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Three Rules for Turning Stress Into Success by Denis Waitley

1. Accept the Unchangeable - Everything that has happened in your life to this minute is unchangeable. It’s history. The greatest waste of energy is in looking back at missed opportunities, lamenting past events, grudge collecting, getting even, harboring ill will, and any vengeful thinking. Success is the only acceptable form of revenge. By forgiving your trespassers, you become free to concentrate on going forward with your life and succeeding in spite of your detractors. You will live a rewarding and fulfilling life.

Your enemies, on the other hand, will forever wonder how you went on to become so successful without them and in the shadow of their doubts.

Action Idea: Write down on a sheet of paper things that happened in the past that bother you. Now crumple the paper into a ball and throw it at the person teaching this program at the front of the room. This symbolizes letting go of past misfortunes.

2. Change the Changeable  - What you can change is your reaction to what others say and do. And you can control your own thoughts and actions by dwelling on desired results instead of the penalties of failure. The only real control you have in life is that of your immediate thought and action. Since most of what we do is a reflex, subconscious habit, it is wise not to act on emotional impulse. In personal relations, it is better to wait a moment until reason has the opportunity to compete with your emotions. 

Action Idea:  Write down in your diary one thing you will do tomorrow to help you relax more during and after a stressful day.

3. Avoid the Unacceptable - Go out of your way to get out of the way of potentially dangerous behaviors and environments. When people tailgate you on the freeway, change lanes. If they follow you at night, drive to a well-lighted public place.

When there are loud, obnoxious people next to you at a restaurant or club, change tables, or locations. Also, be cautious of personal relationships developed via the Internet. With the massive number of individuals surfing the net, the number of predators increases in like proportion. Always be on the alert for potentially dangerous situations involving your health, personal safety, financial speculation and emotional relationships.

Action Idea: What is one unacceptable behavior you have or allow others to do to you that you will avoid starting tomorrow? Example: The way you drive, being around negative people, walking down dark streets alone late at night, etc.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Take a Proactive Approach to Your Health by Denis Waitley

Think of your body as a high-powered, finely engineered transportation vehicle, like a space shuttle. Instead of liquid hydrogen, your body is powered by your own intake. The food you eat is the fuel that energizes the vehicle. What you put in your fuel tank is burned by your high performance activity or  - in the case of low-octane, junk food  - is deposited in your engine. Think of your mind as the driver who takes control of and steers your body to victory or hits the wall. Your body is very much like a car. Drive it without proper fuel or maintenance and it will fall apart. You take it for granted to get you where you want to go, until it breaks down. Then it disrupts your way of life.

Like your car, your body only speaks to you by exception. You only notice it when it is damaged or inoperative. But, unlike your car, the spare parts business for your body is not a viable option at present.

To combat disease and aging, you need to keep your bones, joints and muscles flexible and strong. The right exercise means weight-bearing exercise, not simply aerobics. The International College of Sports Medicine has now added exercise with weights to its long-time recommendation of aerobic exercise. First, check with your physician who can assess your general condition and advise you about healthy levels of activity. Second, be aware that the effectiveness of exercise depends as much on enjoyment as on the nature of activity itself.

Just as important, if not more important than daily exercise, is proper nutrition. What you eat has a major impact on degenerative diseases. Do eat a low fat diet. Keep your fat intake to 15 percent of all daily calories. This will keep you lean and boost your immunity. Do eat a low salt diet. Use a potassium-based salt substitute on the table and in cooking. Do eat a high-fiber diet. Fiber protects the colon from cancer, lowers cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar. Eat 40 to 50 grams of mixed fibers daily, as in whole grain breads and cereals, especially those containing oat bran, vegetables and fruits. Do eat a low-sugar diet. Use a little fructose in place of table sugar. Eat complex carbohydrates in place of sugar and look for carbohydrate drinks sweetened with zylitol. Do drink clean water. Drink bottled or home-distilled water, as much as eight glasses per day.

Do eat an alkaline diet. Our high-fat, high-sugar diet creates acidity. So many people are now acidic that we spend hundreds of millions of dollars on antacids every year.

Do take daily nutritional supplements including essential multi-vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. Current research confirms that we can no longer get the essential nutrients from our food alone. We must supplement even the best diet with nutrition to promote resistance to disease. Do eat the right kinds of foods and stay away from the fast-food, fat-food drive-throughs. You are doing yourself and your children a dangerous, long-term disservice by developing the habit of eating high-fat, nutrition-poor meals. Make your health your top priority. You can’t buy your health or life back after years of neglecting it while you earn your living.

Action Idea: List one activity you will begin to do tomorrow to improve your health and increase the quality and quantity of your life.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Conducting a Personal Inventory of Your "Knowledge Resources" by Denis Waitley

Self-knowledge has always been the key to preparing for competition. Knowledge of your attributes, abilities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and traits is essential to riding the front end of the wave of change into the new century.  To fully assess your own talents, realize that studies confirm that what we love and do well as children continues as our latent or manifest talent as adults.

Examination of your weekend or evening interests might reveal a gem of potential you can apply to your vocation. I strongly suggest you don’t unthinkingly relegate what you love to do for yourself solely to hobbies. You might make it, or at least integrate it into your life’s work.

The acquisition of knowledge, which is the new global power, is a life-long experience, not a collection of facts or skills. Not long ago, what you learned in school was largely all you needed to learn to secure a career. With knowledge expanding exponentially, this is no longer true. Hundreds of scientific papers are published daily.

Every thirty seconds, some new technological company produces yet another innovation. Your formal education has a very short shelf life. Life-long learning, once a luxury for the few, has become absolutely vital to continued success. Continue gaining expertise and avoid thinking like an expert.

Action Idea: An excellent benchmarking exercise is to spend a weekend with key associates or family members and dust off your childhood memories.  Remember what you really enjoyed and wanted to do most as a child. The next activity in assessing your interests is considering your current ones. What do you most enjoy after work? What do you most want to do on weekends and vacations? What are your hobbies?  Can you bring more of what you enjoy into your business life?

Action Step - Increase Your Reading, Writing and Vocabulary Proficiency.  One of the most important qualities of successful leaders is an ability to express thoughts and knowledge. Research by management and human resource experts confirms that no matter what the field of employment, people with large vocabularies  - those able to speak clearly and concisely, using simple as well as descriptive words  - are best at accomplishing their goals. Well chosen, carefully considered words can close the sale, negotiate the raise, enhance relationships, and change destinies.

In a world of e-mail, fax dispersal, voice mail, sound bites, concise reports, business plans, and meeting briefs, the individuals who can articulate their goals, substantiate their claims, and support their visions, will own the future. In the 21st Century, literacy will be the major difference between the haves and have-nots.

Why do fewer than 10 percent of the public buy and read nonfiction books? One reason is that many would rather get home than get ahead. They are motivated to get by and get pulled along by the company, the economy, or the government.

Another reason is that many individuals believe that information found in books, computer programs, and training sessions has no value in the business world. How self-deluding!

As the new tools of productivity become the Internet, the Digital Versatile Disc, direct digital download of text, audio and video, and the combination of the interactive computer with telecommunications, the people who know how to control the new technologies will acquire power, while those who thought that education ends with the diploma are destined for low-paying, low-satisfaction jobs. In almost the blink of an eye, our society has passed from the industrial age to the knowledge era.

Increase your reading by 100 percent. Decrease your television watching, and that of any children in your family by 50 percent. Surf the Internet and subscribe to book summaries, or download free chapters from different sources.  By reading book summaries, you can gain the essence of all the top business books in a very brief period of time.

Action Idea: Read at least one book each month, and listen to at least one additional audio book during commute or down time. One of the best sources for business audio books online is MP3audiobooks.com.

All kinds of reading and listening to fiction and non-fiction will increase your vocabulary, writing and presentation skills. Incredibly, a mere 3,500 words separate the average person from those with superior vocabularies.

Keep a dictionary beside you when you read and look up every word you don’t fully understand. Doing that on the spot helps make the word part of your vocabulary forever. And don’t depend on your computer’s spellchecker for your spelling. Not all e-mail service includes spell check. Also, you may be called upon to write longhand notes, memos, or information on white boards or blackboards at meetings. You not only want to use the right words. You also will want to spell them correctly.

A great way to increase your literacy is to engage in Internet conferences and to read summaries on the web from services like Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers. The more interactive you become in communications and the less you indulge in prime-time television, the more successful you’ll become in all areas of your life. Knowledge is the new power. And literacy is the door to knowledge.  Hopefully, attending this "Winning for Life" program will be one of the keys that will open the door to your future for you.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Constantly Upgrade Your Computer Literacy by Denis Waitley

Many friends of mine who were convinced they would never become computer literate are now conducting all their long-distance communication by e-mail and Internet phone calls.

Why must you begin using computers, if you are in a high-touch business, retired, or are not actively doing business at all?  Because all the devices we plug in – computers, telephones, fax machines, radios, television sets, VCRs and even kitchen appliances  - are emerging into a unified information machine. Very soon, a single device will perform all their functions and more.

Together with our appliances our credit cards, medical records, automobile registrations, driver’s licenses, etc. will be hooked together. Scientists envision a small card on which our entire medical history will be electronically encoded.

We’re on the threshold of the greatest exchange of knowledge and ideas in history. Who will own and control that intellectual property? How will it be paid for? How will the information transactions be monitored and secured? What impact will this have on future generations?  The answers to these questions are anything but certain. But what is certain is that unless you are computer literate you will be illiterate. Unless you are online you will be in the unemployment line, or you’ll be earning minimum wages. Unless you’re networking, you probably will be not working. Unless you’re comfortable with the information superhighway, you’ll be road kill on it. Unless you join the generation of the future, you will be relegated to living in the past.

The biggest reason most people are hesitant to jump into the world of computers and the Internet, is that it is not in their comfort zones. Whenever we consider acquiring a new skill, whether it is flying a plane, snow or water-skiing, or going back to school, we procrastinate and make excuses, because we feel awkward and clumsy in trying something we know little about and something in which others, observing us, are more proficient in. In other words, we feel foolish in front of family, friends and associates, because we are adult rookies. It’s o.k. for kids to try new things. Because they’re not afraid of criticism or looking silly. They learn that in junior high, high school and college.

One of the most important ideas you can gain in this program is that winners risk being a fool in the eyes of others in order to gain expertise. There never was a winner, who wasn’t, first, a beginner. Be willing to begin becoming computer literate.

The computer, once a formidable challenge for us, has become an invaluable tool, and has saved us time that we now spend together living a more balanced life.  Plan to spend about 50 to 100 dollars a month, staying current, upgrading your equipment and software, and subscribing to computer publications. The best way to keep from falling behind is to keep abreast of the trends. Because the industry is changing weekly, you must assume that all you have learned will need to be updated every week. That's why there’s no reason to wait. No matter when you buy a computing system it will be obsolete within a year, or need a complete upgrade. Voice recognition systems will be commonplace in a couple of years.

Action Idea:  Subscribe to a computing magazine or newsletter service that gives you weekly or monthly updates on the latest trends and tools of technology.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Become a Global Networker by Denis Waitley

Bill Gates, Microsoft’s founder, and the richest person in the world by several billion dollars, is convinced that the huge access to information will trickle down to the consumer. In another two years, he predicts, most decisions such as hiring a part-time worker for your home, buying a consumer product, choosing a lawyer – will be made on a much more informed basis because of electronic communication.

It changes the nature of competition, because in a networked world, we can ignore geographic limits to our shopping. People, information and services are merging together, all in the name of time-based competitive advantage.

Here is a check-off list of important considerations. How many on the list are part of your daily life?

· E-Mail is now the most popular method of communication next to the telephone in the industrialized nations. And, you can now transmit your e-mail by voice mail. It is possible and reasonable to expect that you can answer 30 e-mail messages in one hour, or one every two minutes. This is equivalent to answering personal correspondence at the rate of 30 letters per hour, without a secretary.

· If you communicate long distance, nationally or globally by phone – through the use of Internet phone or software - you can talk indefinitely without long distance phone charges over the Internet. By paying only the monthly, on-line service charge, you can reduce your long distance phone bills immeasurably by communicating verbally, computer to computer, with individuals having compatible software.

· Since it will be desirable to be multi-national in your business and personal relationships, by installing foreign language software you’ll be able to have all of your word processing appear on the screen in two languages.

Select at least one new language you feel will be desirable to learn during the next few years and install the software for that language. By having your correspondence appear in both your native language and one new language, both in text and audio, it is a great way to learn.

· As you look toward the future, be prepared to have at least one of the following: An ISDN phone line for your modem.  A cable service for your modem. Or a satellite dish for your modem.  Cable and satellite modem services will be mandatory as requirements for speed and quality of downloading large quantities of information and graphics increase.

· Ensure that your computer is upgraded for real-time audio, MP3, and video streaming, so you’ll be able to receive information from the Internet in real time. Consider investing in video conferencing equipment that allows you to hold live video conferences at multiple locations nationally and internationally, with multiple clients. Although video conferencing will not replace live seminars and meetings, it will reduce the costs and greatly increase the number of clients that can be served at the same time, in the knowledge century.

Action Idea:  Pick at least two friends or business associates living in other countries, or in other parts of this country, that you will e-mail at least once every two weeks.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Make Certain You Have a Personal Presence on the World Wide Web Now by Denis Waitley by Denis Waitley

The reason it’s important for you to have your own web presence now is that thousands of new web sites are being developed and registered every day nationally and internationally. Unless you make arrangements now to protect your own name and/or company name, globally, as an Internet site, your name may already be trademarked and registered by someone else.

Here are some guidelines, regardless of whether or not you already have your own domain site on the web:

· Your web presence is not static, nor should it be treated as a structure. It should be a constantly changing infomercial and résumé of your services.

· Do not spend a great deal of money and time creating an incredibly artistic website. The object of a website is to develop a database of qualified prospects. In order to have an effective website, you must provide a great deal of important, relevant, value-packed, free information to your visitors, with enough variety and substance to make them return to your website often, and certainly to provide them an instant incentive to leave their names and addresses, so that you can follow up.

· For example, the National Board of Realtors in the U. S. offers geography specific information regarding schools, shopping, medical facilities and other important data of interest to prospective buyers or renters of real property. No matter where in the United States someone may be considering relocating, this home page will give answers at no charge.

And by providing your name and other particulars, the site will download other specific information to you. The services are constantly upgraded and added to, to invite more than one visit to the site.

Think of your home page as an advertisement that needs to be changed and freshened weekly to be competitive in today’s consumer-driven marketplace. Contrary to what you may have heard, I know hundreds of individuals who already are making  $20,000 to $100,000 per month via electronic sales on the Internet. Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer Company, and currently the richest person in the world under the age of 40, sells over 30 million US dollars per day worth of computer equipment directly on the Internet, with no sales staff and no retail outlets.

Action Idea:  If you do not have your own name registered as your domain, do it this week. If you do not have your own web site, do something this week to initiate this process. If you have your own website, do something to make it more valuable to visitors this week. What kind of free content can you add to your website that will increase new visitors who leave their e-mail addresses.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Be Responsible For Your Own Financial Secutiry by Denis Waitley

There is no job security. You can’t rely on staying with the same company through retirement. Pension plans, when available, are woefully inadequate. Social security benefits won’t come close to covering your living expenses in retirement.

The only way to reach financial security is to plan for it now, regardless of your age. You have to define financial security in your own terms. Have you defined the amount of assets that you need for financial independence?

Financial security is that amount of assets that will give you a specific income, after taxes, to live like you want to, without having to depend on day-to-day employment.

What is that amount for you? I believe it is more than you think. And, I feel that if you define it, you can reach it in ten years or less. Do you have a financial plan and the assistance of a financial planner?  You need both. Always retain a financial planner on a fee-for-service basis. Don’t mix financial planning with an investment broker or insurance agent. What are your financial goals and what is your time line? Because I started late in my quest for financial independence, I have a maximum five-year period remaining for capital accumulation.

Action Idea: Wealth is not only based on income, but also on expenditures. Are you spending or investing?  Are your purchases goal-achieving or tension-relieving? How do you use credit cards? Use your credit cards for services or purchases that retain their value or that build your business. Don’t use credit cards for vacations and personal entertainment, unless you plan to pay the entire balance in one or two months. Try to pay all your balances in full monthly. In this way, you avoid the ridiculously high interest payments. Realize that paying minimum balances, at high interest rates, means that you are paying two or three times what the original purchase was worth.

Most importantly, save at least 6 to 10 percent of your take-home pay each month, by writing a check into a savings account or mutual fund for that amount, as if it were a utility bill or house payment. The secret of most self-made multi-millionaires is compound interest. If parents saved one dollar each day for their newborn infant, by going without a cup of Starbuck’s coffee, or a Big Mac, or a soft drink for that day, by the time the child reached age forty, he or she would have a million dollars cash. No lottery windfall. No brilliant investment strategy. Just compound interest, which Baron von Rothchild labeled "The Eighth Wonder of the World."

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Start Living in Prime Time by Denis Waitley

Prime time is that period between 6 and 10 p.m. during which most of the general public watches television. Commercials in prime time are the most expensive, approaching a million dollars per minute. Your real success in life will take a quantum leap when you stop watching other people making money in their professions performing in prime time, and start living your own dreams and goals in prime time. Time is the ultimate equal opportunity employer. Time never stops to rest, never hesitates, never looks forward or backward. Life’s raw material spends itself in the now, this moment, which is why how you spend your time is far more important than all the material possessions you may own or positions you may obtain. Positions change, possessions come and go, you can earn more money. You can renew your supply of many things, but like good health, that other most precious resource, time spent is gone forever.

Each yesterday, and all of them together, are beyond your control. Literally all the money in the world can’t undo or redo a single act you performed. You cannot erase a single word you said. You can’t add an "I love you," "I’m sorry", or "I forgive you", not even a "thank you" you forgot to say. Each human being in every hemisphere and time zone has precisely 168 hours a week to spend. And some of the most precious hours occur in prime time.

Consider this: most of your daytime hours are spent helping other people solve their problems. The little time you have in the evenings and on weekends is all you have to spend on yourself, on your own dreams and goals, and personal development. Some thoughts to ponder:

· Have supper with your loved ones at least two to three times per week. It’s the best time for casual conversation to listen to what those close to you feel is important in their lives. Mealtime is a time to dialogue.

· A television set is an appliance. It should be used, at most, for two hours at a time. It should be off, unless specific programs of interest are selected. It should not be used as a one-eyed baby sitter. For the most part, TV exposes us to negative role models.

· Instead of watching television why not read a good fiction or non-fiction book, write a letter, engage in a hobby or craft, call a friend or someone in need of encouragement on the phone, network on your computer, go out to an ethnic restaurant, a home show, an entrepreneurial show, a musical recital, a play, a fitness class, or cultural event.  Take an art or photography class. Use prime time to live the kind of life others put on layaway.

Action Idea:  If you and your family/friends watch TV, try not turning it on for one week. When you do watch TV, reduce by 50% the amount of time you spend watching it. Concentrate your evenings and free time engaged in hands on, real life experiences, you can touch, feel, smell and engage all your senses in. Instead of virtual reality, insist on the real thing.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Balance Your Workload With a Generous Number of Mini-Vacations for Maximum Productivity by Denis Waitley

By re-energizing and renewing yourself frequently, you will avoid burnout and become much more motivated and productive.  Don’t keep your nose to the grindstone for years and wait for retirement to travel.  Balance and consistency are the keys. Enjoy the process, not just the result. Don’t fight the passing of time. Don’t fear it, squander it, or try to hide from it under a superficial cosmetic veil of fads and indulgences. Life and time go together. Do enjoy each phase of life. Do make the most of each day, and draw maximum joy from each moment.

Many people today are concerned with quality time – time generally defined in part as that spent on recreation, personal pursuits, time with children, spouses and friends. While I certainly believe quality time is important, I believe two other aspects of time are equally important.

First, one must also spend quantity time. The average father spends less than 30 minutes each week in direct one-on-one communication with each of his children. How can we possibly expect good family relationships with so little communication?

Second, one must spend regular time. Many supervisors and company presidents go for weeks, even months, without seeing many of their employees. There’s no substitute for regular meetings and open forums in which managers and team members can share ideas.

Time has a dual structure. On one hand, we live our daily routines meeting present contingencies as they arise. On the other hand, our most ambitious goals and desires need time so that they can be assembled and cemented. A long-term goal connects pieces of time into one block. These blocks can be imagined and projected into the future as we do when we set goals for ourselves. Or, these blocks of time can be created in retrospect as we do when we look back at what we’ve accomplished.

It’s not in the image of our big dreams that we run the risk of losing our focus and motivation. It’s the drudgery and routine of our daily lives that present the greatest danger to our hopes for achievement. Good time management means that you maximize the daily return on the energy and mental effort you expend.

Ways to maximize your time productivity:

· Write down in one place all the important contacts you have and all of your goals and priorities. Make a back up copy, preferably on CD, DVD or Zip disc. Write down every commitment you make at the time you make it.

· Stop wasting the first hour of your workday. Having the chat and first cup of coffee, reading the paper, and socializing are the three costliest opening exercises that lower productivity.

· Do one thing well at a time.  It takes time to start and stop work on each activity. Stay with a task until it is completed.

· Don’t open unimportant mail. More than a fourth of the mail you receive can be tossed before you open or read it, and that includes e-mail.

· Handle each piece of paper only once and never more than twice. Don’t set aside anything without taking action. Carry work, reading material, audiotapes and your laptop computer with you everywhere you go. Convert down time into uplink time.

· Spend twenty minutes at the beginning of each week and ten minutes at the beginning of each day planning your to do list.

· Set aside personal relaxation time during the day. Don’t work during lunch. It’s neither noble nor nutritional to skip important energy input and stress-relieving time. Throughout the day, ask yourself, "What’s the best use of my time right now?" As the day grows short, focus on projects you can least afford to leave undone.

· And as we said at the beginning of this message, take vacations often, mini-vacations of two or three days, and leave your work at home. The harder you work, the more you need to balance your exercise and leisure time.

Action Idea: Plan a relaxing 3-day vacation within the next three months without taking any business work with you. Reserve it on your calendar this week.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Model Yourself After the Best Individuals, Who Have Proven Their Success Over Time by Denis Waitley

Do this by benchmarking the world’s most admired organizations and people in and out of your industry. Hewlett-Packard sends teams of two to four managers to meet with peers in other companies.  After exchanging ideas about leadership and organizational practices, the benchmarking teams exchange comments. If you want to become or stay the best, you must know more than what your competitors are up to.

You must know the best business practices, wherever they exist. It’s a good idea to read business magazines to keep current on what the real movers and shakers are doing globally.

Action Idea: This month, read a biography of someone you admire who has overcome great hurdles to become successful. When you learn what many of them had to endure, you are less overwhelmed by the obstacles you face. Every hardship you face has been endured and conquered by someone before you.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Set Up a Learning Resource at Home and at Your Place of Business With Both Personal and Professional Development Materials by Denis Waitley

Every office conference, lunch, exercise, and recreation room should be filled with personal enrichment materials including videos, audios, books, magazines, newsletters, and software.

Convert a special area of your home into a learning center, especially if you have children. The trend globally is to combine coffee house like Starbucks, with bookstores like Barnes and Noble, to create a relaxing learning environment. In the twenty-first century, gaining knowledge will blend into our lives as part of our leisure time. There are several ways to create more of an ongoing learning environment at your place of business. Many companies are asking employees to volunteer to read a specific trade or business magazine and clip or scan articles relevant to the organization. Regular e-mail dispersal and fax dispersal are also popular. I also have been participating in a variety of live Internet conferences, including questions and answers from all over the world.

In today’s fast-forward, knowledge-based world, if you’re not moving ahead you are falling behind.

Action Idea: Make two files in your computer: one for personal development and one for professional development. Download articles and e-mails that educate and inspire you in these files. You also can scan articles from magazines into these files. Look at these files at least once per week.

Credit Statement to be Included in Reprints
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Be a Person Who Practices Non-Situational Integrity by Denis Waitley

Be a Person Who Practices Non-Situational Integrity. Integrity, a standard of personal morality and ethics, is not relative to the situation you happen to find yourself in and doesn’t sell out to expediency. Its short supply is getting even shorter, but without it, leadership is a façade. Learning to see through exteriors is a critical development in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Sadly, most people continue to be taken in by big talk and media popularity, flashy or bizarre looks, and expensive possessions. They move through most of their years convinced that the externals are what count, and are thus doomed to live shallow lives. Men and women who rely on their looks or status to feel good about themselves inevitably do everything they can to enhance the impression they make – and do correspondingly little to develop their inner value and personal growth. The paradox is that the people who try hardest to impress are often the least impressive. Puffing to appear powerful is an attempt to hide insecurity.

In the Roman Empires’ final corrupt years, status was conveyed by the number of carved statues of the gods displayed in people’s courtyards. As in every business, the Roman statue industry had good and bad sculptors and merchants. As the empire became ever more greedy and narcissistic, the bad got away with as much as they could. Sculptors became adept at using wax to hide cracks and chips in marble and most people couldn’t discern the difference in quality.

Statues began to weep or melt under the scrutiny of sunlight or heat in foyers. For statues of authentic fine quality, carved by reputable artists, people had to go to the artisan marketplace in the Roman Quad and look for booths with signs declaring sine cera, which translates in English to mean, without wax. We, too, look for the real thing in friends, products, and services. In people, we value sincerity, from the words, sine cera, more than almost any other virtue. We expect it from our leaders, which we are not getting in our political, media, business and sports’ heroes for the most part. We must demand it of ourselves.

Integrity that strengthens an inner value system is the real human bottom line. Commitment to a life of integrity in every situation demonstrates that your word is more valuable than a surety bond. It means you don’t base your decisions on being politically correct. You do what’s right, not fashionable. You know that truth is absolute, not a device for manipulating others. And you win in the long run, when the stakes are highest. If I were writing a single commandment for leadership it would be, "You shall conduct yourself in such a manner as to set an example worthy of imitation by your children and subordinates." In simpler terms, if they shouldn’t be doing it, neither should you. I told my kids, "clean up your room," and they inspected the condition of my garage. I told them that honesty was our family’s greatest virtue, and they commented on the radar detector I had installed in my car. When I told them about the vices of drinking and wild parties, they watched from the upstairs balcony, the way our guests behaved at our adult functions.

It’s too bad some of our political and business leaders don’t understand that "What you are speaks so loudly that no one really pays attention to what you say." But it is even more true that if what you are matches what you say, your life will speak forcefully indeed.

It’s hardly a secret that learning ethical standards begins at home. A child’s first inklings of a sense of right and wrong come from almost imperceptible signals received long before he or she reaches the age of rational thought about morality. Maybe you’re asking yourself what kind of model you are for future generations, remembering that people are either honest or dishonest, that integrity is all or nothing, and that children can’t be fooled in such basic matters. They learn by example.

To remind myself of my responsibility to live without wax, with sincerity and integrity, I took the liberty of re-writing Edgar A. Guest’s poem, "Sermons We See" to apply to setting an example as a real winner for my children and grandchildren.

I'd rather watch a winner, than hear one any day.
I'd rather have one walk with me, than merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear.
And the best of all the coaches are the ones who live their deeds.
For to see the truth in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it, if you'll let me see it done.
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true.
But, I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give.
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
I'd rather watch a winner, than hear one any day.

Hey, politician, business leader, motion picture producer, television actor, rock star, sports star.  Hey mom, hey dad. Don’t tell me how to live.  Show me by your actions. You’re my role models.

Action Idea: When you talk to others, beginning right now, don’t try to impress them by talking about your accomplishments. Let your actions speak for you. Ask more questions.

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The Most Important Meetings You’ll Ever Attend Are the Meetings You Have With Yourself by Denis Waitley

You are your most important critic. There is no opinion so vitally important to your well being as the opinion you have of yourself. As you read this you’re talking to yourself right now. "Let’s see if I understand what he means by that… How does that compare with my experiences? – I’ll make note of that – try that tomorrow – I already knew that…I already do that." I believe this self-talk, this psycholinguistics or language of the mind can be controlled to work for us, especially in the building of self-confidence and creativity. We’re all talking to ourselves every moment of our lives, except during certain portions of our sleeping cycle. We’re seldom even aware that we’re doing it. We all have a running commentary in our heads on events and our reactions to them.

· Be aware of the silent conversation you have with yourself. Are you a nurturing coach or a critic? Do you reinforce your own success or negate it? Are you comfortable saying to yourself, "That’s more like it".  "Now we’re in the groove." "Things are working out well." "I am reaching my financial goals." "I’ll do it better next time."

· When winners fail, they view it as a temporary inconvenience, a learning experience, an isolated event, and a stepping-stone instead of a stumbling block.

· When winners succeed, they reinforce that success, by feeling rewarded rather than guilty about the achievement and the applause.

· When winners are paid a compliment, they simply respond: "Thank you." They accept value graciously when it is paid. They pay value in their conversations with themselves and with other people.

A mark of an individual with healthy self-esteem is the ability to spend time alone, without constantly needing other people around. Being comfortable and enjoying solitary time reveals inner peace and centering. People who constantly need stimulation or conversation with others are often a bit insecure and thus need to be propped up by the company of others.

Always greet the people you meet with a smile. When introducing yourself in any new association, take the initiative to volunteer your own name first, clearly; and always extend your hand first, looking the person in the eyes when you speak.

In your telephone communications at work or at home, answer the telephone pleasantly, immediately giving your own name to the caller, before you ask who’s calling. Whenever you initiate a call, always give your own name up front, before you ask for the party you want and before you state your business. Leading with your own name underscores that a person of value is making the call.

Don’t brag. People who trumpet their exploits and shout for service are actually calling for help. The showoffs, braggarts and blowhards are desperate for attention.

Don’t tell your problems to people, unless they’re directly involved with the solutions. And don’t make excuses. Successful people seek those who look and sound like success. Always talk affirmatively about the progress you are trying to make.

As we said earlier, find successful role models after whom you can pattern yourself. When you meet a mastermind, become a master mime, and learn all you can about how he or she succeeded. This is especially true with things you fear. Find someone who has conquered what you fear and learn from him or her.

When you make a mistake in life, or get ridiculed or rejected, look at mistakes as detours on the road to success, and view ridicule as ignorance. After a rejection, take a look at your BAG. B is for Blessings. Things you are endowed with that you often take for granted like life itself, health, living in an abundant country, family, friends, career. A is for accomplishments. Think of the many things you are proud of that you have done so far. And G is for Goals. Think of your big dreams and plans for the future that motivate you. If you took your BAG – blessings, accomplishments and goals – to a party, and spread them on the floor, in comparison to all your friends and the people you admire, you’d take your own bag home, realizing that you have as much going for yourself as anyone else. Always view rejection as part of one performance, not as a turndown of the performer.

And, enjoy those special meetings with yourself. Spend this Saturday doing something you really want to do. I don’t mean next month or someday. This Saturday enjoy being alive and being able to do it. You deserve it. There will never be another you. This Saturday will be spent. Why not spend at least one day a week on You!

Action Idea: Go for one entire day and night without saying anything negative to yourself or to others. Make a game of it. If a friend or colleague catches you saying something negative, you must put ½ dollar in a drawer or container toward a dinner or evening out with that person. Do this for one month and see who has had to pay the most money toward the evening.

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Balance High-Tech, With a High-Touch Environment by Denis Waitley

You must think like a high-tech research firm, and act like a high-touch service firm to succeed in the borderless, global economy. The investment in human capital, the primacy of people, may be the most important consideration in networking for the future. Some managements that are reengineering their organizations and workforces are swerving off course with a belief that their first priority must be to install high-tech information systems. As they see it, this is doing first things first in the difficult adaptation to the new global competition. In fact, the most important reengineering may have more to do with people than systems – or, to put it another way, the transformation may have to be more cultural than technological. Millions of dollars have been wasted on costly MIS (management information systems) and hardware before discovering that human capital needs must precede high-tech needs.

I’m not suggesting that new systems, in particular information systems, are anything less than utterly essential.

It would be fatal to believe that by being a warm, high-touch, customer-focused firm or individual, you can avoid the investment in technology that offers access to the global information network. It may amuse you or please you that your grade-school children tend to be far more comfortable and skillful than you, their parents, with the computer and with the Internet.

More to the point, nearly all school children in the developing Asian nations – at least, so far, in the major cities – are becoming truly computer literate. This is so central a determinant of who will succeed in the future that to fall behind is like being sentenced to travel via freight train in the age of orbital space travel. Successful firms and individuals must be on the cutting edge of technological and human skills. You must have both. Heaven help you if you’re a techie who believes that being high-tech is enough to put you in touch with the world; that electronic wizardry alone will somehow provide the necessary customer satisfaction. That will get you run right over on the information superhighway. The Asian countries clearly recognize the need to blend touch with technology.

As one of America’s most frequent flyers and travelers, I see a great contrast between customer service in the United States and other Western societies, and in Asia. I can no longer count the number of times I have missed my flight connections in the United States due solely to the lack of sensitivity and conscientiousness on the part of airline staff to cater more to the needs of connecting passengers.

If performance bonuses were tied to on-time departures and excellent service, I feel there would be a marked improvement.

I also can’t count the number of times when I’ve traveled for most of a day or night, arrived at a crowded lobby, and waited in line for over twenty-five minutes only to be told that a convention had caused some unfortunate overbooking.  But if I’d waited another half-hour or so, a shuttle bus would take me and the others to an overflow hotel which was no more than another half-hour away.

For comparison, I could pick virtually any Asian hotel of any standing, but one that comes to mind is my experience with Stanley Yen and Taiwan’s Ritz Hotel some years ago. To ensure that my stay would be comfortable, he sent me a customer-focused questionnaire several weeks in advance. Did I prefer king, queen or two beds? Down or regular pillows? Soft or medium firm? Would I require a computer, fax or VCR? What beverages would I like in my minibar? Nothing was left to chance. When we arrived at the Taipei airport, three Mercedes limousines pulled up in front of the baggage claim area. The driver of the first was in a tuxedo, complete with a top hat. He jumped out, ran to the baggage carousel, spotted the gold plated bag tags the hotel had sent us in advance to identify our luggage, and retrieved our bags. With a beam and a bow, he said, "Welcome to the Ritz Hotel, Denis Waitley and family."

The driver radioed the hotel indicating each of our names and where we were seated in the cars, one car for the luggage and two for the passengers. The general manager was at the door of the hotel when we arrived. He greeted us by name as we left the limos, then escorted us through the lobby directly to the elevators. I asked about checking in. He smiled and said, "We have been expecting you, and we knew you would be tired from your travels," and therefore all registration would be handled by a simple credit card imprint after we were in our rooms. Our shoes were shined, luggage repaired, buttons sewed on…the response to everything was, "Can do, no problem."

This is the economic battlefield of the 21st Century in miniature. There is more high-rise construction in Shanghai, China, than in any other city in the world. Government-owned Singapore Airlines, rated continually at the top in customer service, is also a training institute for top executives, who learn how flight stewards and stewardesses, the most skillful in the business, cater to passenger customers. After our every sip of water in a Hong Kong restaurant, our glasses were refilled to the rim. My family and I noticed that every waiter and waitress seemed like little radar stations, searching for where service would next be needed. Our young waiter, who was computer literate and totally bilingual, was working his way through college and planning to finish his study of finance at Stanford University. When he refilled our glasses yet again, we asked him why the service was so good. He replied, "Because there are hundreds of thousands waiting to take our jobs. If we don’t refill your glasses every time, someone else is ready and willing to do it." This is why we must all be high-tech and high-touch.

From Taiwan to Malaysia, from Brazil to Mexico, from India to Eastern Europe, the new competitors are hungry immigrants with cell phones and laptops, willing to stay late, and doing anything necessary to get a seat at our banquet table.

Action Idea: In your business, what is one thing you can suggest that will improve the customer service of your organization?

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Institute a More Dynamic, Proactive System for Getting Back to People by Denis Waitley

Consider the following:

· When you receive a letter, write a short response in the margin of the letter and either fax or mail it back, within minutes after reading it.

· If it requires further action, set up a time-based suspense file. If the person has an e-mail address on the letterhead, e-mail an answer.

· Pick specific times to read and answer mail and e-mail. Answer all e-mails within 48 hours. If you can’t respond that soon, send a brief e-mail "will respond as soon as current commitments allow." Read mail when phone calls are not appropriate to make or receive. Mail is best read late at night or early in the morning. Make important outgoing calls first thing in the morning. Take non-critical incoming calls, after screening, in the afternoon or early evening.

· Use more handwritten notes. In the age of fax and e-mail, a note in your own handwriting signifies your special interest in that person.

· Make generous use of the free electronic greeting cards on bluemountain.com. There is a salutation for nearly every occasion on that website. I send at least two musical cards per week.

· Use a specific color on your e-mail that is distinctive and easy to read. Also, consider adding your photo to your e-mail and also using the new voice e-mail now available online.

· As we mentioned earlier, consider sending compatible Internet telephone software to someone important to you in a distant city or another country, so you can communicate often by phone, without paying long distance charges.

And, perhaps most important in the communication process, when you have procrastinated getting back to someone, or you feel someone has slighted you, or that you have offended someone…please take the initiative and make the call.

I have learned through the years that the greatest communication problems occur when no communication takes place. One of Parkinson’s most important laws is that; "The lack of communication creates a void that is quickly filled with doubt, fear, anxiety, poison and innuendo." Always be first to forgive. Always be willing to listen. Always be willing to make the call that everyone else is afraid to make. You’ll regret what you didn’t say or do much more than the things you did.

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Live By the Motto That Repeat Business and Profitability are Directly Related to Relationships Based on Trust by Denis Waitley

You never close a sale. You only begin a long-term relationship where both parties win.

Can you think of a successful relationship without mutual trust? Break that trust and you break the relationship. Subvert it and it’s almost impossible to put together again. Creating a long-term relationship takes two or more people – whether they’re executives, representatives of labor and management, or husband and wife – who are grounded in and operating on the same non-situational honesty.

The central secret of good communication is bringing the other person over to your side by satisfying one of every person’s most fundamental emotional needs: Make him or her feel valued. With rare exceptions, people who feel valued – who are allowed to feel important in the sense that they are recognized – answer with openness, cooperation and reciprocated respect. If you want respect, be respectable. If you want to be loved, be loveable. If you want to be trusted, be trustworthy. If you want a life-long relationship, listen openly to the other person’s needs. Much more than trying to accumulate money and power, leaders in the new era will acquire good will by helping their associates, customers, neighbors, and loved ones to win. Instead of what can you do for me, we need to embrace the new stewardship role of what can I do for you.

Action Idea – At the beginning of each workday, do something special for someone you work with or provide a service for. At the end of each day, say or do something positive for a family member or friend.

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Be Committed to Keeping Your Personal and Professional Life in Balance by Denis Waitley

It is so important to be living in prime time, rather than watching TV in prime time. On your way to success make certain you grow friendships, not just bank and mutual fund accounts. Life is a collection of memories, not of material things. The Egyptian pharaohs were buried with all their treasures, and were mummified in hopes that they could enjoy their bounty in the next life. But we are only caretakers of possessions. There is a big difference between standard of living and quality of life. Standard of living is based on income earned. Quality of life is the enjoyment of the millions of minutes in between accomplishments.

Having money is only one aspect of wealth. To the sick person, wealth is health. To the lonely person, wealth is someone to talk to and share with. To the estranged person, wealth is hearing words of love and forgiveness.

Borrowing the free verse style from Brother Jeremiah’s classic poem, I’d Pick More Daisies, here are a few things I’d do, the second time around.

I’d laugh at my misfortunes more. Spend more time counting my blessings than my blemishes. Spend more time playing with my children and grandchildren and less time watching performers in the arena. More time enjoying what I have, less time thinking about the things I don’t have. If I could live my life again, I’d walk in the rain more without an umbrella and listen less to weather reports. I’d spend more time looking at trees and climbing them, less time flipping through magazines made from dead trees. I’d spend more time fully involved in the present moment, less time remembering and anticipating. I’d smile more, frown less.

And most of all I’d be more spontaneous and active, less hesitant and subdued. When some spur of the moment idea came up to go hiking, playing Frisbee, coloring Easter eggs, singing in a chorus, going kayaking, or watching an eclipse, I’d be less likely to sit in my chair objecting, "It’s not in our plan."

I’d be inclined to jump up and run out the door next time and say, "Yes, we can!" Although I can’t live my life again, I’m still going to live the new way every day any way. I’ll never have all the moments I’ve missed, but I do have all the time remaining.

Action Idea – Choose one activity this month that you really want to engage in, but that you have been putting off because it isn’t a priority. Schedule that activity in your planner, as if it were a "must do" business or financial commitment. When you have done it, while you are still feeling good, schedule one for next month, and do it as long as you live.

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Create Your Own Mission Statement for Your Personal and Professional Life by Denis Waitley

Two of life’s greatest tragedies are: Never to have had a great mission in life, and to have fully reached it so there is no challenge remaining.

Are you going where you want to go, doing what you want to do, and becoming who you want to become? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. Set some quiet time aside after you have finished this program and see the two you’s in the mirror of your mind:

1. There is the reflection of the person you are today.

2. There is the image of who you will be in the future.

Looking at my own life, I am incredibly different in many respects from the person I was ten years ago.

As you reflect on your past and anticipate the future, understand that virtually nothing you have experienced has been wasted. It all blends together into wisdom and knowledge, and creates your own unique brand of cultural diversity.

Action Idea: In your professional life, what is most important for you to achieve in the remainder of career? In your personal life, what is most important for you to achieve in the remainder of your life? Find a close friend or associate you trust and network with often, and challenge each other to continuously strive to reach these objectives.

As you consider your mission in life, you may want to use this final action step, Number Twenty-one, as your guidepost for the 21st Century: Chase Your Passion, Not Your Pension. Passion in your purpose will help you take control of your life, and also give you one other advantage that is not widely recognized: About ten more years of life, on average. Pursuit of a goal wears out very few people. But they rust out by the hundreds of thousands when their pursuit of happiness turns into a geriatric park. A job is something you do for money. A career is something you do because you have an inner calling to do it. You want to do it. You love doing it. You’re excited when you do it. And you’d do it even if you were paid nothing beyond food and the basics. You’d do it because it’s your life.

Be inspired to learn as much as you can, gain skills as much as you can, to find a cause that benefits humankind and you’ll be sought after for your quality of service and dedication to excellence. My nephew and niece, David and Heidi, at the ages of 30, had three little girls 7, 5 and 2. On an anniversary some years ago, they went out dancing and the margarita she had must have been one powerful fertility drug. She became pregnant that night, and with no incidence of multiple births in our family, eight months later, she delivered quadruplet girls, prematurely. I hurried down to the Children’s Hospital in San Diego to get a photo opportunity and possible media coverage as "Uncle Denis of the Waitley Quads." They told me to stand in the corner, saying I hadn’t contributed anything. The TV anchorwoman asked my niece Heidi how she felt. She said, "I feel a little tired. We’re going to need a new car." They turned to my nephew David, whose eyes looked like burnt corks. "David, as the father, how does it feel to have seven little girls under the age of seven?" David replied, "We’re not going to need a new car, we’re never going anywhere again." But that’s not the point of the story. In addition to seeing them as wonderful parents devoted to their seven little girls, my attention was focused on the neo-natal nurses caring for the newborn quadruplets, weighing between a pound and a half to two and a half pounds. Caring passionately for them like little birds in nests. Oblivious of quitting time. Not hearing the lunch bell at noon. Doing what they loved. Involved in helping improve the quality of life. We all can’t be Tiger Woods, or Barbra Streisand, or Jonas Salk. But we can chase our passion, not our pension. You’ll always do well, what you love most. That’s the essence of all that you’ve experienced in this program.

Action Idea: If you had the time and circumstances allowed, what is one of your most passionate desires in life you would like to pursue? It could be a new business idea, music, action, sports, or community service. Starting tomorrow, chase that passion a little bit at a time.

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Self-Knowledge, The Key to Preparing for Competition by Denis Waitley

 Self-knowledge has always been the key to preparing for competition. Knowledge of your attributes, abilities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and traits is essential to riding the front end of the wave of change into the new century.  To fully assess your own talents, realize that studies confirm that what we love and do well as children continues as our latent or manifest talent as adults.

Examination of your weekend or evening interests might reveal a gem of potential you can apply to your vocation. I strongly suggest you don’t unthinkingly relegate what you love to do for yourself solely to hobbies. You might make it, or at least integrate it into your life’s work.

The acquisition of knowledge, which is the new global power, is a life-long experience, not a collection of facts or skills. Not long ago, what you learned in school was largely all you needed to learn to secure a career. With knowledge expanding exponentially, this is no longer true. Hundreds of scientific papers are published daily.

Every thirty seconds, some new technological company produces yet another innovation. Your formal education has a very short shelf life. Life-long learning, once a luxury for the few, has become absolutely vital to continued success. Continue gaining expertise and avoid thinking like an expert.

Action Idea: An excellent benchmarking exercise is to spend a weekend with key associates or family members and dust off your childhood memories. Remember what you really enjoyed and wanted to do most as a child. The next activity in assessing your interests is considering your current ones. What do you most enjoy after work? What do you most want to do on weekends and vacations? What are your hobbies? Can you bring more of what you enjoy into your business life?

Action Step - Increase Your Reading, Writing and Vocabulary Proficiency. One of the most important qualities of successful leaders is an ability to express thoughts and knowledge. Research by management and human resource experts confirms that no matter what the field of employment, people with large vocabularies - those able to speak clearly and concisely, using simple as well as descriptive words - are best at accomplishing their goals. Well chosen, carefully considered words can close the sale, negotiate the raise, enhance relationships, and change destinies.

In a world of e-mail, fax dispersal, voice mail, sound bites, concise reports, business plans, and meeting briefs, the individuals who can articulate their goals, substantiate their claims, and support their visions, will own the future. In the 21st Century, literacy will be the major difference between the haves and have-nots.

Why do fewer than 10 percent of the public buy and read nonfiction books? One reason is that many would rather get home than get ahead. They are motivated to get by and get pulled along by the company, the economy, or the government.

Another reason is that many individuals believe that information found in books, computer programs, and training sessions has no value in the business world. How self-deluding!

As the new tools of productivity become the Internet, the Digital Versatile Disc, direct digital download of text, audio and video, and the combination of the interactive computer with telecommunications, the people who know how to control the new technologies will acquire power, while those who thought that education ends with the diploma are destined for low-paying, low-satisfaction jobs. In almost the blink of an eye, our society has passed from the industrial age to the knowledge era.

Increase your reading by 100 percent. Decrease your television watching, and that of any children in your family by 50 percent. Surf the Internet and subscribe to book summaries, or download free chapters from different sources. By reading book summaries, you can gain the essence of all the top business books in a very brief period of time.

Action Idea: Read at least one book each month, and listen to at least one additional audio book or education series during commute or down time.

Knowledge is the new power. And literacy is the door to knowledge. Hopefully, listening to the "Psychology of Winning" program will be one of the keys that will open the door to your future for you.

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Overflowing Buckets of Wealth by Denis Waitley

With a little discipline and patience, you can make your journey to abundance and personal fulfillment a downhill flow instead of an uphill struggle. The key is to use the "overflowing buckets" concept of creating financial independence.

Picture your life as a five-step stairway, with you standing at the top and Fulfillment waiting for you at the bottom. Complete this picture by placing a large, empty bucket on each of the five steps and labeling the buckets from top to bottom:

Survival, Financial Stability, Quality of Life, Financial Security, Financial Independence.

Your objective is to fill each bucket with dollars as you progress down the stairway, so that when one bucket overflows, it begins to fill the next bucket.

The Survival bucket is how you can pay for your basic needs of food and shelter. Once you’ve taken care of these, any extra money flows into the second bucket, which is Financial Stability. Financial stability is the ability to keep solvent in the event of sudden, unforeseen changes and emergencies in your life – insurance against catastrophic loss.

To be financially stable, you must have an emergency fund in a savings account equal to a minimum of three month’s income, and preferably six months’ income. You also must have adequate permanent and transferable medical insurance that remains in force, regardless of your employment status, as well as life insurance, including some whole life, in addition to term, that accumulates cash value and has a level premium

Another critical component of financial stability is non-cancelable, individual permanent disability income insurance, equal to at least 70 percent of your monthly pay, but preferably 100 percent. One of the greatest financial blunders most people make is to forget that the possibility of loss of income resulting from an injury or illness is much greater than that of loss of life. Not only are you without income when you are sick or injured, you also do need to be cared for during that period, and the expenses continue even though you’re not able to work.

When bucket two is filled with contingency dollars for your financial stability, you can sit down with your inner circle and determine what standard of living will give you the quality of life you want: your home, family, education, recreation, possessions, etc. These considerations should be budgeted with a monthly amount of savings, however small.

If you can fill your Quality of Life bucket, a little extra discretionary income will trickle over the lip and fall into bucket four. This is the Financial Security bucket. Financial security is defined as the amount of assets that will give you the amount of after-tax income you need to maintain the standard of living necessary to have the quality of life you want, at some predetermined point into the future, without having to depend upon day-to-day employment. Less than 10 percent of Americans ever fill this bucket. Your goal is to be in this 10 percent. It is not based on salary. Many individuals in the top income brackets never reach financial security. Many middle-income Americans do. To get in the top 10 percent, you need to put 10 percent of your spendable into an appreciating investment fund every month, just like a mortgage payment.

The fifth and final bucket is Financial Independence. This is achieved when you beat the target date you set for retirement. The object of creating personal assets is to be financially independent of having to work, while you still have your health and are still young enough to enjoy those assets. Many individuals set their financial security target date at age 65. Using compound interest over time, you can beat your target date and set yourself free.

See your life as a stairway to fulfillment. Put your dollars in the right buckets, in the right order. You’ll be amazed at the way cash flows from bucket to bucket, like a river down a mountain.

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Six Behaviors that Increase Self-Esteem by Denis Waitley (excerpted from The Psychology of Motivation)

Following are six behaviors that increase self-esteem, enhance your self-confidence, and spur your motivation. You may recognize some of them as things you naturally do in your interactions with other people. But if you don’t, I suggest you motivate yourself to take some of these important steps immediately.

First, greet others with a smile and look them directly in the eye. A smile and direct eye contact convey confidence born of self-respect. In the same way, answer the phone pleasantly whether at work or at home, and when placing a call, give your name before asking to speak to the party you want to reach. Leading with your name underscores that a person with self-respect is making the call.

Second, always show real appreciation for a gift or complement. Don’t downplay or sidestep expressions of affection or honor from others. The ability to accept or receive is a universal mark of an individual with solid self-esteem.

Third, don’t brag. It’s almost a paradox that genuine modesty is actually part of the capacity to gracefully receive compliments. People who brag about their own exploits or demand special attention are simply trying to build themselves up in the eyes of others — and that’s because they don’t perceive themselves as already worthy of respect.

Fourth, don’t make your problems the centerpiece of your conversation. Talk positively about your life and the progress you’re trying to make. Be aware of any negative thinking, and take notice of how often you complain. When you hear yourself criticize someone — and this includes self-criticism — find a way to be helpful instead of critical.

Fifth, respond to difficult times or depressing moments by increasing your level of productive activity. When your self-esteem is being challenged, don’t sit around and fall victim to "paralysis by analysis." The late Malcolm Forbes said, "Vehicles in motion use their generators to charge their own batteries. Unless you happen to be a golf cart, you can’t recharge your battery when you’re parked in the garage!"

Sixth, choose to see mistakes and rejections as opportunities to learn. View a failure as the conclusion of one performance, not the end of your entire career. Own up to your shortcomings, but refuse to see yourself as a failure. A failure may be something you have done — and it may even be something you’ll have to do again on the way to success — but a failure is definitely not something you are.

Even if you’re at a point where you’re feeling very negatively about yourself, be aware that you’re now ideally positioned to make rapid and dramatic improvement. A negative self-evaluation, if it’s honest and insightful, takes much more courage and character than the self-delusions that underlie arrogance and conceit. I’ve seen the truth of this proven many times in my work with athletes. After an extremely poor performance, a team or an individual athlete often does much better the next time out, especially when the poor performance was so bad that there was simply no way to shirk responsibility for it. Disappointment, defeat, and even apparent failure are in no way permanent conditions unless we choose to make them so. On the contrary, these undeniably painful experiences can be the solid foundation on which to build future success.

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The Virtue of Patience by Denis Waitley (excerpted from The Psychology of Motivation)

While persistence is the determination to strive to achieve your ultimate goal, there is another virtue of equally great value. Persistence keeps us moving inside ourselves to see the purpose behind the purpose, but patience is the wisdom behind persistence.

Patience cautions us to focus our efforts on what we can change while accepting what we cannot When external circumstance rains on our parade, patience is our umbrella. Rather than blaming what we cannot control, patience is the wisdom behind persistence.

It is when a goal is distant and difficult to reach that patience is an ally. Time changes everything, but with patience you can keep your desires relatively constant. If you can just hang on long enough, time will finally create the conditions in which you can succeed.