Friday, November 24, 2006

The Richest Man In The Valley

A rich landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate so he could congratulate himself on his great wealth.

One day while riding around his estate on his favorite horse, he saw Hans, an old tenant farmer. Hans was sitting under a tree when Carl rode by.

Hans said, 'I was just thanking God for my food.' Carl protested, 'If that is all I had to eat, I wouldn't feel like giving thanks.' Hans replied, 'God has given me everything I need, and I am thankful for it.' The old farmer added, 'It is strange you should come by today because I had a dream last night. In my dream a voice told me, 'The richest man in the valley will die tonight.' I don't know what it means, but I thought I ought to tell you.'

Carl snorted, 'Dreams are nonsense,' and galloped away, but he could not forget Hans' words: 'The richest man in the valley will die tonight.'

He was obviously the richest man in the valley, so he invited his doctor to his house that evening. Carl told the doctor what Hans had said. After a thorough examination, the doctor told the wealthy landowner, 'Carl, you are as strong and healthy as a horse. There is no way you are going to die tonight.'

Nevertheless, for assurance, the doctor stayed with Carl, and they played cards through the night. The doctor left the next morning and Carl apologized for becoming so upset over the old man's dream.

At about nine o'clock, a messenger arrived at Carl's door. 'What is it?' Carl demanded. The messenger explained, 'It's about old Hans. He died last night in his sleep.'

Friday, November 17, 2006

"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." -- Charles F. Kettering

One of the biggest hindrances to people's achievement of success is that they spend too much time on two areas they shouldn't be in: The Past and the Present. We need not spend much time in the past because the past is, well, the past, right? There is nothing you can do about it but learn from it, and you learn for your future. The Present? Yes, we should spend our time on the present only in that we do so to further our future. Even our time and energy spent for the present is to create for ourselves the future. Yes, we should enjoy the present, but build for the future. This is where successful people live. This is where your dreams are! This is the field of accomplishment. This is the arena of satisfaction. Focus there. Learn from your past, enjoy your present, but put your interest in the future!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

If a man is right, his world will be right.



There is a great little story about a minister who, one Saturday morning was trying to prepare his sermon under difficult conditions. His wife was out shopping. It was a rainy day and his young son was restless and bored, with nothing to do. Finally, in desperation, the minister picked up an old magazine and thumbed through it until he came to a large brightly colored picture. It showed a map of the world.

He tore the page from the magazine, ripped it into little bits and threw the scraps all over the living room floor with the words:"Johnny, if you can put this all together, I'll give you a quarter."

The preacher thought this would take Johnny most of the morning. But within ten minutes there was a knock on the door. It was his son with the completed puzzle. The minister was amazed to see Johnny finished so soon, with the pieces of paper neatly arranged and the map of the world back in order.

"Son, how did you get that done so fast?" the preacher asked.

"Oh," said Johnny, "it was easy. On the other side there was a picture of a man. I just put a piece of paper on the botom, put the picture of the man together, put a piece of paper on top, and then turned it over. I figured if I got the man right, the world would be right."

When we are right we can change our world as well!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Change Your World First

Every adversity has the seed of an equal or greater benefit. We are the masters of our future because we are the masters of our attitude.

If there is one thing I have learned and continue to work on each day its that statement of controlling my attitude. I have learned to love my work because I realize it is not the work but my attitude that helps create that enjoyment.

When you help people enjoy their work each day you've given them a gift most take for granted. People work each day hours and hours a day hating what they do. Tolerating it even though their is typically no benefit besides money to pay the bills. When we can help people enjoy what they do it helps all other areas of their lives. Most of us haven't found the situation where we could combine our work with the two big heart areas inherent in each one of us, the will to love other people, and the desire to serve others. In our company we have it all!!!! When we focus on these things we start to be a lot more positive. When we are more positive we attract even greater things into our lives. We attract what we are.

Does that mean we will always be totally excited with where we are and what we are doing? No...But the key is to develop "inspired dissatisfaction" to help create the things you really want. This inspired dissatisfaction allows you to still be positive in tough situations and allows for better things to be attracted and thus change that situation sooner than later.

Some keys to changing your world:

  • A positive mental attitude
  • Definiteness of purpose
  • Going that extra mile
  • Accurate thinking
  • Self-discipline
  • Applied faith
  • A pleasing personality
  • Enthusiasm
  • Controlled attention
  • Teamwork
  • Learning from defeat
  • Budgeting time and money properly
  • Maintaining sound physical and mental health

Friday, November 10, 2006

Evander Holyfield


I was fortunate to meet the 4 time world champion boxer Evander Holyfield this morning. He has a big comeback that he is attempting to make. He had goals he had set to reach when he was younger. He thinks back to when he had nothing to remind himself of what he should be thankful for now. When he was a diamond but was covered in dust and no one knew it.

When he was 8 yrs. old he started boxing. The coach told him he could be the heavyweight champion of the world. He replied,"I am only 8 years old, how can I be the champion?". The trainer replied,"You won't always be 8." He knew he only weighed 65 lbs. The trainer said,"You won't only weigh 65 lbs.". After he went home and asked his mom, she said yes, if you listen, follow directions, and don't quit.

His mom is his hero although he did not realize that at first because she was always disciplining him. Keeping him focused on his goals. He lost his first match and wanted to quit, his mom said she did not raise a quitter, and sent him back. The third try he finally beat him. He now realizes that with working harder he can overcome all challenges.

He is coming back now at such a older age because he wants to be in control of his life not let the critics control it. He now has to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and workout when no one is watching. This is the same workout pattern he did when there was no food on the table like in the beginning when he was broke. He now donates time and money to help those people that are less fortunate. If it wasn't for the people believing in him when he had nothing he would not be here.

We need someone to believe in us. I know I believe in you probably more than you believe in yourself. You may say,"You don't even know me". I know that you are only where you are now but you will not always be here. I know you are not perfect but none of us are. I know that everyone who has ever been successful had to beat the same demons of self-doubt. With that in mind I know that you can do anything that you want to with your life. That does not mean it will be easy, but it never was intended to be.

Now that we know where you are going and what you are going to be when you "grow up" what about everyone else? Most don't have people in their lives that believe in them and that's what we can give the world through OurGV. That is the gift you have to share.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Tune Into Success


Absolutely no one can underestimate the power of the mind and its role in our success! It is imperative to keep our minds right and on the right track if we are to achieve balanced success in our career, finances, health, emotions, relationships and spiritual lives.The analogy I would like to use here is one of a radio station. For example, there may be a "Success" station. But the only way you can hear a radio station is to be tuned into it. Even a little off and you can't get the full effect.

The same is true with our mind and success. If our minds and our thoughts get sidetracked, our success will get sidetracked. As our minds stay tuned to "success" our bodies will then carry out our success and we will begin to experience abundance!So here are some ways to keep tuned into success!Use your innate ability to decide and choose. One of the things that separate us from the animals is that we live not by instinct, but by choice. Constantly flexing that muscle of choice builds it up and keeps us on track for success. It is like working out. The more we do, the stronger we get. The more "fit" we get. Want to keep your mind tuned for success? Keep it healthy by making good choices and decisions on a regular basis. For example, do you have a bad habit? Then flex your mind muscle and choose to change - today. If you choose to stay the same way (and those are the only two alternatives) you will have just chosen to tune your mind to a different station than "success."

Put good stuff into your brain. There are lots of things that want to work their way into our minds (and eventually work themselves out again in our actions). There will be lots that we just get from walking around all day. But what about what we put in on purpose? We can choose to put good stuff in on a regular basis. Do you take time each day to put good things into your mind, to tune into success? Here are two things to consider when you are choosing what to put into your mind: First, is it positive? Will it build you up or tear you down? Will it make you a better person, or lesser? Will you grow from it or not? Will it tune you to success or not? Secondly, Will it move you toward your goals in the areas of your life that you want to see success and abundance in?

Keep the junk out. Like I mentioned above, there will always be junk floating around, like a fellow employee who gripes all the time. But what surprises me is how many people who want success, actually willfully choose to put junk into their minds and then expect to be tuned into success. Here are some thoughts on this: First, evaluate everything that you put into your mind. Evaluate what you read, listen to and watch. We live in a fast-paced world and we have little time. Why then would we spend our precious time putting junk into our minds? Does what you read, listen to and watch move you toward your goals or away from them? It is a simple question, really. At least most of the time.

Eat right and exercise. That's right. The way we eat and the amount of exercise we get goes a long way toward our mind's ability to tune into success. Put the right foods into your body and the brain responds. Exercise on a regular basis and the body releases chemicals that literally ignite your brain for success!Hope these thoughts help you to get going and keep your mind tuned into success. Put them into practice and soon you'll be dialed into success and abundance.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Receptive to Success

Have you ever cooked pancakes before? I can barely cook anything but I can cook some pancakes. Nothing fancy but they are good and people at least eat them. One time I thought I would get a little fancier and try and cook up some waffles with one of those waffle irons. When I carefully made up the batter just like usual and put in into the waffle thing I was getting ready for a new masterpiece. All of a sudden I started smelling smoke and seeing it come out of the iron thing. It was a mess. All of the batter had burnt to the iron and after cleaning for what seemed like hours I was finally able to be at stage 0 where I had started. Little did I know that the waffle recipe called for more oil. Something as simple but necessary as that made my next experience a success. Guess what......

My business was the exact same. I had been thinking I knew how to do it and and what time things should happen. Little did I know I was missing incredible simple but necessary steps to the recipe that were costing me success. I now see others doing these mistakes all the time. Feeling like they know how to do it....feeling like the steps should not take as long as they do to complete.

There are 3 different kinds of reactions when learning new information. Figure out where you fall in this list.
1. Receptive. These are the people that are agreeing with everything they are reading even now. They agree with everything, and really enjoy the fact that most of them have full bank accounts or are on their way to having full bank accounts. You tell them to do the checklist and they do it. Go to all the trainings possible and they are there. Don't be a sparkler and fizzle out and they are long term for life in the business. Talk to people, be positive, get leads, put a list of non-profits together, do your goal sheets, and everything else they do it and enjoy the direction given.

2. Reluctant. Their first tendency is to say no but slowly but surely they open up and do what needs to be done. You try and tell them something they are doing wrong and they want to defend their actions. They don't succeed much on their own but when they do they have a selective memory and recall that they are right. They convince themselves that they are right most of the time, which makes it harder for them to be open with new information.

3. Rebellious. The rebellious folks are probably not reading this at all because they don't need to learn anything that I have to say. So we won't spend much time talking about them...but I think you get the idea.

I have decided to be as receptive to results and values that I choose to embrace in my life. Kind of like a picket fence. It serves as a boundary to my mind. It is not some impenetrable fortress that cannot be entered but more of a line that will not be crossed unless I choose to open the gate. I will open the gate freely to anything that will help make my area nicer and more enjoyable.

Friday, November 03, 2006

This Applies To All Of Us In All We Do

Written by a former child Author Unknown

A message every adult should read, because children are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a Creator I could always talk to and I learned to trust in the Creator of the world.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's alright to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.'

Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher or friend) influences the life of a child. How will you touch the life of someone today?

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Thoughts Lead To Actions

We need to act if we are going to be successful! Yet, our success starts long before our actions. In fact, our success begins in our thoughts.The process is that thoughts become actions and actions produce results. So the equation starts with the thoughts. So the key to success is to start with and control the thoughts that we have. Good thoughts become good actions become good results.But there is this predicament we have as humans. It is this "battle" we have with our thoughts. Thoughts of depression, negative thoughts, thoughts of fear etc constantly creep into our minds and cause us to act in certain ways that are going to produce the opposite of the kind we want that will produce success.So what can we do to win the battle with thoughts? Here are a few main points. Apply these immediately and then constantly and you will be on your way to winning the thought battle.

Guard your mind. Pretend that behind that forehead of yours is a very precious thing – your mind – because it is precious. If you had a storehouse of gold in your house, you would hire an armed guard to stand watch and keep all the bad guys out. Yet, many of us let any old ting come into our minds. We need to keep the bad thoughts, the negative thoughts O-U-T! Now when I say this, I mean both the ones that start in our heads and the ones that come from external sources.


Proactively place good thoughts in your head. Just like a garden, where you weed, or pull the bad stuff out, and plant, put the good stuff in, so we do the same thing with our thoughts. Buy tapes and music that will produce good, happy thoughts in your head! Watch TV programs and videos that put good thoughts in your head!

Avoid the naysayers. They are all around you. You work with them, you live near them – some are even in your family! Whatever you do, do not let them affect you with their negative thoughts. Spend as little time as you can with them (unless it is your spouse or kids – then you need counseling!)

Act on the positive thoughts that you do have. When a positive thought comes into your head, act on it! This will begin to produce a "bridge" between what you think and how you act! This will then make that transition even easier as time goes by!

Four key ideas to win the thought battle:
Guard your mind.
Proactively place good thoughts in your head.
Avoid the naysayers.
Act on the positive thoughts that you do have.