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Each week receive exciting news, tips, articles and advice on how to be the successful person you've always wanted to be.
"Self Improvement Front Line" will guide you along the path to achieving all your goals in life with regular sections on all the important facets of your personal development.
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Newsletter 002
In "Self Improvement Front Line" this week:
* Don't Be Afraid To Ask
* What's Your Why?
* Make The Outcome Real
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Don't Be Afraid To Ask
Have you ever heard the saying,
"If you don't ask, you don't get!"?
The chances are that if you went to a good school you were
always encouraged to ask questions. If you didn't quite
understand what the teacher was telling you the only way to
get it was to ask the meaning.
As a Dad I certainly urge my sons to ask questions, it's
the only way to learn.
But maybe as a child it's easy to say you don't understand
and accept that you don't know something. Then it's easy to
do something about it.
But sadly as we get older we stop asking!
Maybe it's because we feel that as adults we should know what
things mean and how to do them and so we don't want to look
foolish.
Or perhaps we have just stopped caring enough to want to learn
new things and gain new experiences.
It's sad, because when you do start to ask you usually start
to get!
Sure, we all ask for things every day. We have to when we go
shopping, go to the cinema, or go to a restaurant.
But we only ask for the simple things.
Take that last example. When you go to a restaurant and see
something on the menu that is unfamiliar do you ask the
waiter what it is? Congratulations if you do, but most people
will simply pass it over and stick with what they know.
And how many times, when in conversation with a group of
people has something been mentioned that you don't understand?
Instead of saying so and asking for an explanation it's so
easy to just stay quiet and stay ignorant.
It's true isn't it? You just don't want to appear foolish.
Well it's time to change!
If you really want to move forward then you need to learn new
things every day.You need to broaden your horizons, take on
new experiences and discover all you need to get where you
want to be.
So start asking. Ask what things mean, how to do them, and
above all ask for the things you want in life.
The fact is that one of the keys to good conversation is
asking questions. People won't think you're dumb or get
annoyed. Instead they'll warm to you and you'll soon find
that you are gaining all sorts of benefits.
So don't be afraid to raise questions. Ask especially about
the topics that you need to find out about to help you to
achieve your goals.
And why not start right now by asking yourself some searching
questions. If you do not know what motivates you then you
won't get to where you want to be.
So have a read of Bryan Gorrie's article below and by
answering your questions you will soon start to "Get"!
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What's Your Why?
By Bryan Gorrie
I know, it sounds like the beginning of an Abbott and Costello
skit. However, knowing your “why” is one of the most important
steps in achieving any goal or moving forward in any project.
In fact, “why” is the most important word when setting any goal.
If you don’t know why you want something, then you probably
don’t need it or want it and most probably won’t ever achieve it.
In any great life transition, it is imperative to know your why.
Is your why in alignment with your values? One of the first
steps is to imagine what it will be like when you are there.
What will it feel like? What will you be doing? What will you
have? We need to stop and visualize the end result. As Stephen
Covey says “Begin with the end in mind”. If we know what the
end will look like, we are more likely to work hard to achieve
it.
If you have trouble understanding the principle of why, try
asking yourself why at least five times. The first answer is
likely to be somewhat superficial. However, with each successive
answer you will be going deeper and deeper into the true reason
for your goal. This is not always an easy exercise, yet it will
certainly solidify your why once you have done it.
All too often, we have great ideas and get enthusiastic about
them only to talk ourselves out of moving forward because of the
“hows” or the “whats”. We start asking ourselves, “How will I
ever do that?” or “What was I thinking?” or “I don’t know enough
about that so I’ll never be able to do it”. There are many of
reasons not to do something, so your “why” had better be strong
enough to get you through.
Once you understand your why, the hows and the whats will just
seem to appear. They will no longer be the obstacles they seemed
to be at the outset. If the why is strong enough, resources will
show up or you will be inspired to seek out the answers wherever
they may be. The internet, people we know, books are all great
sources of information that will help remove the fog of the
unknown. If the why is strong enough, you will do everything in
your power to find out how to make it happen and what needs to
be done.
Brainstorming with a friend, using a trusted mentor to bounce
ideas off, or using a coach are some of the ways that will help
you determine your why, organize and prioritize your whats and
hows. Beware though, your why may not be good enough for other
people and they will try very hard to discourage you. Be careful
of who you tell your goals to, and know that they may not
understand your why.
What is one thing that you would really like to accomplish?
Now ask yourself why you’d like to accomplish that. Think about
it for a few minutes. What will that accomplishment give you?
Will it serve others? Once you know the why, close your eyes and
visualize what it will be like when you achieve it. Hold that
picture and make a mini-video of what you will be like, what you
will feel like and what it will mean to others. Run that video
in your mind first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Remember, we become what we think about.
Bryan Gorrie is a certified professional coach (CPCC) and
accredited (PCC) by the International Coach Federation. He
works primarily with entrepreneurs to help them prioritize
their business goals and balance their life. He is also a
certified retirement coach and works to help people design
and live the best years of their life in retirement.
Please find more information at
http://www.p3learning.ca and http://www.thenextchapter.ca
and read his blog at;
http://www.bryan-thenextchapter.blogspot.com
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Make The Outcome Real
By asking yourself the right questions you will get to the
answers about what you want to achieve. And using the
visualization techniques in the article you have just read
will help to get you there.
But you can make that process all the stronger by having
real concrete images of where you want to be.
In your mind you can see the house you want to live in,
the car you want to drive, the exotic places you will go
for your vacations, and the lifestyle you want to live.
Whatever the outcome of achieving your goals is, you can
visualize it. But it will be reinforced if you make it more
real.
Here's some ideas of how to just that;
- Get photographs of the things you want. It might be a fast
car, a boat, even a wide screen plasma HD television or the
latest hi-tech gadget. Whatever, get hold of a photo and
keep it where you see it every day.
- Get on the Internet and find the perfect image of that exotic
beach, ideal golf course you want to play, or that mountain
you want to climb. Then save it as your screensaver so that
you see it every day!
- Look around for your ideal home and then when you've found
it make a point of walking or driving past it every day, or
at least on a regular basis.
- Decide on the sort of lifestyle you want and then find
someone well-known who already lives it. Read their books,
listen to their cds, watch their dvds, eat at their
restaurant, whatever's appropriate. Just absorb yourself in
their lifestyle. Hey, don't become a stalker though!!
Think about what other real physical representations you can
get of your ideal outcome and go for it.
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