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Archive for February, 2008

Know Thyself

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

Dear High Achiever:

KNOW THYSELF. Yea right, what a paradoxical aphorism that is.

I’ll save you the time and trouble looking up “paradoxical” and “aphorism” in your thesaurus.

• Paradoxical means self-contradictory. (I’ve been there before).

• Aphorism is a statement expressing an opinion or general truth.

I’m going to assume you are a student of self growth and personal development since you subscribed to this double opt-in newsletter on your own accord and not under duress.

And I’d bet you are on a personal journey toward self-actualization or becoming the very best you, you can possibly be.

There are about a half dozen folks credited with saying Know Thyself (or, as we’re more likely to hear these days in Jersey-speak, Know Yourself). Personally, it doesn’t matter much to me who said it first or how, as long as –

I say it to myself on a daily basis.

Here’s why: Have you ever caught yourself spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about another person’s reason or motivation for doing what they are doing? And not just “thinking” really, but sort-of frustrated; turning the situation over and over and over in your mind?

Or worse: You actually compound the problem by engaging other people in energy-expending, time-consuming conversations about the same person you’re spending so much (too much!) time with in self-contemplation?

Here’s a suggestion: STOP!

I know this; you should know it, too: The first person I need to invest time and contemplation in and on is ME! The first person I need to know better than anyone else is ME. The first person’s habits, rituals, thought processes, motivations, morals and temperament I need to come to know are MINE!

My biggest obstacle for reaching my next goal is not the economy, my competition, the president, my mother, my prospects, my wife or the weather.

It’s ME!

In my corporate and public seminars I usually close with a poem titled The Guy in the Glass written in 1934 by Peter “Dale” Winbrow Sr. I first heard it at a seminar I produced featuring my good friend and memory training expert Ron White. I was so emotionally moved and inspired by the words in the poem that I decided to close my talks with it as well.

The poem is so powerful that often times I start to get choked up when I’m delivering it even after saying it over 250 times. Its here: http://www.theguyintheglass.com

I reference the poem today because it clearly compliments the title of this FYI. To Know Thyself is to first be truthful about your strengths, weaknesses and short comings. The Guy in the Glass is about looking in the mirror everyday and being honest with the most important person in the world, YOU!

I’m human, just like you. I have challenges every day staying aligned with my goals, just like you. I have to focus and think about self-discipline and exercising control over my emotions, just like you.

When it’s 20 degrees outside, dark and snowing, it takes some serious self-talk to get out of bed and head to the gym. When I’m at a corporate or social function and the only breakfast option are bagels, muffins and orange juice, resembling a carbohydrate factory, I’m offered the same choices you are.

Think there are some issues with other people? We all have them. I’m a father, husband, entrepreneur, sales leader, salesperson, marketing and customer director, speaker and have an ex-wife. I get your challenges.Hello!

But I can’t get caught up in all of the drama of someone else’s life, like I’m a “guest” on the Jerry Springer show. I need to know about the inner-workings of my life as intimately as I possible can. And this takes some serious reflection, massive introspection and –

Some truth serum. Unlike Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, I think you CAN handle the truth. And it’s simply this:

We all know what to do. If you are reading this and need to lose 10 pounds … you know what to do. Eat less and move more. If you are having relationship or business issues … you probably know what to do.

The challenge is Doing What You Know. And if you honestly do not know what to do, welcome to the 21st Century. Just type your question in Google and whamo – you’ve got your answer! Just kidding – sort of.

I’m calling Know Thyself a “paradoxical aphorism” because knowing yourself is a General Truth. But just like you, I see and hear people wasting valuable time and energy trying to figure everybody else out.

I did that too, once upon a time.

But now I’m in recovery. Sometimes the darkest moments of our life can bring us to the brightest light our eyes have every seen. My mentor Jim Rohn calls those dark times, Winter. Sometimes they last longer than the 4 months we experience here in New Jersey. Not so long ago, I went through a Winter that lasted seven years. In those seven years I experienced some of the lowest lows of my life. But I came out smarter and stronger than ever.

I came to Know Myself in those seven years of winter and took a long hard look at The Guy in the Glass every day. It was painful at times. I even did some really stupid things to exacerbate the challenges I was already facing. But I’m happy to say –

It’s Spring again. And I’m planting the seeds that will reap huge rewards come Harvest Time.

As you plant the seeds to have Your Best Year Ever! I want to encourage you to Know Thyself.

FYI ACTION IDEA: Read the poem The Guy in the Glass.

FYI IDEA IN ACTION: If you didn’t click through before, you don’t even have to back up in today’s message to do it. Here it is again: http://www.theguyintheglass.com

One more thing I know about myself: I hope this FYI and the poem inspire you to Go Forward! My most sincere wish is that it has the same positive impact on your life as it has on mine.

Go Out and Make This Your Best Year Ever!

Eric Taylor is the Chief Inspiration Officer of SelfGrowth.com and founder of New Jersey based Empowerment Group International. He delivers more than 100 energized and interactive keynotes, workshops and seminars each year to corporations, associations and tradeshows. He is the author of the Energy Passport, Co-creator of the Best Year Ever! Personal Empowerment Program and Co-author of The Complete Sales Training Encyclopedia. Eric can be reached at 732.761.9930 ext.114 or email Eric@SelfGrowth.com or Eric@EmpowermentGroup.com <-->

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Be Your Own Boss

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Dear High Achiever:

EMPLOYER OR EMPLOYEE MENTALITY? Which do you have? Which is best for your career? Which will boost your lifetime earnings?

If you are an employee of any organization I encourage acquiring an Employer Mentality, muy pronto!

And guess what: Even if you’re a business owner reading this, I hope you’re right minded. But just in case, you better double check to be certain some old mental meltdown hasn’t occurred.

Here are 10 reasons why, whatever your job title is, the Employer Mentality is where you want to be:

1. Massive Success vs. moderate success
2. 1st Place vs. 2nd place (which is, as our pal Jeffrey Gitomer points out, 1st Loser)
3. Promotion vs. passed over
4. Pro-Active vs. reactive
5. Difference Maker vs. average employee
6. Team Leader vs. team member
7. Self-Confident vs. timid
8. Inner-Directed vs. outer-directed
9. Self-Disciplined vs. non-committal
10. Earned vs. entitled

In case you haven’t heard –

There is no longer such a thing as “Job Security.” Personally, I never wanted to have a job. I learned somewhere that J.O.B. stands for Just Over Broke, and that isn’t a place I ever wanted to reside. So, like the many entrepreneurs in our FYI/TGIM readership, as the President of Empowerment Group International, I know my clients are the ones who cut my check.

But in my other you-could-call-it-employee role as Chief Inspiration Officer of SelfGrowth.com, our Founder and President, David Riklan, signs my check. On “payday” it’s clear that I work for a corporation. But I maintain the same work ethic and high-level of self-discipline that I have in my speaking and consulting business. By developing new business and servicing our existing clients, the sales team and I make the deposit in the account that all the paychecks are written from.

If you’re an employee, so do you! You and I have a major responsibility and are accountable to our own high-standards and to our company, our associates and our clients.

Still I constantly hear people with an employee mentality whining about how much money they’re NOT making and moaning that the company should pay them more. I even hear sales people say they should be compensated for their time.

Give me a break! My response to the employee mentality whiners is always the same:

Any administrative activity, proposal writing or servicing of accounts is part of the gig.

Sell more and you’ll be compensated more.

It’s amazing how little top producers complain. They don’t. They share the Employer Mentality side of the Top 10 Qualities list. They realize they are their own boss and take responsibility in providing value or finding ways to provide more value, hence, making them more attractive and valuable.

I started selling pots and pans door-to-door when I was 18 years old and realized right then, my income was based solely on my ability to generate revenue. That career choice proved, over time, to be a true blessing.

In the beginning of my sales career, I really struggled. The level of self-discipline required to be successful in sales was a challenge, the uncertainty of sales and making money was anxiety producing, the level of sales skills needed to be successful took time to learn.

But it taught me a valuable lesson and helped me embrace the Employer Mentality.
I was my own boss and the only person responsible for putting food on the table, was me.
If I didn’t master real selling skills, this opportunity to earn unlimited income would become a J.O.B. and I would be… Just Over Broke.

Now, if you are employed by a company and think you’re NOT in sales –

For starters, Think Again. Everyone sells something and we prove it to any doubters in the Best Year Ever Program. But those details are for another time.

Let’s take that “not in sales” as a given and allow the argument to be, “I don’t have the salesperson’s chance to prove myself. I’ve been working for this company for 10 years and the pay stinks.”

My response here comes in two parts.

First: Why are you still there? Could you have left? So … duh!

And second: Whose pay stinks? How much money does upper-management and leadership make? (I’ll assume much more than you’re currently making, whiner.) So the company does pay more, just not to you.

FYI ACTION IDEA: For non-sales employees, find a way to provide more value to the company and they will pay you more. If you gained new skills, took initiative, and set a goal to reach the leadership level, you would be making the “big bucks” too!

You don’t have to be “in” sales to be your own boss … be self-directed … take personal responsibility for the mindset you bring to your vocation everyday. When you embrace an Employer Mentality you think solution, you think desired outcome and how a process or situation can be improved.

You don’t have to be a stockholder. Someone else may have thought up and got going the organization that “employs” you. You don’t have to be a boss of anyone. But when you’re on the job, it’s YOUR BUSINESS as well. How you conduct your business is a reflection on you, your company and ultimately how your clients perceive you and your value.

You must tell yourself – and believe – It’s ALL MY BUSINESS. Whether your business card indicates whether your employer or employee, you must have an Employer Mentality all the time.

FYI ACTION IDEA: Think like an owner … an employer … an entrepreneur. Take proprietary interest in your job and the outcomes at your company. Don’t wait to have it given to you. Realize that, at the end of the day, just like everyone in the organization, from the executive suite to the broom closet, your customers are the folks that cut your paycheck.

PERSONAL PAYOFF: The real human benefit to the Be Your Own Boss /Employer Mentality mindset is: Your self-esteem and self-confidence will increase.

And you can take that to the bank anywhere!

Go Out and Make This Your Best Year Ever!

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