Personal Development for the 21st Century: May 2007

Friday, 11 May 2007

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I came across a site which posts interesting new quotes daily. Just click here:

Quote of the Day RSS

http://feeds.feedburner.com/brainyquote/QUOTEBR

Love Quote of the Day RSS

http://feeds.feedburner.com/brainyquote/QUOTELO

I recommend Jim Rohn's book as an excellent source of quotes. This is available from his website or click on the banner.

Friday, 4 May 2007

Set Your Goals on Paper

Do you have clear goals? Have you written them down? We are always hearing about goals and how important they are and yet most people only have vague goals.

A study was conducted with the Yale Graduating Class of 1953. They surveyed all the students asking them whether they had written down goals for their life:

3% had put their goals in writing
97% had not written down goals or even thought of any at all.

Twenty years later, these same people were re-interviewed. The astonishing result was the the 3% who had written down their goals were enjoying incomes ten times greater than those of the 97% combined!

Many people think of goals in terms of their buying power for materialistic items like a big house with a pool, a sports car, a boat, a new kitchen but for a truly balanced life choose goals in each of these six areas:

Family and Home
Financial and Career
Spiritual and Ethical
Physical and Health
Social and Cultural
Mental and Educational

Rather than only financial goals, consider the sort of family you want to have, the sports you wish to pursue, clubs you wish to join, community groups you can contribute to, voluntary programs you can join, how far you want to go in formal education and the subjects you will study in your adult life. I have a friend who is reading two Bachelor degrees simultaneously with The Open University, just for interest. Success University offer short on-line courses in all areas of life.

Goals must always be stated in the positive. Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish between a positive and negative so if you say, "I will not be untidy", your subconscious interprets that as, "I will be untidy." That will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Be specific in your goals. "I want to earn more money" is not specific and you may receive the answer with a 1% pay increase. Instead state, "By age XX, I shall be earning XXX amount of money." You might say, "I want a sports car" and be offered a 20 year old MG by a friend when in fact you had a Ferrari in mind. If you can clearly see what it is that you want, if you can visualise and describe it in writing or with a photo or drawing, your subconscious will lead you along the path to making a reality.

If you want to visit somewhere unknown, you need a map. So think of written down goals as creating your map. Choose words and pictures to cement your destinations in your mind. Make a montage and call it your goals board, or your dream board if you prefer.

If you want to own a certain model of car, find a good photo and include it in the montage. Perhaps you want to visit somewhere specific eg Paris or Japan so find a photo which instantly makes you think of that place. Cut photos out of catalogues.

Place this dream board where you can see it daily. Share it with people close to you as this makes a commitment on which your subconscious can focus.

"If a man knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right wind." - Seneca

Someone write, "A dream is a goal without legs." To change a dream into a reachable goal requires clarity, details, a clear vision on which you can focus so that you can recognize opportunities along the way to its attainment.

If you do not know what your goal looks like, how will you recognize it when you reach it?

Antonia Stuart-James is an English Hypnotherapist in Belgium specialising in change, helping clients to overcome unwanted habits, improve confidence, program their lives for prosperity and relieve stress-related illnesses.

Thursday, 3 May 2007

Networking through Ecademy

20 Reasons You Need to Strongly Consider Accepting My Invitation to Join Ecademy
Written by Billy McDermott, Director of DevelopmentNew Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) , author of an article on The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

1) Ecademy is a Social Networks Internet site. Social Networks is the hottest thing on the Internet now. Much like a dating site, where the goal is to meet a mate, this is a premiere business contacts site where you can still meet local people but enjoy the added benefit of developing many new worldwide relationships.

2) It took me 30 months to amass 2000 business contacts - going out morning, noon and night, shaking hands and meeting 3600 people. In less than two months I have met and developed 500 new relationships - all online from the comfort of my home.

3) People worldwide are interested in doing business with those in the New York area. You know things they don't know. They know things you don't know. There are many people who make healthy livings brokering business through two countries.

4) I now have contacts in 34 countries. One of my businesses is holding seminars. I can now do this through the magic of telecommunications holding worldwide tele-seminars.

5) The biggest players on Ecademy are the most connected on Ecademy. If you are interested in growing your influence on LinkedIn, join Ecademy and watch what happens.

6) In order to be successful with any social network, you must have a completed profile. How will people know if they don't know? Much like face-to-face networking, you must put some effort into it.

7) Ecademy is UK based. Very few in the United States are connected - YET. Some turn away. Others, like me, see opportunity. You can get noticed rather easily. There are about 40,000 people registered and 800 sign on as new members weekly. The growth is about to tip as LinkedIn did a few months ago.

8) Upon membership to Ecademy, you can join a club I moderate called "The Tipping Point," based on the book of the same name. There you can meet and conduct business with some of the most prominent and connected people on Ecademy.

9) I was able to become one of the top networkers on Ecademy in less than 50 days. I am ranked sixth in the US, 11th outside of the UK and 64th worldwide.

10) When you type the keyword "Ecademy," I am on the first or second page of Google.

11) Blogs are big today. Ecademy offers this feature.

12) You can publish articles.

13) You can advertise your goods and services in many appropriate and approved sections.

14) You can form your own clubs becoming communities within a community.

15) Statistics are available.

16) You can access your network. You can see others.

17) All your previous correspondence is archived for future reference.

18) Ecademy allows you post up to 50 keywords. Their search engine can be used to look for people "just like you."

19) You get your own profile page, which can become your corporate or personal web page.

20) For $14.95 per month, you should consider becoming a Power Networker, as it offers a host of services not offered otherwise. It also elevates your status and demonstrates to others you view networking as an important tool.

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I joined Ecademy in April 2007 and have a growing network of people in many walks of life throughout the world. I have searched for people with various terms eg hypnosis, Belgium, Jim Rohn, Il Divo etc. and have a long list to go through.

Being a part of Ecademy is fun as well as useful.

Antonia Stuart-James
Hypnosis for change, stop smoking, overcome unwanted habits, improve confidence, relieve stress related health problems
Work at Home Ideas and Opportunities
Plug-In Profit Site - 3 EASY STEPS to Make Money Online

"Do or do not. There is no try". - Yoda

Jim Rohn on the Importance of Reading

When I met Geert Conard the other night at an Ecademy Belgium workshop, he reminded us of the importance of reading. Particularly anything which takes us out of our comfort zone or challenges our beliefs such as his example of "The DaVinci Code".

Anthony Robbins says that he used to read a book a day when he started his path of learning. He refers to the teachings of Jim Rohn who I first came across at a seminar to Herbalife distributors in the '90s. He wrote, "I truly believe Jim Rohn is an extraordinary human being whose philosophy can enhance the quality of life for anyone who exposes themselves to it. He certainly had a positive impact on me at a time in my life when I was first forming the philosophies that guide me today."

Here are a few of Jim Rohn's quotes:
"Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom."

"For things to change, you have to change. For things to get better, you have to get better."

BOOKS/LIBRARY/READING
"Books are what you step on to take you to a higher shelf. The higher your stack of books, the higher the shelf you can reach."

"Miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss a book. Some people claim that it is okay to read trashy novels because sometimes you can find something valuable in them. You can also find a crust of bread in a garbage can, if you search long enough, but there is a better way."

"Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it."

"The book you don't read won't help."

"It isn't what the book costs; it's what it will cost if you don't read it."

I hope this inspires you to dust off some books you have been meaning to read. If you have never read or listened to Jim, I strongly recommend that you do.

These quotes are by Jim Rohn, America's Foremost Business Philosopher. To subscribe to the Free Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine, go to http://www.jimrohn.com?kbid=7474 Excerpted from The Treasury of Quotes by Jim Rohn. Copyright © 1994-2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide.