Archive for the ‘Personal Development’ Category
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
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The gems of knowledge that you get from Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” are endless. The previous articles we discussed Napoleon Hill’s leadership’s philosophies of unwavering courage, self control, definiteness of decision and definiteness of plans. We will discuss of a leader who has a habit doing more than he or she is paid for. This leadership philosophy in correlation with his other ideas gives you different ways to achieving success in life and business. The question of who makes a great leader is an idea that is dependent on the person. Leadership means different things to different people. A person who you respect is a leader in your eyes might be a nuisance to others.
People are more prone to keep following a leader that goes above and beyond the call of duty. The ideal world is prone to perfect execution and flawless execution of all plans. We don’t live in the ideal world so a leader who can roll with punches and succeed no matter the obstacles is truly appreciated. Successful leaders do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. When you have goals that are not on track someone has to do extra work. Leaders sometimes take it upon themselves to put the extra time necessary to get back on track.
Michael Jordan was always the first one at practice and the last one to leave. Michael wanted to make sure that he was prepared to win every game. Michael work ethics made many of his team mates improve their game. He did so much more than was required of him that he inspired many others to do the same. Michael Jordan’s commitment to excellence led to many NBA Championships and the respect of millions of people. Some followers believe that it is their job to pick up the slack and don’t like to see the leader do the extra lifting.
A leader has to able to get down in the trenches and do the “dirty” work sometimes. When your subordinates know that you have no problem rolling up your sleeves and getting to work they have no issues doing more than is expected of them. We are not talking about the people who do it to further their own agenda. The followers who truly believe in the ideals of the leader and are committed to helping him or her accomplish these goals are the one deserving of the praise. If the habit of doing more than is expected of you becomes viral, then your business may explode beyond belief. If you start applying this leadership philosophy and the others in the previous article that Napoleon Hill writes about you will see a change in your business in a relatively short time.
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Tags: Doing More Than Paid For, Leadership, leadership philosophy, Napoleon Hill, self control, Think and Grow Rich, unwavering courage
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Saturday, May 1st, 2010
Napoleon Hill believed that people who cannot control themselves can never control others. A leader is placed under a microscope by your followers, his or her actions or inaction may be magnified to the extreme. Self-control along with unwavering courage could dictate whether someone believe in you as a leader or perceive you as a “fake”. The governing of one’s self and actions are indications of whether or not you have the ability to lead. A follower will emulate a leader who stands by his conviction instead of the one who loses control of himself on a regular basis. For example, if you are an advocate against smoking cigarettes, but yet every chance you light up a cigarette. This conflicting message will force many people to look at you in differently.
Most people are looking to succeed with as little amount of effort as possible to generate phenomenon results. We live in a world with many roadblocks and distraction opposing our ultimate goals and objectives. We live in a society of instant coffee, instant tea and instant gratification. When you live in the now with no concrete plans for the future, then you will have to suffer the consequences. The something for nothing mentality must be erased from your being and be replaced some of the attributes that Napoleon Hill wrote about.
The people who restrain themselves and put the necessary sweat equity into their endeavor are far more successful, than those who feel society owes them something. For example, Joachim de Posada, speaker and motivational coach, talks about an experiment where they took 4-5 year old kids, and left them in a room for 30 minutes. The kids were instructed that if you don’t eat the marshmallow that was in front of you, you would get another one when we return. Many of the kids did everything, but stand on their head to avoid eating the marshmallow.
The scientists then re-visited the kids 13-15 years later and found that the kids that ate the marshmallow before time was not as successful as the one who did not eat it. This experiment was about self control where you had a choice between instant gratifications or delayed gratification with a bonus. A true leader with self control may make the decisions that could impact the lives of many people and be trusted until the results come to fruition. The successful leader makes decision quickly, but changes slowly. Leaders must have unwavering courage and self control to build a network of followers who will trust them implicitly.
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Tags: leadership attributes, leadership qualities, Napoleon Hill, self control, unwavering courage
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Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Mastery of detail may seem very complicated, but it is a key leadership quality that you must develop. Your choice is to either master the detail or let the detail master you. Napoleon Hill‘s “Think and Grow Rich” write that this as one of the eleven critical attributes in leadership development. For example, if we were 6 miles apart and started walking towards each other, but we were one degree off. We would never end up in the same location because of that slight deviation. If that slight detail continued to be overlooked, then how far will we truly be apart?
The sooner we adjust our journey the less chance that it would become a major flaw in your plans. The big picture is normally easier to handle overall, but sometimes you must get down to the nitty-gritty of most situations. If this quality is not part of you, then find the right person to handle that task. A true leader knows his weakness and uses his resources to overcome it. One minor detail might put a hole in the boat, but a combination of neglected details might sink the Titanic. A businessperson will fail in the long run if he or she always overlooked the minor details.
For example, if you have the following 4 step system in place to increase your business
1. Generate leads using different lead generation methods
2. Have a discussion with potential business partner
3. Invite potential business partner to get the information needed to make discussion
4. Follow-up for final decision
You will fail in this model if you had no leads to call which is a major detail. You might be a little successful if you only did only 1 to 3 on a consistent basis. The follow-up even though a minor detail could be the difference between being truly successful and unsuccessful. The leader who masters the details in a business transaction will truly have more success, than the one who just wings it.
For instance if your client is a vegan, but you order a meat entree for lunch that little detail might be the difference between keeping or losing that person as your client. The chances that your business will grow under these circumstances are slim to nil. Napoleon Hill highlighted mastery of detail as one the key leadership qualities. What other qualities do you look for in your leaders?
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Tags: Leadership, leadership attributes, leadership qualities, mastery of detail, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
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Sunday, April 25th, 2010
Napoleon Hill’s” Think and Grow Rich” believed that a leader should possess a keen sense of justice. Any leader with this quality does the right thing even when no one is watching. A true leader follows his own set of codes that dictates his actions in any given situation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK Jr.) was such a leader in his fight to end racial segregation and racial discrimination.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished these changes through civil disobedience and non-violent means. He fought for justice and fairness in the face of danger staying true to his beliefs. People followed and respected MLK Jr. based on a number of factors, but his keen sense of justice was the overshadowing factor that made him a strong leader. A fish stinks from the head down, so naturally his followers will imitate.
If you are truly committed to your beliefs system, then you will do what is right always. It is very difficult to keep this core trait out of every aspect of your life. It could seep into your business life as well. Most businesses with a good grasp of right and wrong tend to have a very strong foundation. A company that recalls a defective product after finding a defect will be respected. The company that only does the recall after a whistle blower reveals it is viewed by many in a negative light. The goodwill that is generated by doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing can not be measured on a monetary basis.
The desire to make more profit is overshadowed by the desire to do what is right. If your business model is based on lying, cheating and hoodwinking people into coming into your business, then eventually the house of cards will implode. Leaders must true to themselves and respond in a way that ethical and fair and it does not matter whether he or she is under the microscope or not.
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Tags: keen sense of justice, Leadership, leadership attributes, leadership qualities, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
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Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” wrote about eleven attributes of leadership that are critical to be successful. The leadership attributes that I will discuss in this article is definiteness of decision. Napoleon Hill believed that “people who waver in decisions show that they are not sure of themselves. This author d id not list these attributes in any particular order of importance, but he felt that all or a combination of these attributes will make you a leader that your business partners will respect and appreciate. Successful people make decision quickly and change them slowly, while unsuccessful people make decision slowly and change them rapidly.
We must be steadfast in the decisions that we make and not change them even when nothing is going right. Steven Spielberg is an excellent example of this he made the decision to be movie director from a very early age. Steven Spielberg kept focused on his endgame and he did whatever it took to make his dreams come true. “Jaws”, his second film, released in 1975 broke box office and Steven Spielberg went on to phenomenal success. He did not give on his dreams and did something else when he was turned down.
The turtle outran the hare in that famous nursery rhyme because he had made a decision to finish the race no matter what. The hare on the other hand felt that it was an easy win so he took a rest and when he decided to finish the race the turtle had already won the race. When you make decision slowly and change them quickly, then you are destined to be an unsuccessful person.
These unsuccessful people do not have the intestinal fortitude to hold fast to their dreams. The beautiful thing about personal development is that if you identify the obstacles in your path to success you can figure out a way to overcome them. If you are a starter but not a finisher in your decision making processes. One way to get around that is get a finisher in your mastermind group. The synergy of you as the starter and having a finisher would help you achieve your goals. Napoleon listed the eleven attributes of leadership and he knew with desire you can become this successful leader. You can become successful by mimicking the habits of successful people. You can become a person who has definiteness in the decisions that you make to become the successful person that you want to be.
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Tags: Definiteness of Decision, leadership attributes, leadership qualities, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
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Monday, April 19th, 2010
The types of knowledge that you may acquire are General Knowledge and Specialized Knowledge. Napoleon Hill famous book “Think and Grow Rich” stated that Specialized Knowledge is the fourth step to riches. The key differences between these two types of knowledge are Specialized Knowledge will attract money with organized and intelligent plan of actions. The person with this specialized knowledge normally has the power. General Knowledge is useless in the accumulation of money. Universities possess every type of general knowledge that is available, but they specialize in teaching knowledge. We go to these to institutions to learn new skills that give us power, but true power will never be gain there.
The saying goes that knowledge is power, but actually it is only potential power. The use of knowledge with definite plans of action and directed to a definite end is power. Henry Ford had little “schooling” but yet he was instrumental in developing his “Model T”. Henry Ford secret was that he hired people with the “schooling” to help him run his business. Henry Ford informal “schooling” led to riches beyond his imagination. Form Motor Company has been in business for over one hundred years. Henry Ford was an educated person in more way than his critics could ever understand.
A truly educated person is one who knows where to get knowledge when needed. He or she also knows how to organize this knowledge into definite plans of action. The personal with an education is normally the person who you expect to have an abundance of general and specialized knowledge. When you start your home internet business opportunity you are not expected to know everything. You would more than likely have a general idea about how you are supposed to run your home internet business opportunity. You will need specialized knowledge to succeed.
The lifeblood of most home businesses is lead generation. There are so many different ways to generate a lead. You must acquire specialized knowledge in mastering one method, then move on to the other. You want to master it till it produces results for you. When I went to school it was recommended that you become good in different subjects. You become a jack of all trade and a master of none.
This only leads to mediocrity because you become at expert at nothing, but have general knowledge about everything. It is better to determine the purpose for which you want to use the knowledge that you seek to gain more knowledge. You must then learn where you can obtain this knowledge. You would not go to someone who is not in your industry to learn about lead generation. You will go to the leaders in your industry to acquire that knowledge. Lead generation is a specialized art in itself. It is a cycle of always getting specialized knowledge to help your home internet business opportunity grow.
Specialized knowledge with definite plans of action and definite purpose will help your home internet business opportunity become successful. They are a wealth of knowledge available that you may use to help your business grow. You must select the right source to gain this knowledge on an ongoing basis. Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich” outlined specialized knowledge as the fourth step to riches. Your riches are dependent on what you want to accomplish in your life, relationship and business.
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Tags: fourth step to riches, general knowledge, home internet business opportunity, Napoleon Hill, specialized knowledge, Think and Grow Rich
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Saturday, April 17th, 2010
Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” wrote about 11 leadership attributes that are critical in leadership development to be successful. I have written previous articles on unwavering courage, self-control, a keen sense of justice and definiteness of decision. This article is about definiteness of plans where Napoleon Hill believed that a leader must plan the work and work the plan. He felt that if you do not have practical and definite plans, then you are lost.
The leader who makes decisions purely by guesswork is like a ship without a rudder. Leaders who are constantly flying blind will eventually crash and their followers will stop following them. As a leader you must not fail to plan otherwise you will plan to fail. One method that you may use to set your plans is the S.M.A.R.T method. S.M.A.R.T is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based.
Your plan must be specific meaning you know exactly what you want to achieve, for example a plan of losing forty pounds in two days. If you achieve this feat then it is measurable, because if you achieved it and the scale allows you to count the weight lost. If you are forty pound overweight and you want to lose that weight in two days, your plan must be attainable. The goal of losing 40 pounds in two days is not realistic, so make your plan based on reality. The time-based of two days is definitely not possible, therefore your mind reject the plan even before you embark on it.
When you make a plan that fails, then your followers start to critique and are very critical of your proposed plans. When a number of your plans fail then your ability to lead will be seriously hindered. When a leader makes a plan he has to have unwavering courage, self-control and definiteness of decisions to follow through all the way with his or her plans. These attributes becomes interdependent on each other. These attributes start to overlap once you start talking about more than three or more of them. You do not have to have all of these attributes to succeed, but you must master the majority of them.
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Tags: definitive plans, Leadership, leadership attributes, leadership qualities, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
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Friday, April 16th, 2010
Faith is the second step on the road to riches. Napoleon Hill wrote in the book “Think and Grow Rich” that the first step to riches is desire. When people think about riches normally being wealthy comes to mind. Riches are not only about how much money you have in the bank. Achieving riches in your life may be different from one person to the next. Riches might be a level of success in life, business or your relationships. When you are considering pursuing a home internet business opportunity, you must take a chance. The determining factor on this journey is that you must take a leap of faith.
A leap of faith is going from the known to the unknown without a security blanket. Ray Kroc, creator of fast food industry, was such a person. Roy Kroc’s McDonald made him one of the richest men of his time. Roy saw an opportunity and took a chance without guarantee of success. You have to let go of something before you grab something else.
There is always a chance that you will fall in the split second that you let go. The more life change, the more it stays the same. A leap from your actual life to what could be possible in a successful home internet business opportunity. If you are not willing to take a chance, then you are guaranteed one thing. If you always do what you have always done, then you will always get what you have always got.
When you start a home internet business opportunity you must truly have faith that you will succeed. If you want to change your results, then you must take risk, the greater the risks the sweeter the rewards. Your possibilities may only be limited by your imagination. Your dream of time freedom, financial freedom, and appreciation may be realized in your home internet business opportunity. If you don’t take a leap of faith, then you will continue to get the same results in your life and business. Success is within your grasp, but you must reach out to access it.
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Tags: faith, home internet business opportunity, Napoleon Hill, second step to riches, Think and Grow Rich
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Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Napoleon Hill writes about the thirteen steps to riches in “Think and Grow Rich”. The third step to riches is autosuggestion which is also self-suggestion. It is the bridge between the conscious and subconscious mind. “No Thought, whether it is negative or positive, can enter the subconscious mind without the aid of the principle of autosuggestion, with the exception of thoughts picked up from the ether”. Your conscious mind serves as a faculty for the subconscious mind. Thoughts might pass through your five senses but the way the conscious mind perceived them determines whether they are passed on to the subconscious mind or are rejected. Mastering autosuggestion will help make your home internet business opportunity successful.
Your subconscious mind will only work at attaining a goal if it is realistic. You have never played a round golf in your life, but your goal is to play like Tiger Woods. Your conscious mind will reject that goal right away. We have absolute control over the material that reaches our subconscious mind. This may explain why so many people live in poverty. If you let negative thought dictate your life then you can not be surprised by the outcome. The sad fact is that many people do not exercise this control.
The saying goes that you reap what you sow. If you plant positive seeds of great crops in your subconscious, then you will get a fertile and thriving garden. If you allow weeds to grow in your garden, then all the alibis of failure will be a part of your life. Autosuggestion is a strong strategy to use in your home business. Thoughts become our Destiny and autosuggestion truly shows us that mastering it could either make us or break us. Autosuggestion sound very similar to The Law of Attraction. If you give attention, energy and focus to achieving a goal in your home business, then it will manifest itself. Napoleon Hill started with desire as the first step to riches, then faith as the second step and now autosuggestion as the third step. Napoleon Hill show us in a systematically way how to achieve “riches” in our home internet business opportunity and he did many years of research so we should heed his words.
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Tags: autosuggestion, Napoleon Hill, self suggestion, Think and Grow Rich, third step to riches
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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Desire is the first step to riches as stated by Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. The pre-step to riches are thoughts. Your destiny is determined by your thoughts. Positive thoughts with action will help you achieve riches. I have been in the home internet business opportunity industry for quite some time now. What I have found that many people are not happy with their current situation, but few are willing to do something about it.
Their minds are preoccupied with wanting change, but with no action they will be in the same position 5, 10 or 20 years from now. The desire to succeed does not overshadow the desire to do nothing. You must have a strong desire with the commitment to follow through with your goals and objectives.
Desire is a requirement when it comes to succeeding in your life. If you don’t have a strong desire, then the foundation of your quest will be shaky and unstable. The path to riches is an easy system to follow, but when times get rough and your desire is weak, you will inevitably fall to the wayside. For example if you have a desire to run a marathon and the only time you can exercise is 6 a.m. every morning. When the alarm clock goes off you break it with a baseball bat. Your desire to sleep is significantly stronger than your desire to run the marathon. Your actions are therefore going to align with your desires. The only marathon that you will be able to run is only in your dreams.
Your determination and perseverance are developed from your strong sense of desire. You home internet business opportunity will only succeed in direct relation to your desire. If the foundation is indeed weak from a lukewarm desire, then your building will crumble when things goes wrong. I will rather take eight people who are totally committed to their craft, than eighty with lukewarm enthusiasm. Your success is not dependent on the quantity of your endeavors, but in the quality of your desire to truly succeed. When you embark on your path to riches make sure that your desire is strong to help you overcome the obstacles in your path. Why is your Why so important to your success?
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Tags: 1st step to riches, desire, first step to riches, from home internet business opportunity, home internet business opportunity, Napoleon Hill
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