Seven Steps to Achieving Your Dream – Top7-Or-10-Tips
Seven Steps to Achieving Your Dream
"Vision is the spectacular that inspires us to carry out the mundane." -- Chris WidenerCan achievement be broken down into steps? Well, it isn't always that clean and easy, but I do know that those who achieve great things usually go through much of the same process, with many of the items listed below as part of that process. So if you have been struggling with achievement, look through the following and internalize the thoughts presented. Then begin to apply them. You will be on the road to achieving your dream!1. Dream it - Everything begins in the heart and mind. Every great achievement began in the mind of one person. They dared to dream, to believe that it was possible. Take some time to allow yourself to ask "What if?" Think big. Don't let negative thinking discourage you. You want to be a "dreamer." Dream of the possibilities for yourself, your family, and for others. If you had a dream that you let grow cold, re-ignite the dream! Fan the flames. Life is to short to let it go. (Also, check out my article "Dare to Dream Again," Which has been read by close to a million people in the last 4 months alone. You can see it at the website.)2. Believe it - Yes, your dream needs to be big. It needs to be something that is seemingly beyond your capabilities. But it also must be believable. You must be able to say that if certain things take place, if others help, if you work hard enough, though it is a big dream, it can still be done. Good example: A person with no college education can dream that he will build a 50 million-dollar a year company. That is big, but believable. Bad example: That a 90 year-old woman with arthritis will someday run a marathon in under 3 hours. It is big alright, but also impossible. She should instead focus on building a 50 million-dollar a year business! And she better get a move on!3. See it - The great achievers have a habit. They "see" things. They picture themselves walking around their CEO office in their new 25 million-dollar corporate headquarters, even while they are sitting on a folding chair in their garage "headquarters." Great free-throw shooters in the NBA picture the ball going through the basket. PGA golfers picture the ball going straight down the fairway. World-class speakers picture themselves speaking with energy and emotion. All of this grooms the mind to control the body to carry out the dream.4. Tell it - One reason many dreams never go anywhere is because the dreamer keeps it all to himself. It is a quiet dream that only lives inside of his mind. The one who wants to achieve their dream must tell that dream to many people. One reason: As we continually say it, we begin to believe it more and more. If we are talking about it then it must be possible. Another reason: It holds us accountable. When we have told others, it spurs us on to actually do it so we don't look foolish.5. Plan it - Every dream must take the form of a plan. The old saying that you "get what you plan for" is so true. Your dream won't just happen. You need to sit down, on a regular basis, and plan out your strategy for achieving the dream. Think through all of the details. Break the whole plan down into small, workable parts. Then set a time frame for accomplishing each task on your "dream plan."6. Work it - Boy, wouldn't life be grand if we could quit before this one! Unfortunately the successful are usually the hardest workers. While the rest of the world is sitting on their couch watching re-runs of Gilligan's Island, achievers are working on their goal - achieving their dream. I have an equation that I work with: Your short-term tasks, multiplied by time, equal your long-term accomplishments. If you work on it each day, eventually you will achieve your dream. War and Peace was written, in longhand, page by page.7. Enjoy it - When you have reached your goal and you are living your dream, be sure to enjoy it. In fact, enjoy the trip too. Give yourself some rewards along the way. Give yourself a huge reward when you get there. Help others enjoy it. Be gracious and generous. Use your dream to better others. Then go back to number 1. And dream a little bigger this time!About The Author:Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of
Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn
their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and
achieve their dreams.To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on
the subject of Secrets of Influence go to
http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.
Seven Ways to Boxer-Proof Your House
Seven Ways to Boxer-Proof Your House
You are ready to bring your Boxer home? First, you must prepare your house. Whether you are bringing home a puppy or adult Boxer, you may want to spend some time surveying your house from a Boxer eye view (about 2 feet off the ground). Wires, drapes and counters look pretty interesting from that height.The Best Ways to Boxer-Proof Your HouseBelow is a list of how to Boxer-proof your home for adult or puppy: It is only a partial list, but a good start to your own research.1. Be sure to keep anything valuable (or what you don’t want chewed) at least 3 feet off the floor. Boxers have an amazing ability to jump, even as puppies. This includes anything on the coffee table, kitchen counter, buffet, etc. Boxers are curious and love to explore.2. It may be cute to see your puppy with a mouthful of toilet paper, but not when it becomes the habit of an adult. Keep the bathroom door closed and eliminate toilet drinking and rolls of paper strewn about. Boxers seem to have an affinity for used cotton-balls, too!3. Restrict access to your kitchen garbage. Place the bin in the kitchen sink or behind closed doors. Dispose of your cigarette butts appropriately, as they can cause nicotine poisoning.4. Electrical cords must be monitored for signs of chewing and/or made inaccessible to your Boxer. Sometimes a nasty-tasting substance can be used to deter your Boxer. Check with your vet for some recommendations.5. We have all heard the horror stories of Boxers that have gotten into holiday decorations. They are attracted to the bright lights and shiny glass ornaments, so keep a close eye on your Boxer if you have Christmas decorations up.6. There are many kinds of poisonous plants, so be sure to contact your local veterinarian for a list of any toxic plants that grow in your area.7. Anti-freeze is highly toxic to dogs and it is a good idea to keep all chemicals safely out of reach of your Boxer, puppy or adult.Jody Mitchell, a stay at home mom and part time veterinarian assistant who has been saved by Boxer dog from car accident. Her amazing experience inspires her to write about Boxer: "The Boxer Chronicle - A Guide to All Things Boxer." Visit her Website http://www.boxerdogguide.com
Online Book Promotion Beats Traditional Seven to One – Part 1 – Book-Marketing
Online Book Promotion Beats Traditional Seven to One - Part 1
While traditional marketing can work for the book author or publisher, the return is dim for the huge effort it takes. You must promote 90% of the time to even get a milligram of attention. While you may have a success or two, most of your efforts will bring poor book sales.With online marketing, the author's message will reach hundreds of thousands in just a day because people love the free information you can give them with an enticement to come to your site to buy. And, you'll spend 9% instead of 90% time on it. Ask yourself right now, what promotion is working for me? What is not?Traditional Book Marketing Method One: The Press ReleaseSure, press releases can bring you attention.But it takes a lot of time to gather specific media or radio/TV producers' names. Writing "The San Diego Media Resource Directory" took 50 hours to research, and a lot more time to update each year.But you waste your efforts if your release doesn't go the right person. Many authors make the mistake of sending the release to the book editor. He gets hundreds each month, and will pay no attention if you are self-published. Like agents and traditional publishers, only 1-2% are chosen.But if you only send a few releases, they may get ignored. It's usual for any business to send out 150 news releases a year. That does take some time and effort.Don't relax after you send one or two releases. Think in terms of at least five a month.But, 95% of releases are ignored and tossed into the round file. Why? For many reasons, but check to see if you include a compelling heading, a human-interest story, a short tip list or article of how-tos, or a present news analogy.But you send a lengthy news release that takes 2 pages. Usually, editors want one under one page, double-spaced.But you go on and on about your book's features rather than its benefits. What's in it for the media's audience? They want solutions just like your book should offer. It turns out editors accept how to tips and articles with your byline that refers to your book than the features within your book. Most new authors omit this most important information.But most people don't realize the purpose of the press release is to grab the editor by the collar, so they will want to do a feature story on you. Make your headlines sizzle. "Seven Ways to Sell More Books Than You Ever Dreamed Of" got a feature story, which attracted 90 people to a seminar by the same name. The coach sold $550 worth of books, gained four new book- coaching clients worth $2000, enrolled 15 in her weekly seminars, yielding 24 clients published within a 2-year period.Your book coach's first published press release responded to an article on the editorial page about the "Three R's." The headline was "Schools Need to Teach the Fourth "R" "Rapid Reading. After discussing the background problems of first grade reading circles, she included the benefits of rapid reading, and gave nine how-to solutions. The publisher not only loved the article, but also came personally to take a picture.Most people don't realize the purpose of the press release is to grab the editor by the collar, so he or she will want to do a feature story on you. Make your headlines sizzle. "Seven Ways to Sell More Books Than You Ever Dreamed Of" got a feature story which attracted 90 people to a seminar by the same name. The coach sold $550 worth of books, gained four new book-coaching clients worth $2000, enrolled 15 in her weekly seminars, yielding 24 clients published within a two-year period.Traditional Book Marketing Method Two: Giving Talks, Seminars and Presenting at ExposCreating a talk takes a lot of time. You must practice it at least two times before you deliver it. You must discover resources to find organizations to present to. Many of them don't pay their speakers. You may say that's OK because I will sell books. Yes, you'll sell a dozen or maybe more, but think of the huge effort it takes to get there. Consider travel time, traffic, clothing upkeep, and schlepping all those heavy books around.Like myself, you may present a talk or seminar to a corporation with big hopes of selling your products. When they pay you, though, they may set boundaries on book sales. One positive is that because you have a book, you can negotiate and leverage with meeting planners and top executives for higher paid presentations.The biggest disadvantage? You must wait for decision makers to accept and schedule you--that could be six months or more. Think of the time invested in marketing materials such as the One-Page, videos, and meetings. Your book coach left this venue because she knew there was a better way! But was it expos?Speaking at Expos or maintaining a booth takes many hours of work. Consider preparing and submitting press releases, creating brochures, hand outs, decorating the booth, presenting a drawing, and bringing in products to sell.Speaking can bring you a few book sales, but people passing by your booth are usually just looking. Giving out hundreds of flyers with free seminar offers brings few results too.Yes, I did get on a talk-radio show and eleven people showed up at my Supermemory seminar. No, they didn't buy books or book a coaching session. Yes, I collected names and email addresses from a free drawing. I was able to use them for my free ezine, The Book Coach Says...," but clients did not bang down my door to use my talents.With figuring my prep and floor time at 44 hours for just one expo and sales under $350, I'd say that was slave labor.Judy Cullins