2.  The Champion Within Article

Confidence - "You Only Sell You" by Dr. Denis Waitley

This article's focus is on self-confidence and self-esteem. In my opinion, there is nothing more important than your belief in your own potential for success and happiness, regardless of your age, gender, ethnicity, looks, education or background. The truth is, every day "You only sell you." You don't sell products or a business concept. You sell the value of the person offering the products and services. The decision of the buyer is based on the value of the seller. Just as products are branded as "the best", "cheap", "ineffective", "trustworthy" or "unreliable", so, too, are individuals branded by others as "winners" or "also-rans." Who you are shouts so loudly, that people either can't hear, don't want to hear, or listen carefully to what you are saying. Everybody loves a winner, and we all want to buy from winners who pass their own value on to us.

Self-confidence isn't something you were born with. It's something you develop. Many of us were cultivated like weeds as children. We played inferior roles to the adults around us, who frequently reminded us of our faults and shortcomings more than our successes and abilities.

If you had that type of childhood, as I did, you face a special challenge in building up your self-confidence as an adult. Here are some basic points to remember about yourself:

1. Realize that the most important opinion about you is the one that you hold. Ultimately, nobody else is responsible for your life but you. Nobody else is accountable for your actions but you. Therefore, nobody’s opinion about you is more important than yours.

2. Recognize that the most important conversations are the ones you have with yourself. Whether or not you are aware of it, you have a running conversation with yourself from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. Your thoughts and ideas are "you talking to you." Have daily conversations with yourself that are supportive and reinforcing. We know the value of talking to people who praise us, reward us, recognize us, are happy to see us, and let us know they genuinely enjoy talking with us. Talk to yourself with those same qualities – silently as well as audibly.

3. Develop a strong system of internal values. Weigh what you hold to be true, good and lasting. Write down some of your values for periodic review. Read material that reinforces what you hold to be significant in life. Know what you believe and why you believe it. At times, have discussions – even debates – with yourself. Draw conclusions about life. Think about deeper issues. Your values will greatly affect how you relate to others. The stronger your values are, the greater the impact. If you are lacking in internal values, you will tend to draw from and even use other people to try to mimic their behaviors, if only superficially. Instead, seek to become a model, one who can help and give strength to others.

4. Don't reinforce your failures. Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. Failure is a temporary setback, not a residence. Failure is a learning experience, not a person. Like success, failure is a growth process, not a status. Don't wallow in your mistakes. Correct them and move forward.

5. Don't demand perfection of yourself. An A is usually awarded to the person who scores 90 percent or better, and sometimes the score doesn't need to be that high. Professional basketball players only make half their shots. Professional quarterback complete only half their passes, and professional baseball players reach first base less than 40 percent of the time, and that includes walks. And we all know what our averages are in picking stocks to invest in that are always going up. That would be never! Give your best effort every day and keep ratcheting forward. Perfection is not only totally unrealistic to expect and virtually impossible to achieve, but it greatly deters your ability to move forward. The person who is constantly looking over his or her shoulder at what might have been done better, can't possibly be focused on the future. Drive with your eyes ahead; don't drive by concentrating on the rearview mirror.

6. Give each job or task your best effort. Countless individuals say, when confronted with a chore, "I'm too good to be doing this." They have contempt for their current situation and position, and get discouraged easily. Success is an accumulation of what you do in the minutes of each day. No task is too unworthy to do well. There are no small parts – only small actors.

7. View the big picture of life. Step back from the landscape of your life today and take a long walk, ride a bike, or just sit silently, observing the wonder and abundance of God's creation in nature. You are a part of a much bigger whole. Listen to the subtle rhythms of your environment. Recognize that you have rhythms and cycles of change in your life. Relax and open up to the vast creative and interrelated world around you.

To develop confidence, you must see yourself ultimately as a unique part of creation. You must recognize, with pleasure, that nobody else is just like you. No one else has exactly your temperament, history or experiences. No one else has your footprints, your finger prints, your voice print or your genetic code. No one else has precisely your set of talents, capabilities and skills. You are one of a kind. The value is there. It just needs to be dusted off and polished.

-- Denis Waitley

 

Denis Waitley has studied, counseled and trained leaders in virtually every field including Apollo astronauts, Olympic gold medalists, Super Bowl champions, returning POW's, heads of state and Fortune 500 top executives.

Denis is recognized as a world class speaker and author and has traveled the globe sharing success ideas and strategies to thousands of companies the past 25 years. To book Dr. Waitley to speak for your company or to be part of your upcoming Regional or National Convention send an email to speaker@deniswaitley.com or call 877-929-0439 and ask for Hilary.

3. Seeds of Greatness by Denis Waitley
(Excerpted from Denis Waitley's book Safari to the Soul)

To be self-reliant adults, we need to set some guidelines:

• Be different, if it means higher personal and professional standards of behavior

• Be different, if it means treating animals like people, and people as brothers and sisters

• Be different, if it means being cleaner, neater and better groomed than the group

• Be different, if it means giving more in service than you expect to receive in payment

• Be different, if it means to take the calculated risk

• Be different, if it means to observe, listen and understand before passing judgment.


To order Safari to the Soul by Denis Waitley or to receive it Free as a Bonus when you purchase Denis Waitley's package, at a special discount this week only, scroll down to #5 or go to http://deniswaitley.yoursuccessstore.com or call 877-929-0439.





4. The Winner's Edge Coaching Tips

As you know I'm always looking for unique articles and tidbits that give you valuable information to help you win at life. Here's a little something from Zig Ziglar on cutting health care costs...

Hospitals can save big bucks by putting chaplains on their health care teams. Surprised? Hospitals are beginning to recognize that spiritual well-being can be crucial to the healing process. The Rev. George Frank, director of pastoral care at Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan, Illinois, says, "I don't think you can separate the physical from the emotional and spiritual. People are whole people. You can't treat the body without there being a spiritual or emotional impact."

I know that the skeptic might not agree with this idea philosophically, but I'm not talking about philosophy; I'm talking about facts. From 1991 to 1993, Dr. Elizabeth McSherry studied 700 coronary patients admitted to the Brockton/West Roxbury (Virginia) Center.

The group studied received some of the most costly and complicated procedures available such as bypass operations, valve replacements and open heart surgery. Also included in the study were veterans undergoing care for heart attacks and chronic heart disease. One group of patients had daily visits by a chaplain. The other group of patients saw a chaplain an average of three minutes during their entire hospital stay. The study found that patients who had the most contact with the chaplains were released from the hospital an average of two days sooner than patients who did not receive regular visits. Dr. McSherry estimates that the cost of the chaplain visits was no more than $100 per patient. The savings, however, from letting a patient go home earlier amounted to as much as $4,000 a day. The group visited by chaplains also had fewer complications after surgery.

Sounds like a logical way to cut our health care costs dramatically. That approach might even be a good idea for all phases of our lives.

See you at the top!
Zig Ziglar
 

To receive more information about Zig Ziglar and/or to purchase his special offer on Zig's Strategies for Success series, go to http://ziglar.yoursuccessstore.com or call 877-929-0439.

5. Featured Product of the Week

It's back! Safari To The Soul - A Guide To Survival, Success And Serenity In This Savage Paradise Called Life - has been heralded as Denis Waitley's most penetrating, profound and important message, which he delivers with his inimitable style, making us laugh, cry and pause to reflect on our own essence and beliefs.

If you've ever been to Maasai Mara in Kenya then reading Denis' book, Safari to the Soul will be like stepping back -- the sights, sounds, heat and sensations will all come rushing back. If you've never been, then the Maasai will come alive with Denis' vibrant descriptions as he weaves a rich tapestry of words, insights and philosophies gathered during his safari. Denis' unique style captivates readers as he relates the lessons learned in the jungle to living in this jungle called life as only Denis can.

Reasoning that most of our fears result from lack of knowledge and training to prepare us for the challenges and insecurities we face, he combines practical "safari guideposts" for survival, success and control of our actions, with sage advice on how to enjoy serenity, peace and balance in the process. Safari To The Soul is Denis Waitley's own, intimate journey into self-discovery, and reveals why he has endured for four decades as one of America's best-loved philosophers, keynote speakers, success mentors and inspirational authors.

For special pricing on both the hardback and paperback versions of this book (quantity pricing available too!), go to Safari to the Soul Special to view all of Denis Waitley's products, including The Psychology of Winning and The Platinum Collection, please visit  http://deniswaitley.yoursuccessstore.com

6. See Denis Waitley Live!

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to learn from personal development legend, Denis Waitley at a live event.

He'll speak on Leadership in Action - How to Outthink, Outperform, Outserve and Outlast the Competition. Dr. Denis Waitley has counseled winners in every field from Apollo astronauts to Superbowl champions, from sales achievers to government leaders and youth groups. During the past decade, he served as Chairman of Psychology on the U. S. Olympic Committee's Sports Medicine Council, responsible for performance enhancement of all U.S. Olympic athletes.

Don't miss this opportunity to see Denis Waitley live on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 from 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm.

To learn more go to: http://seminar.yoursuccessstore.com
 

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