
People who get this will always be more successful and earn more money than others. Your income is determined by your thinking. First, it is whether you think you are worthy of that higher-level income, your beliefs. Second, it is based on whether you invest in quality thinking time to create your goals and plan your actions. Remember, your income is based on your thinking.

2007-07-22 - Lift your Attitude
Whenever you have a problem that is causing you stress, why not focus first on lifting your attitude. Call a positive friend; re-read past positive emails or positive comments about yourself. When you lift your attitude you see the same problem in a different way and often see more ideas and solutions as well.

2007-07-23 - Takes 100% Responsibility for your Life
There are many people going through life expecting others to make things happen for them. When others don't, then these people will always blame everyone else than themselves. These types of people are basically giving up responsibility of their lives to others. Success and happiness comes when we take 100% responsibility for our lives.

2007-07-24 - The Outcome of any Strategy is Resolve
If you think about it, the key outcome of any strategy is the resolve to make it happen. That means the disciplines we are prepared to accept in order to execute the strategy. In business, we have all seen beautiful strategies on PowerPoint slides, perfectly logical; but then never implemented. These people just didn't have the resolve to carry them out. Have the resolve to carry out your strategies and plans.

2007-07-25 - Alignment of Words and Actions
There's a nice way to describe integrity. It is the alignment of a person's words and actions. The people you trust in life are the people who do what they say. To gain more trust from others, remind yourself daily to take strong action on anything you say you will do.

2007-07-26 - What's Inside Drives the Outside
Our lives are driven by what's inside us. Often we think that others and circumstances are driving our lives. However, the circumstances we find ourselves in were created by our own decisions and actions. To change our outside world, we need to change our inside world first. A change in our thinking leads to a change in our decisions and our actions.

2007-07-27 - Dedication and Discipline
There are two powerful "D's" for success. First, the dedication to do whatever it takes to achieve the success your desire. Second, the discipline to both focus yourself on what is most important, and to create the necessary habits to do the daily and weekly actions to achieve that success. If you are not achieving all you want to, review your level dedication and discipline.

2007-07-28 - The Biggest Problem is Playing it Safe
If you think about it, the biggest problem we all have is playing it safe. Playing it safe is not really motivating, nor does it challenge us to grow. Also, it is probably the least safe option as the world is changing so fast; playing it safe actually is putting us at more risk. Are there any areas in your life where you are playing it safe?

2007-07-29 - Same Facts - Different Reactions
We each look at the world and situations in different ways. We can have the same facts, and react in different ways as well. Understanding this and keeping it mind each day will help each of us to be more adaptable in our day-to-day interactions with others. Remember, others will see and react in different ways.

2007-07-30 - Real Impact is in Being One-on-One
When you are a leader, the time you can have the greatest impact is in your one-on-one sessions with your key people. Your key people are driving the success of your organisation, and this is the time you can discuss the important goals & actions to reach both your key people's and your organisation's success. Remember to set specific outcomes for each of these one-on-ones.

2007-07-31 - Behaviours Precede Results
Your best consultants will always be able to tell more from observing the behaviours of your people than by looking at your financials. Behaviours always precede results. How people focus on the goals and work together is always a true indicator of the future sustained success or not. If you are a leader, take notice of the behaviours you see in your organisation.

June 2007 « » August 2007

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