Motivate Me!

"What you believe will determine what you will do. What you do determines your results. Change your beliefs, and you'll change your results."
Ruben Gonzalez

It's a profound lesson to learn isn't it.

* If you don't believe you can do something, you won't even try.
* If you don't believe in yourself, then you are always going to be stuck doing whatever it is you hate doing now.
* If you believe someone else is better than you - then they are.

In order to change your beliefs you have to be willing to say "I was wrong, I was blinkered, if they can, so can I".

You have the most wonderful and unique talents waiting to be used. Like the snowflake there will never be another person exactly like you, so what are you waiting for?

Are you ready to change your beliefs or are you happy being part of the slush?

When you feel like stopping - give me 5 more. 5 more minutes, 5 more kilos, 5 more push ups, 5 more phone calls.

5 more is easy and those 5 can be the difference between growing, stagnating or going backwards. It can be the difference between your company making a few extra dollars, or lots of extra money.

But if we choose to take a look at everything we do and say - no I'm not stopping now I'm going to do another 5. If it's exercise - then count them down. It's only 5, you can do 5. If it's work on a project, then give me 5 extra minutes, push yourself a litle harder, don't give in to the lazy mind syndrome.

I do know it can be hard to start something when we feel we are not in the mood. All I ask is you give me 5 minutes. Once you get beyond the 5 the rest is easy. Your mind says "I can do 5 minutes" I'll work on this piece for 5 minutes, I'll brainstorm some ideas, maybe write a paragraph in 5 minutes. You can by the way write approximately 2/3 of a page (a4) in 5 minutes. Try it ...and I'll make it easy for you to have a go.

Choose 3 words from a dictionary at random, or use these

Time, Blue, Tent

The piece has to start with one of the 3 words and the others have to appear in the first paragraph. Set your timer for 5 minutes and start writing. Oh and you can use plurals of the word if you need to.

If you are struggling to write a paper, get into the habit of breaking down your work into sections. Choose 3 appropriate words for each section and start writing. By using a noun at the beginning of a sentence, you will also find your writing is tighter, and because you write quickly there will be less editing needed at the end. By the time you have completed a few of the sections, all you need to do to complete the piece is to make sure the writing flows. Sometimes you will need a joining sentence to get from one section to another, but as you read each bit back to yourself you will easily spot the places where they are needed.

People often ask me how I can write so much every day - and the answer lies in the above. I give myself 5 minutes of thinking time, I mull a few ideas over in my head, choose a couple of appropriate words that cover the topic or subject area and then write. And because I write quickly, there is little or no editing required.

So, give me 5 - you know you can.

We have added a new section to the website for cards and journals. I'm always disappointed by the ones I see in the shop (especially cards) so i've decided to create a range of my own. It's still in its infancy - but there are a range of photographic cards and note packs available - and more will be added in the not too distant future. There is also the procrastinators range ....)

When we talk about overcoming the procrastination, we are of course talking about your life. That's YOUR life. Not mine, or the neighbours, but yours.

Are you willing to let others dictate what you do and how well you are going to do it. Or are you going to take control of your life and decide once and for all, that nothing is going to get in your way of what you want to achieve, see, do and be?

If you are the person holding YOU back, then it's time to decide whether or not the goals you said you wanted to achieve - are important to you. On a scale of one - can't be bothered) to - ten - absolutely - I want it and I want to achieve it now.... decide where your goals lie. Only then will you decide whether you can be bothered to get up in a morning.

But we're not just talking about those "goals" we say we have. But everything that we do, every day. Our jobs, our personal development, our homes, our families, our kids, our hobbies - how do you really feel about them? Bear in mind - most things can be changed....except the kids - hard to give them back once you've had them :-) but jobs - they can be changed, so can houses and so can your living environment - assuming its not just your attitude that needs changing that is.

Once you have decided how important your life is to you, then and only then will you be able to decide whether or not you are willing to give up and carry on doing the same things in the same way and of course, getting exactly the same outcome. Or whether you are going to make some major changes and of course get some amazing results.

Your decision, every time.

With many thoughts
Elle

When it comes to overcoming the procrastination habit, some of the biggest problems we encounter towards our goals, lies in our beliefs about money, time and the way we think and behave.

If we think we can't afford to do something, then we won't do it. We say we want to travel the world, but our thoughts about our work and the amount of money that's involved in "going round the world" is the equivalent of a gallon drum of cold water falling over ourselves and our plans.

But if you change your thought processes - you can say - well if I need to work to earn the money so I can travel the world, then why can't I work my way around the world. Have you any idea how many staff a cruise liner needs? Ok, you may not be able to get time off in every port - but chances are going to be good you'll see a fair few.

Or use a skill that is transferable across every country - don't think making coffee is beneath you, or waiting tables for that matter - if you want to do something badly enough - you will find a way of making that happen.

Now - before you say, but I'm too old / young / fat / then you haven't been listening to me - your major limiting belief about ANY goal - occurs right between your ears.

Instead of telling yourself you can't do something because ...

Tell yourself you can do it if you ..... and then write down a few ideas, nothing is stupid, nothing is outrageous, nothing is considered un-doable until you decide it is.

And the same goes for our limiting beliefs about TIME

I'm sure most of you have uttered the words "But I don't have the time to...." please fill in the blank

Why don't you have the time?

- Books have been written in half hour slots,
- Houses can be cleaned one room at a time, or if that is too much, one drawer at a time.
- Books are read - one word at a time.
- If you find the time to watch a television program then you have the time to do some exercise as well. It may look ridiculous but - try running on the spot during the ad breaks, or move your exercise bike in front of the tv and cycle your way through your favourite programs. I used to read a book whilst riding my indoor bike.

Sometimes - it just needs an adjustment in the planning. When my kids were little - when they napped I worked. Sometimes if all the time you have is before everyone else gets up in a morning - then guess what, that's when you do your own stuff.

When you consider we all have the same amount of time given to us every day, have you ever stopped to wonder why so many people are able to do so much - and others say they could do so many things if only they had the time....the difference between the two:

1. Their attitude towards time
2. Their attitude towards their attitude

Remember, the biggest limiting factor lies right between your ears.

It's up to you what you get out of your life. Change your mind set about time, money and your attitude towards yourself and your goals.

Ask yourself one final question.

"Am I not worth the time, money and effort to do what I really want to do?"

And the answer to that one will determine every thing else.

With many thoughts
Elle

Do you go back over and over things you did wrong, churning them over in your mind?

How on earth can you hope to move forwards if you cannot leave the past where it belongs.

You cannot change a single word you have said.
You cannot change a single action

But you can accept that perhaps you can do better tomorrow if you are willing to acknowledge the mistakes, the errors, the good, the bad and the indifferent.

If I ask you to name all the bad things that have happened to you in recent times I'm sure you could write several books. What I would prefer you to do is to focus on those things you have done well. The good things. Yes I did say the good. Acknowledge the mistakes by all means, after all it is only by doing this that we learn. But we also need to dwell on the good, because it is the good that will take us to many great places. And we can learn as many valuable lessons from all the good that we have done as well as the bad that left us writhing in pain and discomfort. And we'll enjoy the process far more and that's got to be a good thing.

So today I would ask you to spend a few minutes and write down all the good things that have happened to you today. The smell of the coffee, the rain that watered the plants, a great book you've read, a compliment you received, a bargain at the stores, a letter of congratulation from a co-worker or boss, the work you managed to do, the ..... why don't you fill in the rest of the blanks....

And keep this for when you are feeling a little low a chance to re-read the good when the bad threatens to overwhelm us

So - to coin a very old song...these are a few of my favorite things:

Today I .....

I don't think it matters where you are in life at this time, there will always be some thing that you need to learn.

But where and when do you find the time to do it?

A lot of people use their cars as a mobile university. If you have tapes (does anyone have a tape player in their cars anymore?) and CD's of personal development training programs you've purchased or acquired, then you have time to study. The beauty is of course, that every time you listen to these kinds of things they are implanting their suggestions into your sub-conscious. And speaking from experience - there will always be new things to hear when you listen to something over and over again. Yes you tune out - but even more importantly - the things we learn today will be the foundation stones for our starting points tomorrow.

But we don't just have to study while we are driving.

We can study in many places and many different times during the day.

- Every time we are waiting for an appointment or in a queue.
- If your job allows you to listen to your MP3 player - then you can study all day if you want to. Although I would say - I would give your brain a bit of a rest at some point.
- Every time you go to the gym or go for a walk - take your MP3 player with you.
- Get a voice recorder and read your course notes - create your own study program for your own school and course work.

If we have our MP3 players plugged in - we can carry our mobile universities with us at all times.

If you have your program on CD and not as an MP3 file, there are some free audio grabbers on the net that will convert them into the MP3 format for you. I've done that for every program I have bought and have - as a direct result, been able to listen to more programs.

With many thoughts
Elle

When you have purpose you move faster.

Let's face it, what is the point in rushing if you have no idea where you are going and what you are going to do when you get there.

No, when you have purpose, you move faster, you walk quicker, you have a spring in your step and a smile on your face. You know what you want and nothing and no-one is going to get in your way. Problems are side-stepped with ease and you shrug off the minor hiccups.

When you don't have purpose, everything is far more deliberate. When you walk, you do so with eyes on the pavement rather than in front of you...molehills become mountains and minor problems become dramatic issues that only YOU can deal with *puts back of hand to forehead* sorry I just had to say that. But take the drama out of that last statement just for a moment and you can probably equate to those very comments. When you don't have purpose, when you don't know what you want and have no idea about how to start - then everything is a major issue.

So what do you do?

I remember I asked you to go back to your goal list a little while back. In that list lies the seeds of your purpose and meaning for this part of your life, because as we grow, change and develop the goals, dreams, hopes and ambitions change, and with it our purpose.

So, get out the list - and mark everything from a 1 - don't know why it's on the list to a 10 - cannot live without - and start work. Take the items with numbers 1 -3 on them and if you cannot change them into a 6 or better still a 7-9 - then delete them and move on. What you need are the items that inspire you to get up in a morning, and you find those in the ones you marked 7 and above. Then take one of those items and ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. What would happen if this goal was NEVER achieved?
2. What can I do in the next few minutes to move it forwards?

To add a comment or make a suggestion then you could go here -

OR

You can read on if you want to hear about a major change to Motivate Me.....

With many thoughts
Elle

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The forums are here:
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Chat Forums

I have created some new chat forum pages on the Motivate Me! website. I've posted an initial question in each area, which you can add your thoughts and comments to. Or you can post your own question. Of course these will be moderated for politeness as are all comments made to Motivate Me as there is nothing worse than reading rants on random topics.

We currently have forums for:

If you would like additional forums can you let me know and I will add them...sorry you can't do that bit.

Have fun.

I love the way a cat lives its life. It has perfect balance - or should that be purr-fect....sorry couldn't resist.

It knows when to eat, when to sleep, when to play, when to stretch.

It also has a focused laser attention span when it sees something it wants. It focuses it's attention, it sits and waits, then it starts to move into position - never, ever taking its focus from what it has seen and wants. And then - when the time is absolutely right, it POUNCES.

Sometimes, it gets it right and sometimes of course it completely misses the mark. But - do you think the cat gets upset by the failures? Not at all. It shakes off the failure and starts the process again.

You would think as human beings we would be able to achieve more than a cat...but as far as setting and achieving goals and shaking off the disappointment when it doesn't quite work - I think we have a lot to learn.

With many thoughts
Elle

What's next?

It's an interesting question don't you think?

And the answer can both inspire you or it can dampen your spirits, depending on where you currently are.

* What's next? - when you apply that question to your goals - you want to know what is the next step(s) you can take NOW to move your projects forward?
* What's next? - when you apply that question to someone who has been whingeing for the past hour - the question puts the ball right back in their back yard - it's the equivalent off - well that's the problem, so what's the solution....so what's next? Where do you go from here?
* What's next? - when you apply that to your current life situation - what's next?
* When you apply that question to your working life - what's next on the agenda? What needs to be done now to get those sales and move your targets forward.

You see - when you constantly apply the "what's next" question you have to consciously make a decision about everything:

* well it's time to go to the gym,
* hit the shower,
* make dinner,
* do the dishes,
* talk to mom,
* help the kids with their homework,
* do my homework
* sit down in front of the TV and do absolutely nothing but eat chips and drink beer.

Every decision is a conscious one - when you ask the question - what's next?

So what's next for you?

I am a great believer in the premise that sometimes you do have to get up and get going even if you really don’t want to.

There are some days when even I can’t seem to get started in a morning. It’s a struggle to get out of the warm bed, especially on a cold morning. It’s hard to have a shower and get ready for the working day when you are not feeling 100%. So what do you do when you’re faced with those kinds of scenarios?

Well first and foremost, if it’s not going to warm up in the next 10 minutes – then it’s not worth the additional sleep in time, which will more often than not, put you back for the entire day if you decide to hit the snooze button repeatedly.

The second thing I would recommend is a quick inventory of how you are feeling. If you don’t feel 100% determine why.

Did you:

· Drink too much last night?
· Did you eat too much, too late so your body was awake all night processing the foodstuffs you consumed, which kept you awake?
· Did you go to bed too late?
· Are you coming down with something? Assuming it’s not a hangover or other substance processing issue, which is self-inflicted, sometimes we don’t feel very well – because we’re not. So – a quick and honest inventory is required. Every day we have a chance to redefine “normal” if today is not a good day – why not? But a caveat, this is not a chance to pretend you are feeling ill – so you can get out of going to work/school. How old are you?
· Do you dislike your job? The journey? The people who work there? The organization?

With regards to your job – if you really don’t like it and are struggling to get going and get enthusiastic every day of the week – I would suggest you start looking for a new job. But with a caveat – do not change jobs and take your attitude with you. Most people, when you talk to them will always find something wrong with an organization, but if you find yourself saying that about more than one organization you’ve worked for – I’d suggest you either have a knack of finding really bad employers to work for. Or – you need an attitude adjustment.

How do you deal with those days when it's a struggle to get going?

How do you treat time?

- Are you on time for appointments?
- Do you return phone calls in a timely manner?
- Do you let clients know if you are going to be late?
- Do you treat other people’s time as you would your own? No-one likes to be kept waiting, so why should you keep others waiting for you.

The way you treat time is a good example of your commitment to overcoming procrastination. If you can’t be bothered to get out of bed in a morning are you going to be bothered about working on your goals?

Every day you are given 24 hours to use in whatever way you want, and therein lies part of the problem. We think we have an endless supply of time at our disposal, we rarely give much thought to an individual day, all that I ask is that you give time the respect it deserves.

With many thoughts
Elle

Change your vocabulary

The way we speak to ourselves is fascinating. I sometimes find myself muttering about other people's behaviour - usually when I'm in the car. But we do have to be careful as anyone who lives in a glass house will know, shouldn't throw stones.

Today I would like to give you some personal work. Try removing all negative words from your vocabulary, and any "swear" words that you find yourself muttering when someone does something you don't like, and replace them with positive ones. Remove phrases such as "nothing ever goes right for me" with "well that didn't work, lets try something different."

And for the "other" bad drivers out there (and lets face it, we can all do with a dose of humility behind the wheel), let them go past you, chances are going to be good you're going to catch them up at the next set of lights anyway - so why waste energy, fuel and rubber trying to get one over them. We can't do anything about their behaviour, but we can do everything about ours. And that goes for everything we are doing at the moment. We see other people wasting time at work so think we can emulate them. We spend a couple of hours down the pub with our mates and if they're complaining about everyone and everything around them, don't participate in the discussion - it will only get you down. In fact, if these people (friends) make a habit of doing it, then it may be time to find some alternative people to hang round with, preferably ones who have a positive outlook on life AND get things done.

Watch what you are saying to yourself, to your clients, to your spouse, kids, friends. Don't whinge, whine, snarl or be otherwise grumpy. It's hard, but it can be done, and the results can be astounding. By re-programming your words, your thoughts and your actions HAVE to change.

If you don't do something different - you will not change, you will not grow and eventually you will start going backwards. Why do I say this with certainty? Because those people who are doing something different, will find a way to overtake you. You may think you are doing ok, until you see what "they" are doing and you realise you've been coasting for a while. So, this applies to everything you do - but especially with things like your business, your school work, your relationships and in particular diet and exercise.

Your mind gets bored, your muscles get used to doing the same things and we can all be guilty of doing a lot less than we were supposed to.

Saturday is a great day for looking at what you are doing and asking - can I do this differently? what can I change?

As you know, Saturday is my main day to exercise. This morning was a little different, I usually go to the gym, but I was up early enough to walk the 15km bridges circuit as well as go to the gym....it was cold, the river was so still - but the views were worth it. And I got to give my mind a rest as well. More than one reason to brave the cold weather and get out there.

And a final comment:
Oh and I would like to say it was great to catch up with a regular reader of the daily dose on Thursday evening - we happened to be going to the same seminar.... so, if you are in my neck of the woods and want to catch up, let me know, it would be great to see you.....and where is my neck of the woods? well Fremantle, Western Australia predominantly....but it's a great place to visit :-)

With many thoughts
Elle

I like to return to the classic topics relating to motivation every now and then, so this week we will go back over some of the basics. I like to do this for a couple of reasons

1. Newer readers won't have had the chance to go through the several hundred back issues of the daily dose where gems such as these lie hidden and
2. We all need a reminder every now and then about the fundamentals of motivation and diet, exercise and health, ways to overcome the procrastination habit and of course how on earth can we motivate others - especially children to do their homework, clean their rooms and brush their teeth, employees to pick up the phone and make those calls and our spouses to help around the house a little more - believe me it's probably easier to push water uphill.

So today's reminder session is a simple one:

Don't "go on a diet" change your eating habits.

There are couple of reasons for this. Going on a diet, implies a beginning and an end, except most people "fail" because they can't see where the end is. Answer this - if you are overweight - how long did it take you to get to the place you are now? A month, two months, 2 years, 10 years? Most people do not become overweight over night, it is a long road of eating too much and not doing enough exercise to burn off the excess calories to get to where you are now, so why do people (myself included) expect to lose excess weight in a few weeks, when it has taken months if not years to reach the size and shape that you are now. The answer is of course, you can't, so don't stress about it. The first thing to remember is that if you remember the energy equation you can make it work in your favour. Expend more energy than you take in (exercise more, eat less) and you will lose weight.

Besides going on a diet, just makes you feel hungry.

What time are you supposed to start work?
What time do you sit down at your desk and actually do something constructive?

Assuming this is a work day for you - what was the first thing you did this morning?

Did you work on that proposal you said you needed to do "first thing" or that article that's a day late? What about organising the next round of sales calls and making them?

I can almost bet - the first thing you did this morning is that same as what you did yesterday morning. You turned on the computer and opened up your email and started reading things that didn't need to be opened let alone read.

And I can almost guarantee you also spent a good deal of time telling everyone who would listen - just how much work you've got to do, what you did last night and what you have planned for the weekend.

Don't you think you would you get more done if you didn't spend the first hour talking to your friends and colleagues in person and via the many social networking sites that have sprung up to proliferate our days? I think we all know the answer to that one....but let me clarify for the hard of thinking - YES you would get more done if you sat down and did it.

We can and do get faked out thinking email is important. Some of it may be. But if you have a serious deadline approaching my advice would be - don't turn on the email until after you have completed your work.

Spend the first hour of the day "working" not pretending to "work" and you will get more done. Then when you do get to look at your emails you will see them for what they are - ways to waste time. They suck any ounce of creativity you had when you got up and drove into work - why - because it's everyone elses wants and needs

- Do this
- Do that
- Send me this on
- Have you heard the one about (yes the funnies and jokes we get sent) - filter them....or delete them...you've probably seen most of them before anyway.
Can you do me a favour - ( these should be sub-titled "no I am not going to pay you for your time, but if you could spend several hours chasing something down for me at no cost to me that would be great...")

I'm not saying genuine inquiries should be ignored, or requests for sales information - when you do log on - do those first and only those things that bring you money - you are in the business of making money aren't you? Then turn off the email again and get stuck into the next item on your must do today list.

Remember: To-do lists are that - must do today because we don't know where tomorrow will take us.

And if you don't know what you spent your time on this morning - download another copy of the time log and fill it in. You'll find it here...

Give your energy to the important things and stop giving it to things and people who don't matter.

Carrying on with our return to some of the DDOMM basics, today I would like to talk to you about your time keeping.

Today I would like you to do the jobs you know you always put off – first….as in before you do anything else. No making 17 cups of coffee or chatting with your work colleagues about what you did last night. Now, before you conveniently forget again.

This becomes even more critical if the jobs and tasks are also important AND urgent, like making client phone calls, scheduling appointments, paying bills, writing letters and emails, returning calls you don’t want to return, finishing assignments or anything else that has been sitting at the top of your MUST DO today list since the beginning of the week.

We can and do make every excuse about why we couldn’t do something today – if we don’t like the job we need to do. The problem with that of course is simple, the issues don’t go away, nor do they get any smaller. So today I would like you to take one of those issues and deal with it – NOW.

Imagine that today is the last day you will be in the office (or school) before you take time off. Well in theory, none of us know what tomorrow will bring, so - would you be happy for someone to take over where you left off if you didn't get in tomorrow? What would they find? The answer to that may or may not embarrass you of course, but that's up to you. Having a clear desk policy is good, but having a clear mind policy is better. Finish your work today and with a clear conscience you won't have to worry about what the tomorrow's of the world will bring.

I know there are other six letter words out there, but few strike panic into my heart and soul so much as the word "regret".

* I do not want to get to the end of today and regret anything. I want to take every opportunity I am given and run like the wind with it.

* I want to get to the end of this week and not regret any of my actions, or words that I have spoken.

* I want to get to the end of this month and not regret missed opportunities - no matter how small or insignificant they may have seemed at the time. Remember the $ a day thing...a month = $30...small actions repeated daily = BIG results.

* I want to get to the end of 2009 having made some major inroads into my goals and projects and completed many items off the list. If I don't I will regret the wasted time and wonder what on earth I had spent so many fruitless hours not working on.

* But most importantly I don't want to get to the gates of heaven only to find myself being turned away because I wasn't good enough. The angels would stand before me with a set of scales, they had placed opportunities on one side, and all those opportunities I had failed to take on the other - and on balance, I had failed to live up to my true potential.

We may think the odd major success will counter all the minor regrets, believe me when I say - they probably won't.

If the angels were to balance your success with your regrets, which side would weigh more?

Remove the word "regret" from your vocabulary and live beyond your potential.

What follows is a day or two out of my personal diary. It looks at many things - not least of which:

What is the motivation for people to drive several hundred kilometers out of town to attend an annual seminar at a place, few people (when spoken to) admit to having been to, let alone stayed at?

Download your copy.

Coping with downturns - think about "ME Inc."
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We are being bombarded with news stories from across the globe about how bad things are, and how much worse things are going to get before they get any better. I'm sure we've all heard those stories.

But let me put something to you (ever the optimist)

Lets assume you are employed by an organisation who is considering trimming the dead wood from its ranks. Makes sense, why keep on the malingerers and shirkers when there is work to be done.

So a few thoughts:

Would you be a person of talent kept on by the organisation - because you can:
* Handle yourself in a crisis;
* Have kept up to date with professional and personal development
* Have solutions to offer rather than more doom and gloom about how bad things are

To succeed into the future an organisation should be thinking strategically and long-term

1. Where is the organsiation going?
2. What skills and abilities do you need to help them get there

Now, bear in mind we are all in the business of "ME. Inc" as in - we are all after our own best interests and outcomes - how is your personal "ME Inc business" doing?

1. Are your finances in the red or the black?
2. What strategies have you put into place to change the red to the black?
3. Are you speaking to the right people (especially during times like these, there are a lot of scam artists and snake oil sales persons out there promising ways to get rich for 3 easy payments of...) don't get taken in by these people. They are not interested in anything other than your money - and no - a single e-book will not make you rich in your sleep or overnight...nor can fat just melt away....
4. What books / articles are you reading?
5. What courses have you been on recently?
6. How do you spend your evenings and weekends?
7. Do you do enough exercise for the food you consume?
8. Do you eat properly? No, I don't mean - do you use the right utensils - but do you eat properly - as in - what mix of carbohydrate / fat and protein is your diet made up of...and no, beer, pretzels and chocolate does not a balanced diet make - even if you do have one in each hand.
9. What is your family life like?
10. Do your friends and acquaintances inspire you or drag you down?
11. What does your home / office environment look like?

Every one of those items in the "ME Inc" list can be translated into business terms - if your budget is more outgoing than incoming, you need to a) stop spending money b) find ways to bring more income in...and that includes checking to see what is on your grocery bill / enertainments budget / nights out on the town vs. early nights to make sure you are fit and healthy.

We can all be guilty of over indulgence, and businesses and organisations are no different to individuals. So, make sure your business of "ME Inc" is healthy and apply those lessons to your workplace and see if you can't make a difference to the way your own life turns out.

With many thoughts
Elle

What abilities do you have?

Do you sometimes say to anyone who will listen "If only I could, sing/dance/write/draw/model/.... like so and so I would"...

No, actually you wouldn't. You have your own talents, you have your own reason for being on this planet...because if we could all do exactly the same things as everyone else, the law of average comes in to play - every time.

Someone will always be better than you and someone will always be worse.

If you compare yourself to everyone else (as an excuse for not doing what you know you are good at), you will always tell yourself you are not good enough, they are better than you, it's not fair because they have all the luck.... yada yada yada

The only thing you can do - is be better today than yesterday. By all means strive for excellence, you may never get there - but you will be much better as a result of trying.

p.s. please excuse the potential lack of posts over the next few days - tis the time for annual birthday celebrations - and this year we are heading to a place I have never been to before and can't wait to see. So, until I next speak to you - be good, be better than good and whatever you do - be good at it :-)

All the best
Elle

First of all I would like to say a very big thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes, it was lovely to receive them and yes I am back, but will be issuing a proper daily dose of motivational medicine tomorrow. I will also be spending the next couple of days answering some individual issues with regards to motivation you have expressed to me - please bear with me as I try and put everything back together again.

The reason I say that is simple - Have you noticed how much longer it takes to unpack and put things away than it does to get ready to go away? I think it is one of those motivational phenomenas we hear about.... you know - when time drags when you don't want to do some things, and disappears in a flash when you are excited and happy about others?

There are many other parallels between holidays and goal setting too, especially driving holidays. As you have probably realised, I have had some time to think about motivation over the last couple of days, and want to share a couple of thoughts with you:

1. Choose your travelling companions carefully. You will only move at the pace of the slowest person. If they're not as excited as you about the journey or the destination then you won't get very far and you probably won't enjoy the experience - thankfully mine were great :-)

2. There will be many road blocks and encounters that are completely out of your control. But if you know your ultimate destination - you will succeed because you can "see" what you want to achieve, and so what if it takes a little while longer to get there. Sit back, crank up the music and enjoy the journey - after all you are on the road so why not enjoy the process.

3. Likewise, detours are OK because you know where you want to end up, but that doesn't mean to say you can't enjoy the scenery on the way. We were on the way back this morning from Kalbarri, WA and noticed a turn off to the gorges we hadn't tried before. It was only a few kilometres off the main road - but the view was oh so worth it, and worth the minor detour to experience. Don't forget to take in as many experiences as you can, life can be more fun if you go from A to B via C, D, E and F

4. Travelling long distances teaches you patience, or not as the case may be. You can risk life and limb by overtaking everything that gets in your way, you can get angry about the inconsiderate road users and give yourself a hernia or a heart attack, or you can sit back and accept that some things just are, and you will get around most things in time.

And finally for today

5. The journey is just as important as the destination. If you don't enjoy the journey, you probably won't enjoy the destination quite as much when you do get there.

I'll speak to you again tomorrow, but until then

With many thoughts
Elle

To add your comments or join in the discussion -

p.s. and yes there will be some pics in the not too distant future :-)

At some point in our lives we decide enough really is enough:

* When your clothes don't fit you too well any more you decide to lose weight.
* When you can't walk up the stairs without getting out of breath you decide to do something about your lack of health and fitness.
* When you've lost your licence because you drank one too many beers and decided to drive home afterwards that made you question how much alcohol is going into your body.
* Or the last round of tests from your doctor didn't go as well as they should have and it's time to lose weight or die of a health related disease.
* When you go to the bank and there is nothing there you decide you really ought to look at what you spend your money on, find a second job or a better job
* Or it may be a message from me - that made you re-think what you were doing and you decided to make some changes. We all draw lines in the sand at some point.

One of my long time readers shared something with me on the weekend. I asked if I could tell you what he told me. Thankfully he said yes.

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Dear Elle,

One of your recent posts about looking after your body and getting it to run on the best fuels really struck a cord with me. I am badly overweight which is causing mje a lot of back pain. Every time I get back pain its off to the Osteo and £40 later have it massaged. Its costing me over £120/month.

So I took your advice and started a diet which coincided with my starting a new job. I have given up bread, butter and cheese and now instead take a crispbread with a half fat filling to work. I am eating more vegetables now too. Instead of chocolate bars I have 2 banana's and some apples. I am also parking my car as far as away from the office as I can and I ruin up those stairs. I feel dead but its happpening. OK I have relaxed the chocolate rule just once when I was stressed but you know what I have thrown out all of the sweets that I had in my car as well.

I have been on this diet now for 4 weeks and have lost 7 pounds. That is not a lot in terms but you know what? That suit which fitted me too well now hangs on my body nearly perfectly. I have another seven pounds to lose.

Not only am I feeling better, my back is feeling less sore too. Plus of course if I am not stuffing sweets into my face then my teeth won't need so much attention so that is another saving! So far my diet has saved me around £150!

Thanks for your encouragement. My new job is going quite well too!

Best wishes,

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Have you drawn a line in the sand over something recently?

With many thoughts
Elle

Whilst pictures may inspire you to say - I will do that one day, I will go there. You will only truly get the benefit if you experience things first hand.

Looking at life through someone else's pictures is like looking at life through a window. You can see it's windy, but you can't feel it, you can't experience the force of the wind as it combs itself through your hair, or feel the cooling breeze on your skin or the frozen ice on your lips.

You can stand at the top of a gorge with a set of binoculars and say you've "seen" it. You haven't. Some things you have to feel, breathe, live and experience in order to experience the growth that comes from participating in the experience.

You won't feel the burn in your legs from the physical climb or the sweat running in rivulets down your back, nor will you appreciate the unexpected that lies just out of your line of sight.

Life is like that, saving the best kinds of experience for those people willing and able to participate. When people say you just had to be there... you know what - they're absolutely right.

Note:
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About half of you didn't receive Thursday's message - apologies - but my email carrier decided to impose a mail send quota on us for the very first time. So I will include that message as part two of today's - well I know what you're like, if I ask you to go to the website to read it - you probably won't. But the message is important - and directly related to that last sentence. You cannot live life behind a pane of glass, you sometimes do have to experience it first hand in order to reap the benefits.

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Today's daily dose: Don't tell me you're bored
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Boredom fascintates me. Why can't some people get off their rear end's and do things, whilst others are like the energiser bunny - and keep going and going and going?

I think it is one of the fascinating aspects of human nature, as you and I know - what motives you today, may not motivate you tomorrow and what motivates you, may not motivate me. But one thing I do know is this - if you really want something and you have set yourself a goal (or target) to reach it, then you will have no trouble with boredom or motivation.

Given that today is a Saturday and a day off work for most people, I want to set you a challenge. I want you to reevaluate your "bored" moments from last week - and I want you to think about your goals for next. With 3 months left to go to the end of 2009 - yes it really has come around that quickly, I want to ask you to complete several of those "must do" items before the end of the year. Then let me know how you get on.

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The Daily Dose from the 17th September 2009 - You just had to be there
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Note: Thursday's message - carries on from the one before - "pictures can speak a thousand words" entry - along with some appropriate wording to go with each picture: if you haven't seen them - well you will have to go to the site, attachments are a real no-no, they take forever to send AND most mail services think they're junk. But even if I do say so myself, I believe worth the minute to read.... http://www.motivateme.info/daily-dose-ezine/2009/9/16/lessons-i-have-learned.html
Whilst pictures may inspire you to say - I will do that one day, I will go there. You will only truly get the benefit if you experience things first hand.

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Looking at life through someone else's pictures is like looking at life through a window. You can see it's windy, but you can't feel it, you can't experience the force of the wind as it combs itself through your hair, or feel the cooling breeze on your skin or the frozen ice on your lips.

You can stand at the top of a gorge with a set of binoculars and say you've "seen" it. You haven't. Some things you have to feel, breathe, live and experience in order to experience the growth that comes from participating in the experience.

You won't feel the burn in your legs from the physical climb or the sweat running in rivulets down your back, nor will you appreciate the unexpected that lies just out of your line of sight.

Life is like that, saving the best kinds of experience for those people willing and able to participate. When people say you just had to be there... you know what - they're absolutely right.

With many thoughts
Elle

Postage stamps have one primary function - they stick to their goal. Without their ability to "stick to it" letters and parcels wouldn't get delivered simply because the postal service wouldn't know if they would be paid to deliver whatever it is.

When it comes to your goals - are you like a postage stamp? Do you stick at it so you can reach your destination, or are you lacking a bit of glue in the commitment department?

The bigger the goal is of course, the more glue you are going to need. But all goals can be broken down into as many different sections as needs be.

You've been given a sales call quota for the year. If you look at that entire quota and say - I'm never going to be able to get through those in a year - then you won't try very hard. But divide the number of calls by 52 and you have the number of calls you have to make each week. Now break it down again by 5 (assuming you work 5 days a week) and that is the number of calls per day you need to make. Then you pick up the phone and you start dialing. Every day without fail you stick to your goal and by the end of the first week you've achieved the right number. Next week you decide that instead of just making your numbers though you pick an extra call up each day - now you are getting ahead on the following week's quota - well sooner or later you will want to take some holiday - so you're being sensible. The following week you manage to do the same again. Each call taking you closer to your call quota destination. And the commitment to your goal is noticed.

The beauty of getting things done, is this - you want to carry on. You want that feeling of achievement. The more you achieve, the more you are likely to achieve.

But it is the strength of the glue which is directly proportionate to how badly you want to achieve something.

Have you tried working on a project or a problem that doesn’t ever seem to get closer to finishing? If the project is yours and yours alone, I would suggest you did not understand the magnitude of the issue. My second suggestion would be to see what minor tasks can be done – so at least you can get closure on something.

If the problem is a joint one and the other party is dragging their feet, I would suggest calling a meeting to find out why. If you have asked someone to do something, chances are going to be – they won’t see your problem as a priority. Most people are the same – unless something is going to directly affect them, they won’t much care if something gets finished or not.

But there are times when the passion is no longer there. What seemed like a good idea at the time is now the albatross around your neck. So it is time to be honest with yourself.

· Is it time to call the project quits, because there will never be a finished outcome?
· Should you delegate the project to someone else? Someone who is better equipped to manage the problem and the process better than you? Don’t be ashamed to admit you are not “super person”. I gave up trying to do everything myself a little while back. Quite simply I knew what I wanted doing – but I didn’t have the skills or the ability to get the job done, And to be honest I didn’t have the time to devote to learning the skills I would need. So I brought in some outside help. The job cost me less in the long run because it was completed in less time by someone who knew what they were doing and could see solutions where I could only see problems.
· Take the problem and sit down with a pen and piece of paper. I find computers are no good for this kind of problem solving, but whiteboards may work for you if you have one. Now instead of looking at the problem, look for 20 solutions. Look for more than 20 solutions – because there will be more than 20 solutions to your problem. Look online if you have to, call in the big guns and ask for opinions and suggestions. Take every suggestion and solution you can think of and work out which one will work for you and your situation.

But don’t do what most people do – find the biggest bucket of water and throw it over yourself, or worse still the person who offered the solution to your problem.

If you think nothing can be done, then nothing will be. Conversely, the opposite is also true.

But if you’ve honestly tried all of the above and things still haven’t changed. Then it really is time to call it quits and move on to something that can be achieved. Who knows, after a period of time – the solution may present itself to you after all.

You may not have been affected by the economic downturn - yet. You may have enough in reserve to cope with the vagaries of price changes (usually upwards) of companies and organisations who have been affected, or want to cling on to their mega profit streams. Or your income and expenditure so far apart - they appear to have divorced years ago. Whatever your current situation, there are always new ways to look at money and more importantly doing more with what you currently have, whilst waiting for more to head your way.

The thing I like about money is this - it gives you choices. if you don't have a lot of money at the moment, then your choices may seem less apparent. But there are still some things to think about - and more importantly take control over when it comes to money and all things financial.

So my list of things of must do to succeed if money is tighter than it should be are:

There are of course many other ways to save money and have a great time doing it - what are your suggestions?

It doesn't matter how good you think your life is at the moment, there is always room for movement and improvement.

Remember to take a few minutes at the start of every day and work out what is THE most important thing that needs doing today, and then work on it until it is finished or ready for the next phase.

Remember to take a few minutes at the end of every day and work out the task and project lists for the next working day.

For home based projects and goals - have a place where you can work on them set aside and then - when you get home it is important you start working on those things that need doing otherwise you will spend the night watching TV or doing things you know you shouldn't be doing, but do anyway. And the same can be said for weekends. If you don't have a plan for your time I can almost guarantee someone else will find things ti use it on.

But don't forget the very important ones:

* Eat well
* Drink plenty of fluids - especially non-calorie versions. I'm not a fan of diet anything, so don't drink fizzy (except for soda water, and occassionally a glass of tonic) so it's water, water and more water especially duriing the day. Keep your body and your mind hydrated.
* Get some exercise every single day. It rained today, but I put my coat on and walked anyway. So I got a bit wet - but my mind and body loved it.
* Remember - what goes into your mind will sit there and your life will reflect those images, memories and you will have countless conversations with people about what you watched on the telly / listened to on the radio.
* Get a good night's sleep (or in my case - try to). And this is where I am tweaking my own plan. Trying to work out my bodies rythym so it can learn to sleep well again.

Have a plan and tweak it until it works for you - every single day.

Why did we stop having afternoon naps? At what point did we decide that we were grown up enough that we didn't need to have one? Well there are countries around the world where having a siesta is still considered appropriate whatever your age. Offices shut for a couple of hours, people close their blinds and they sleep. If you are like me, you probably can't try this one at work, but if you do happen to live in a society where a siesta is the norm, then take one, because there are many studies that show we can perform better if we have a snooze.

Speaking from personal experience (and what a stupid statement to make - of course i'm speaking from personal experience - sorry *slaps forehead*) I know that if I am working at full capacity, by the end of a normal day I am mentally exhausted. Bear in mind that most of my work is mental rather than physical, but I will give you an example. I recently spent two days on site building a new client intranet and by the end of day 2 I was a mess. Concentrated work like that is exhausting, and if you don't give yourself a break you can and do make mistakes.

For the rest of us, having a nap in the afternoon when the sun is riding at its peak is something we can aspire too. Whenever I can - be it on the weekend, or if I have taken a day or two off work, I go to bed for half an hour or so in an afternoon, depending on what my body needs. Take off your shoes, put on some relaxing music and allow yourself to drift into dream time. You will be amazed at how refreshed you feel after it, and able to get a whole lot more done afterwards too.

Here in Australia they call them "nanna naps" but believe me, you don't have to wait until retirement to enjoy this one.

With many thoughts
Elle

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Challenge update:
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The challenge questions for the 30th September 2009.

If you could do anything today – what would it be? Find a way to make it happen.

Take one day at a time – what are you going to do today:

The Challenge Update:

For the astute readers - you will have noticed an error in the file....consequently you will have just 99 days to complete the challenge - which just goes to prove to me several things

1. No matter how many times you proof read something, if you are in a hurry you will make the odd mistake
2. It doesn't matter if you do make the odd mistake, the good thing is you made a decision and you are doing something. And like all plans and goals you will need to make adjustments along the way.
3. Give yourself a bit more time and get someone else to proof read your work :-)

The forums:
I've posted another couple of questions on to the forum if you'd like to add a question or comment. I am checking in every day and will respond to every one posted, should you have any questions or queries - or just need an ear.

I would recommend you follow in the footsteps of people who know what they want, know where they are going and know what they are going to do to get there. They're the ones who have a plan and they are using it.

Your plan is your goal list - what do you want the next 90 days to bring to you? Write down your goals in your 100 day challenge workbook. Half the problem I find is this - we fail to do the simple things and then wonder why we never manifest our goals, they remain dreams.

When making plans for next week's tasks - be honest with yourself and your internal clock. We all have times when we know we work the best - so it stands to reason to work new tasks and tasks that need a lot of thought and creative power during these times.

Schedule non-critical tasks for those times when your brain is feeling a little sluggish. The worst thing you can do when you are feeling tired is to sit down at your computer and try to work on next month's marketing campaign, or make those difficult phone calls.

This may sound easier said than done, especially if you are under pressure from other people - but where possible work to your own natural rhythm and you will get more done, more easily.

How do you work best?

You know when you are on the ladder of enlightenment, when you get those "a-ha" moments, when everything clicks into place and you can move forwards - or in this case onwards and upwards. How do you get those "a-ha" moments?

- Be clear about your goals and what you want to achieve, and WHY you want to achieve them.
- It may be a piece of writing that finally clicks things into place for you
- It may be an inspirational piece of television or a conversation with someone
- It may be a quiet moment when you are ready to fall asleep, you've had an amazing day and that knowledge sends you to sleep with a self-satisfied smile.

Or it may be a combination of all of the above. But whatever you do - don't stop climbing the ladder.

With many thoughts
Elle

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Today's random thought:
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"Anger makes you do stupid things"
Grafitti on the wall in the ladies loo at UWA Reid Library

You will need a sheet of paper - or two (I use an A4 notebook as I do this on a semi-regular basis).

At the top add today's date, then divide the page into 2 columns

In the top of the left hand column write: Things I am happy about / Things I have achieved

In the top of the right hand column: Things I am unhappy about / Things I have not yet achieved

Then take a few minutes and start filling in the columns. You can choose any time frame you like, but I would recommend the last month as being a good starting point if you've never completed this exercise before.

It should only take a few minutes to complete - but the results will reveal many things to you.

The items in the right hand column are the areas you need to work on....obviously.
If you complete this on a regular basis, you are likely to see these negatives crop up many times. The more they crop up the more they need to be dealt with. The higher up the list, the more they need to be dealt with - as these are front of mind and may need urgent attention. But don't discount the last few items on the list as these are probably the underlying issues you have and will impact on some or all of the higher up the list items.

In the left hand column - the things you are happy about - are they things you have achieved or are they things that have happened to you? Are the list items material? When I completed this myself this morning I was interested to see some interesting patterns emerge. A lot of my "happy" side related to new experiences and things that I had achieved - new places I had visited, new foods I had tried, even things I thought I wouldn't enjoy but did and little things like creating a new habit of getting up half an hour early and going for a walk. My "things to work on side" was just as long though and had some of the classics listed - stop wasting time, learn to relax more, attitude, not getting my tax done. Some were massive - and some were minor niggles (tax) and easily remedied. But there in black and white was my reality check, and what was stopping me from achieving my goals and dreams.

Try it - it's powerful.

Elle

To add your comments or join in the discussion -

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Get challenge updates on Twitter:
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If we haven't already connected on Twitter - you just need to add me - http://twitter.com/ellegb
or facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

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100 day goal achievement challege meetup:
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One for the Perth based people, that's Perth, Western Australia - if I can organise a room and get enough interest would you like to join me for a chat / challenge update session. Let me know.

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Change can be a slow process in the beginning. In fact it may seem easier to swim through treacle than keep on slogging day after endless day when you cannot see any visible proof that things are happening. By keeping to the same principles day after day, repeating the successes, eliminating those things that do not work you will eventually reach your goal. And sometimes - when things just click into place it may seem like we have had an overnight success, but that's not always the case as you well know.

Bamboo's like those goals we set for ourselves.

The first year we plant bamboo, nothing happens. The plant looks like it's going to die. But what you cannot see is what the bamboo is doing beneath the surface. The first year the bamboo is planted it is laying down massive root structures. The following year, the bamboo grows 5,10, 15 feet in a short space of time. The bamboo has laid it's foundations and from that it can grow - but from the outside it appears nothing is happening.

The other amazing thing about bamboo is it's almost impossible to kill because of those deep penetrating roots.

Let your goals be like the bamboo. Take time to put energy into the roots, repeat the fundamentals day after day and watch yourself become that "overnight success" - except we know the real truth of course.

If you are on the 100 day goal achievement challenge you should have worked out your priority items by now. What are your long term (in the 100 days) goals, and what do you need to do each day in order to achieve those goals?

Each tiny step, each minor decision can make a massive difference in just a few days.

For those who are on the challenge will know that one of mine is to lose at least one dress size. The how I am doing that is by increasing the amount of exercise that I do each day. But it's not just "exercise" but incidental decisions that I make - that will ultimately make the biggest difference to my size and shape.

Do I take the car to the shops or do I walk? If I walk what can I carry in my back pack? Answer - more than you think. The added weight adds to the exertion and more calories are burnt as a result. And believe it or not the added weight is a great way to add weight bearing exercise which is essential for both muscles and bones.

I've also been spending a fair bit of time in the garden, attempting to remove the winter weed growth, As my back will only let me do about 45 minutes without it hurting too much I have to be careful, but each 45 minute session is very physical and consequently I can achieve a great deal in the cardio department during that time.

I've also been spring cleaning my house - cleaning cupboards and drawers is good for many things - not least of which ensuring your house is not cluttered with rubbish and you get a mind and body workout.

As a direct consequence I have dropped 5lbs (may not seem like a lot) and about half a dress size - already - and we still have 80 days to go.

When I wrote the 100 day challenge goal achievement challenge workbook I had just a few days to reach my deadline. As I remarked to a colleague - if I can achieve THAT in just a couple of days - what can I achieve in 100?

And the same goes for you too.

What you can achieve in 100 days can be as simple as making a decision and following through with the little steps every day.

1. Don't make excuses
2. Make a decision
3. Act on those decisions
4. Repeat

I hope you have a great day

Setbacks, we all have them. The diet that plateaus. Writers block. Injuries and illness.

Well you can accept that occassionally these things happen to the best of us, and believe me - they do. You can either work through the problem you have to come out the otherside fitter and stronger or you can throw your hands up in the air and say "this isn't working". This is the time you usually find yourself trying to find the next thing to focus your attention on. And sooner rather than later you are back to where you were before - or worse still - further back from where you started - those diets where you lose a lot of weight - then after "eating normally" for a few months you've put back all the weight you lost and some more. Truth is - the only people who can really eat what they like are the ones who a) don't care b) have a great metabolism that allows them to burn off what they eat or c) training athletes and the latter still watch WHAT they eat.

You forgot you were supposed to be eating sensibly to lose some weight - the first sign of adversity has you running to whatever comfort food you eat.

And of course it doesn't have to be food related, but any goal that gets stuck every now and then.

You were going to clean the house
You were going to redecorate
You were going to re-do the garden
You were going to save a million dollars
You were going to get ahead with your school assignments

But other things got in the way. Now I am not saying that making a living or having a fun time with your friends isn't important - because they are. But it is time to be honest - are your projects stalled because of setbacks or are you sabotaging your efforts?

With many thoughts
Elle

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An additional thought for today: There are no more "secrets"
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I hate to be the one to break it to you - but I will - because it's important.

Listen very carefully to me:

There are no magic bullets
There are no magic pills that melt off fat while you sleep
If you create a single e-book and create a one page "Squeeze" website - you won't make a million dollars, let alone over night - and you'd be lucky if the spiders even bothered to index your site so you got any visitors to read the words of the one page website. I'll let YOU into a secret when it comes to website design, spiders and search engine optimisation - content and keywords are essential, and a single page website these "guru's" are still touting as THE way to make money is laughable. Except it's THEM that's laughing - all the way to the bank. Makes me wonder how they can sleep at night.

They're the ones making millions - telling you that if you sign up for THEIR program for only 5 monthly payments of $..... they will tell you their secret to making a fortune. Well guess what I just did - told you THEIR secret. There is no secret to wealth and you and everyone else knows it, but everyone else doesn't like to think that is the case. They want to beleive, so they keep buying. Sad really.

And now I have that out of my system I shall wish you a successful and action packed day.

It can be as simple a thing as a quote in an e-mail, or an overheard word on a crowded train. But wherever the inspiration comes from - be grateful it did. For me - today it was this:

“It is hard to keep that which has not been obtained through personal development.” —Jim Rohn

Every thing I have been trying to say over the last goodness knows how long, condensed into one perfect sentence. Why? Because it is almost impossible to appreciate that which has not been "earned" so we squander it.

Have you ever had one of those days when you thought you were going to make massive inroads into your goal / task lists, but get to the end of the day and find you have achieved little or nothing in reality?

If you have - you have been visited by the time thief.

You've met the time thief many times, although he comes in many forms and guises. But the biggest time thief you can meet is sitting by you - he's always there - whispering in your ear. In fact next time you go to the bathroom and wash your hands - look up and say hello to him.

Every time we say we're gonna do ...
Every time we say - I'll do that in a minute
Every time we say - when the kids leave home, the bad food's gone, the bottle of wine is finished, the packet of cigarettes is empty, after I've checked my emails/ social notworking sites to see who's on....
Every time we allow other people to interrupt us with their inane chatter and goings on
Every time we don't play to our strengths
Every time we allow our goals and dreams to slip through our hands because we can't be bothered

Every time - we have allowed the time thief to visit, unfortunately for most people, he never leaves.

Isn't it time you packed your time thieves bags and showed him the door? Because until you do, you will always fall victim to his persuasive coercion. Ask him to leave, because it's time you got on with your life.

With many thoughts
Elle

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100 day goal achievement challenge update: Day 75 - Quarter time
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Are you still playing along with the 100 day goal achievement challenge? I hope so, because today is one of the major milestones to success.

Today is the quarter of the way through the challenge. Amazed at how fast 25 days can go? Why do you think most people never achieve anything of significance? The usual answer is because they think they've got forever to do what they want to do, when we know that is not the case at all. We know it can take day after endless day of repeating those success principles until finally the new habits are ingrained and we don't need a daily reminder to get on with what we know needs to be done.

Don't take the ostrich approach to yourself and your problems, sometimes you can't stick your head in the sand - you have to deal with the issues and problems head on. It's the only way you are going to overcome the problem. You can get someone to bail you out - but when that happens we are doomed to repeat the same failures - because WE didn't solve the problem the first time around - we think it's gone away - when it hasn't at all - because the heart of the problem lies right between our ears.

Make the next 25 days of the challenge the time when you really ramp up the amount of work you do each day. We need the constant push so we don't fall into the habit of doing slightly less today than we know we should.

Dream statements are not goals, they're just throw away comments we make to appease our inner selves into thinking we are going to succeed this time around.

Any statement or thought you make that starts with the phrase

"I wish I had ...." are dream statements. We know we're never going to do anything about them - not really. We might try for a little while, but sooner rather than later "real world" creeps back in, sidling around our attempts at making changes.

Goals should be front of mind and front of desk, they should be the first thing you think about when you wake up and they should be the last thing you think about before you go to sleep. If you occassionally sit down and say to yourself - today I'm going to work on my goals for half an hour - I'd say you've lost the plot. Every decision you make and every action you take should be associated with one of your goals - somewhere. Real world stuff does happen - we all know that. But if you want to succeed in achieving your goals, you need to know:

a) what they are
b) what you are doing now to move towards them
c) why you say you want to achieve them

Dream statements are like those affirmations we occassionally use. We think that by saying a few words mantra like a couple of times a day it will get us to where we say we want to be. But if all you are doing is papering over the negativity that fills your life with the odd word of encouragement, then the words are useless. You need to live your goals, you need to understand that the journey to reaching your goal is just as important as reaching the goal itself. But if you don't enjoy the journey - will you enjoy the destination? Perhaps you will - in your dreams.

Last night I gave a presentation to a new graduate group on the topic of interview tips, tricks and techniques. My presentation would begin the process and then three other senior members of our professional community would sit as a panel and explain how they would answer some of the more topical and typical questions interviewees get asked. Between us we had in the region of a century's worth of experience, which was both interesting and scary, so you would think we knew what we talking about. Every member of the panel - myself included had come straight from "work" and were dressed in standard business wear - appropriate given we were talking about getting and keeping a job in today's economic climate.

So why am I bothering to tell you this?

Well, given that we are senior members of the profession, presenting to a group of new graduates (and a couple of others who wanted a brush up on technique), and given that you never know where your next job is going to come from or who is taking note of you, you would think the people attending would have taken the time to present themselves in an appropriate manner - wouldn't you.

Please say YES

Apart from myself, my fellow presenters and the two ladies who had come along to obtain some insider brush up techniques - 18 out of the remaining 20 had just turned up....if you get my meaning.

When presenting this kind of topic, one of my favourite questions to ask the group is this - if you turn to your neighbor and based on what you can see in front of you - would you hire the person? Yes or No

Only 2 people out of the whole group (not counting my fellow presenters) took the time to critique their neighbor which is what I was after. The two who did - were the two who had come to brush up on their skills. When the other members of the audience started to snigger, I explained why I had asked them to ask the question....And the look of amazement on their faces was - well - a picture.

I explained it in this way - we all judge people by what we see and usually in the first few seconds of seeing someone for the first time.
If every member of the audience had a similar Resume and had answered the interview questions in a similar fashion - what's left?

Answer = YOU

What you look like, what you sound like, what you smelled like and how you acted.

If you are representing a company - what does your "look" say about you and the company you work for? And yes there were several company logo's on the clothing of the various audience members - but I have to say - not in a good way.

If I am not representing my company, I consider that I am representing myself. I should be able to tell people what I do and what my skills are - should I need to stand up and give a 2 sentence introduction about myself. And yes it does happen in a business environment all the time. But again, you see people floundering. Why? I think it is because most of the time, people have not taken the time to consider events such as last nights - as important.

But the look is just one point - if you look great but sound terrible - as in your attitude stinks or you spend the entire time being a donkey or dropping expletives into your answers - what will that say about you?

Did you go to the pub before going to the interview to "calm your nerves?" what about cigarette smoke or the onion you had at lunch time?

When it comes down to it, an interview is designed to see if you will fit into their organisation and whether or not you want to be associated with them (yes it is a two way process).

On speaking to one of my fellow presenters after the event, and away from the audience - she noted (and without prompting from me) that if any of those people came to her for a job interview she would now think twice about their suitability.

You see instead of taking the time to use the event to speak to myself and the panel, they left looking like stunned mullets. Yes I know it was late, I managed a 15 hour day out of the house yesterday - but I wasn't the one yawning....And no one could tell I had wrenched my back on Tuesday either and every step I took was like walking on red hot swords. I was willing to stay back and talk, but they weren't....strange given my profession.

I make no bones about the length of today's post because in it are several important points:

1. Where you are meeting other people from your profession, you have a chance to make an impression - please make it a good one.
2. Where you are meeting people from different professions - remember you don't know where your next job is going to come from, so please remember to conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times.
3. And for goodness sake participate in the process. Take notes, ask questions, ask for clarification, ask anything - don't waste your time turning up if you're going to fall asleep half way through. And no it wasn't "death by powerpoint".... there was role play and videos to keep the audience "amused" and paper and pens to scribble on.

Did they get anything from last night? Well I hope so, and I hope they do blitz their next interviews. What I do know is this - I got a huge amount out of the event. But then again I expected to and had gone prepared.

Are you as prepared as you should be?

If you look at every "problem" you face, are you using the problem to your advantage? What can you learn from it? How can you grow as a result? What skills do you need to have in order to achieve the outcome you want?

When you consider that a "game" is never really won, but lost by the "team" that caved first - are you doing all that you can - all of the time?

Tomorrow is June 30th.

For those of us in Australia it is time to think about tax returns. But more importantly (IMHO) it is half way through the year that is 2009.

Taking a look back at the first 6 months of the year:

* Did you manage to achieve any major goals?
* Are you on schedule to finalise some major goals for the 2nd half of 2009 - or has life gotten in the way of those things you said you wanted to achieve?
* Do you have any major goals lined up for the 2nd half of 2009?

As you know I am a great believer in the concept of being able to do more today than I did yesterday. Which is both a good and a bad thing. I have several major long-term goals. These are on track as I work on these in a minor way every day (remember ever little step can take you towards or away from your goals). But it is the shorter and medium term goals that I have a problem with. Namely - I have not imposed a time limit on them and I should because my problem lies with prioritising and time management. Households, kids, creatures and exercise notwithstanding - there are areas where I can make improvements. And I will need to make some adjustments so I can get moving on several writing projects and other things I feel have been severely neglected.

The beauty about taking stock at the end of each week, each month and tomorrow at the end of a 6-month period means you can determine if you are on the right track. And if not, then how many adjustments you need to make in order to make significant progress.

How about you? Where do you need to make adjustments?

In order to generate new business it is important to spend time working "on" your business as well as working "in" your business.

If you are not doing as well as you think you should be doing, then "that" could be part of the problem. Other problems of course includes:

But let me go back to the working on vs working in I mentioned earlier.

Working "on" your business means generating new leads, following up with people who you said you would get back to and never did. It means making sure your clients can do business easily with you.

If your website needs a facelift, then now is a good time to think about it. For example:

In a world of sound bytes and abstracts, less is more. Just make sure the less is relevant to your clients and the people you hope to do business with.

Working "in" your business means looking at the processes and procedures that make your business run.

As you can see from this short list, both items are essential if you want a successful business. Where most people fall down is they focus on one to the detriment of the other.

It's no good generating a lot of new leads if you fail to follow up or if the person answering the phone is rude. You always have one chance to make a good impression, and people will vote with their feet if they think they can get a better deal elsewhere. But it's no good being polite if the phones never ring.

As we begin the new financial year (granted here in Australia) it is time to take a good look at the way you handle your business especially if you want to come out ahead when things start to look up.

I would like to apologise now for those people who don't have a business of their own - bear in mind a lot of these principles can be translated across many different areas. For example - getting homework in on time. Making sure your job application doesn't miss the closing date. Keeping your home environment clean and tidy is just as important as keeping your office environment clean and clear of clutter. If you are constantly losing things then it's time to clean up !

Your thoughts as always appreciated -

If a camera crew were to follow you around for a week - would it make for good television viewing? Or would your reality TV show be cancelled after the first day?

I know we can't all be weird, wacky and downright ostentatious - but you don't have to be. Take most of the documentaries on "famous" people ever produced - they're really about "normal" people who did what was "normal" to them in imaginative and amazing ways. And what great television viewing.

If you took one of your goals, or one of the problems you are facing right now and had to script how the television program would be shot - would it have a beginning, a middle and an end? Or would it stop somewhere in the middle with the "hero/heroine" at a crossroads - unable to make up his/her mind....

Imagine then coming back to the 2nd episode - would you still be waiting at the crossroads?

Can you really think and grow rich?

So many people have bought into the idea, especially with things like "the secret" and those who jumped on the "secret" bandwagon. I will confess to watching the movie but don't own a copy of the book or any of the other "stuff" that went along with it. My thoughts - there were some bits missing - and as you know - everyone has been busily trying to plug those gaps by telling you - well it's not just about thought - you still have to act.... which is something I've been telling you for years.

But I will say - I do have a copy of Napoleon Hill's classic book - Think and Grow Rich.... and no I'm not yet rich in the monetary sense, but so many other ways - that for the first time I am going to give you a link to a site that allows you to get a copy for the price it costs to ship it to you. Why? Well I thought it was a great idea and have bought myself a brand new copy so that I can keep my old and battered second hand copy for scribbling in, and have the new one just for reading. I know I am a bit silly like that - but that's the "problem" with being a librarian by profession.

The thing I love about reading books for the second and subsequent times is this - you miss so much the first time around that the book always gives you new insights every time you read it...."it" being whatever book you choose to read of course. The only time I will read a book once is when the author has not engaged me as a reader. Dry academic tomes are a very good example of these insomniac cures - but there are other reasons. I have many readers who tell me that they like the way these emails are sent out - because they seem to be written just for them. Why should that be so? Why do some words resonate with you and others don't? Well I think it's because sometimes we are facing the same kinds of issues and going through the same kinds of pain barriers.

So - if you'd like to get a copy of the book - please read on.

With many thoughts
Elle

p.s. for those who are celebrating the Halloween festivities - be safe and enjoy - and for those of us in the southern hemisphere? Well here it's spring - so do we get to eat hot cross buns and easter eggs? As I couldn't find any in the shops - obviously not :-(

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Think and Grow Rich:
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Would you like a copy of Think and Grow Rich - for the price of P&H?

My friends Vic and Lisa Johnson are doing this crazy marketing test where they're giving away Napoleon Hill's "Think & Grow Rich" for just that - the price of postage and handling.

I'm helping them with their big giveaway and wanted to make sure you got your copy before they take this offer down. And no you can't use it as a chrissie present idea, everyone has to get their own copy :-) But you can tell your friends and colleagues about it.

You can find more at: http://www.FreeTGRbook.com/motivateme

Kind Regards

Elle

P.S. Vic and Lisa are actually shipping these so you need to give them your address. Details here: http://www.FreeTGRbook.com/motivateme

Action - we all need to take it if we want to get anywhere in life.

* Unless you want to live in a pigsty you will need to clean up - at least now and then
* Unless you want to starve - you are going to have to eat, and in some cases you also have to fetch the groceries and cook the foods you have acquired
* Unless you want to wear the same dirty clothes every day you are going to have to do the laundry
* Unless you want to stay doing the same things in the same way as you have always done, then you are going to have to open your mind to new opportunities for growth.
* Unless you have a rich benefactor who can "give" you a small fortune, or you are lucky enough to win the lottery, you are going to have to do SOMETHING to earn the money you need to do the other things you say you want to do.

I'm sure you get the point - if you don't take action - you will not do anything. YES doing the laundry is taking action, reading a book is opening your mind to new possibilities and ways to improve your life.

It's interesting, I keep hearing about the people who spent a good deal of time, energy and money on Halloween. Costumes, parties, treats. I just wish everyone would have that same kind of commitment to the rest of their lives. If you can achieve "that" for one day of the year - just imagine what you can achieve if your other goals were as exciting.

My question to you then, is why do you have boring goals on your list? Mine are exciting - in some cases they are downright scary - swim with whale sharks? I can swim, but in open water with massive sea creatures who can swallow you and not notice? eeeek - so why do I have goals like that on my list?

My answer is two fold:
* Why not? and
* Because I can

I am also of the opinion that if an opportunity is presented to you, you need to take a deep breath and say - yes all right I'm willing to do that, where do I sign up? What do I need to do?

The alternative to taking opportunities as they are presented to you is what? Doing nothing? Doing the same things? Never getting on? Never achieving anything you say you wanted to achieve? Life is meant to be lived - funnily enough. We don't say - I'm existing my life, we say I'm living my life. But most people are merely existing, and you are too if you have been given talents you aren't using, or not doing the things you know you should be doing.

This week I would like to set you some homework, don't worry there isn't a test at the end of it (although I would if I could). I would like you to re-read one of the many growth and development books you have gathering dust on your shelves. I want you to make some notes on the things that resonate with you. And then I would like you to implement one new change as a result this week.

We need a variety of input and influence and voices. You cannot get all the answers to life and business from one person or from one source.

Find the people you admire

Read their books (if you don't have access to them in person)
Attend their seminars (if they give them)
Talk to them (if you can and if they are available to you - included in this group of people are your family, local businesses support groups, church groups you are a member of...)
Watch their programs on the television
Listen to the lyrics and absorb the music

Take one problem you are currently facing and write down 10 or 20 solutions to the issue - it doesn't matter what the problem is, there will always be more than one answer to your question of "HOW?" but if you always look at the problem you will never see a solution.

Take your own best advice and mix it with the new information you have found and researched (yes that's what the above was - research)....and apply it.

If you aren't getting anywhere on the telephone, email, if you have always emailed, then call, if you aren't getting anywhere - go and see them in person. Yes it's a nuisance, but yes it does work. If you've been avoiding someone or something and all of a sudden they are staring at you - you can't hide - you have to deal with it.

Or if they won't deal with it, and they are still making all the excuses under the sun, then take it one step further, or higher, call in the lawyers if you have to.

Or you can sit, twiddle your thumbs and wait for someone to call you back - your choice, your life - it just depends I suppose on how badly you want change to happen.

Today is 4th July 2009. To our readers in the USA we hope you a wonderful day of celebrations, of meetings and eatings with family and friends.

For the rest of the world though - today is just another Saturday. Or is it?

We can look at any day of any week of any year and decide that today is just "another" day. But if you consider that today is the only chance you will ever have to experience the 4th July 2009 it does take on a whole new meaning doesn't it.

So - given we only have this one day to enjoy Saturday the 4th July 2009 - how are you going to make it a memorable day? One that you can look back on and see that it wasn't just another day, but one to be savoured, enjoyed, celebrated and remembered?

In the "old" days, when money was a little tighter than it is perhaps today, people owned maybe a couple of "good" outfits - and usually wore them to weddings, funerals, going out and to church. If it was time to make an effort, out came the "Sunday best".

Today we have a few more resources at our disposal, but if we want to go somewhere special we make an effort to look good - we wear a "nice" outfit, do hair and nails, ladies - match stockings to shoes and handbags fix the makeup and hair and our "men" do the equivalent - choosing shirts and pants (trousers), ties (if necessary), matching socks and adding a dash of aftershave to the finished look. Not only do we look good, we smell good too.

Image is important - or should be - if you want to make a good impression. But we are not talking just about making a good impresson on other people, but to ourselves. If we feel good about who we are, we will generally look better, we smile more, our eyes shine and people gravitate towards us. We make an impression on others, because we have taken the time to make an impression on ourselves. But it doesn't stop there. If we have a healthy respect for our own self-image we complete our work more easily, our self-talk is positive, our voice is more relaxed and open which makes a world of difference if you spend a great deal of time on the telephone.

How you create a healthy respect for yourself can be an interesting exercise, especially if you are prone to putting yourself down, or you allow others to "put you down". But it involves taking a personal inventory of many things:

What are you thinking about right now?
Are you in a good mood, bad mood or neutral mood - can you change the neutral mood to a more positive one? What is bothering you? What is annoying you? Can you do anything about it? Then should it matter - right now? If you can't fix it, because it's not your problem to fix, and you can't make a suggestion to the person - then leave it for now. Don't let others dictate your mood, and if it's completely out of your control - as in - so what the wind just messed up your hair, the bus was late and you can't find a seat - for goodness sake - stop worrying over the little things....give that energy to something important - like one of your goals. I do find it fascinating that people (and myself included sometimes) will wear themselves out - over things they have no control over and literally have no time or energy for the things they do have to do.

Having a healthy self-image does start with your mind.

If we feel better when we dress "up" why not use that psychological uplift when you need a boost? I am a great believer in not saving things for "best" today to me is the "best" day to wear something nice, so I do. I don't wait for Sunday's, weddings, funerals, big meetings or any other random event day to make an effort - those who know me well, will attest to the suits on a perfectly "normal" day - or getting changed after work and putting on something "nice". And yes there are days when I dag it down - but it doesn't affect my healthy self-respect I have for myself.

So can you do you a favour this week - make an effort for yourself to be the best you can be... and yes - dress the part, after all YOU are worth every second it takes to do.

With many thoughts
Elle

To add your comments or join in the discussion -

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Think and Grow Rich:
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Have you got your copy yet?

http://www.motivateme.info/think-and-grow-rich/

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The 100 day goal achievement challenge update:
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Yesterday was day 55 - yes just 55 days left to the end of the year - which is quite a scary thought. If you have been following the plan and working on your goals a little bit each day things should be slotting into place now.

I've had a long term "goal" well more of a hope really that one day I would lose enough weight to allow me to drop a couple of dress sizes - that goal got a kick up the proverbial when I realised that I DID need to change my diet and change it dramatically. I've been "crook" for a couple of weeks now (to coin the Australian vernacular) and realised I have become gluten intolerant. So I have had to strip out eveyrthing containing wheat, rye and barley out of my diet.... 4 days into a new way of eating and whilst I haven't lost any weight yet I do feel quite a lot better. The last time I went on this "diet" was the time I weighed the lightest I have ever weighed in my life and felt the best - amazing, I should have realised then - but the lure of fresh bread and the simplicity of grain based and processed foods....but no more.

Sometimes it does take a while to work out what you and your body needs in order to function well. Next week I am going to try and see the doc and get an overall blood screen and allergy test done, but for now - it's bye bye bread and hello a much smaller me - most excited.

How old would you be if you didn't know the answer to that question?

It's an interesting question don't you think and one I am guilty of when I say things like - if only I was .... insert age .... but it would be even better if I had my current level of wisdom and knowledge then as I do now....

Don't get caught up in the I'm too old, I'm too young type of ageist thinking. You are as old as you are, you will never be any younger, but every second you age just a little bit more - it happens, accept it and forget it, it's not significant - because you can't change ANYTHING about the past - just deal with the future. So it's interesting when people quote Ray Kroc and Colonel Sanders as two good examples of people who became rich, powerful and successful at a more senior age as a way to spur you on to doing bigger and better things as you "get older".

What I am trying to say - it doesn't matter if you are young, old, a teenager or a senior citizen - if you have a good idea - then now is the time to put those plans into action, and the reason is simple...the only thing that is important is YOU.

You have a unique set of talents and gifts to share with the world, no-one can do things just like you. Personally I think the world is a much poorer place because most people haven't found or used their gifts and talents with the world. What are you good at? Do people know about it? Would they be shocked if they found out? I have one more thing to say as you go about your day - and that is:

Live your life as though you mean it.

Go on I dare you.

So said "dizzy dean" and it's true, although some people may still say you are letting pride and arrogance get in the way if you do happen to mention it once or twice ...

So - let your actions speak louder than the words you use.

Let others brag about what you are capable of... so long as you don't believe everything the "press" say about you, you'll be just fine.

let me explain:

When I was talking to a group of new grads recently about answering a certain question on how they would rate themselves on a scale of one to ten on communication skills, I was interested to hear some comments, which of course got me thinking about how I would answer that question.

I would never rate myself a 10 out of 10 - if someone else thinks I am good enough, then all well and good - but I would give myself about an 8 or an 8.5 - because there is always something to learn. I would never assume I was worthy of a 10/10 because I never consider that my recent work is good enough to rate it....I can always find some way to improve. As you know I am a professional communicator by profession - but a 10 out of 10, no way - like I said - an 8 or an 8.5 but a 10 - absolutely not.

Every day I have a chance to improve, just as you do... but don't let your words do the braggin, let your actions do that for you

If you expect to fail you most probably will
If you expect to do well, you may do just that
But if you expect things to change and do nothing to make it happen, or worse still stake your chances that someone will bail you out, or your numbers will coming up on lottery - then you are delusional.

When you begin anything new, you will experience a series of setbacks and growth curves and spurts. Never expect a new venture to work perfectly the first time around - no matter what it is....it does take hard slog and day after endless day of practising, trying again, falling down and getting back up again.

As I said to a friend recently - "you can only fail if you stop trying"

As you look at your current level of activity and moods, and your most recent past history - check your expectations against what worked and what didn't, against the successes and the failures and I'm sure you will agree - in 99.99% of the cases - (unless you really are delusional) your expectations were spot on.

So can you change your level of expectation?

Of course you can, you can change anything at all - if you want to

Selling is all about belief.

* Belief in the "product" you have to sell
* Belief in your ability to put across the benefits in such a way that your client needs it, not just wants it...
* Belief that you deserve the commission that comes from the sale
* Belief that you are good enough to earn that commission

and the most important belief

* Belief in yourself

But you may say - well that's all well and good Elle, but I'm not into sales, what has THIS got to do with me?

I would respond and say - it has everything to do with you.

If you don't believe in yourself, you will fall prey to the whim of everyone else. You will blindly follow the sheep in front of you - always following the herd, because "they" must know what's going on. And if you'll follow their lead then everything will be alright.

The problem with the herd mentality is that everyone is thinking the same things. But you can break free from the herd way of thinking.... and you can do that by believing in yourself and your own gifts and abilities.

Imagine for just one moment you were the very best in your field / school / house - without being cocky about it, you knew what needed to be done and you did that with ease. How much better would your life be? Imagine that you had all the great ideas, the time, the energy and the dedication to get out there and make your mark on the world - what would you be like as a person?

Whilst you could be arrogant (and believe me there are enough of those people about), I personally feel you would be confident, you would stand tall and you would lead the way. And it comes down to believing you could be and will be the best at whatever you do.

So today is homework day - today I want you to become that confident person. I want you to believe in yourself and that whatever you do today - will work and work well. Just remember the caveats - if you all the time, energy, money and dedication you needed what would you do today?

With many thoughts
Elle

Do you believe in yourself? What works for you?

Sounds like a strange lead in doesn't it... but let me explain what I mean.

How do you think people feel after they have interacted with you? Are they happy? Bouyed up? Annoyed? Angry?

Given that our lives are ones of constant interaction, we may be guilty of not approaching every one in a positive frame of mind, especially if it didn't go as well as you hoped it might last time. But I personally feel there is always something good to gain from every interaction - if we choose to look at things in a different way.

First thing every morning I like to spend a few minutes and read one or two of the many "motivational" e-zines I get. Then I file the rest for another time and start working. Those first few moments give me a way to start my day in a positive frame of mind. Today I opened a message from Tony Robbins. Tony's message was a video blog - on 5 keys to thrive - and I'm sure he won't mind me passing on the link so you can watch it - if you haven't already done so - http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/378/5-keys-to-thrive/ As always, Tony manages to put across in a few minutes some great advice - so I sent him a thank you message via the social networking site "Twitter" - yes the Tony Robbins is on Twitter. For the skeptics reading this, they may say - but it was probably his assistant or some other person who responded - but I like to think it was the man himself - when he responded by saying "I'm glad it touched you, all the best, Tony".... in effect, he was thanking me for thanking him. Those few words made me smile - all day.

Which of course got me thinking about compliments, and what we can say to people on a daily basis to make them smile - all day.

You see compliments are a two way kind of interaction - and the best kind of interaction we can have. We may think we are paying just one person a compliment, when in reality you are touching many more people with your words. You are paying one person a compliment yes, but the act of doing that - will make YOU feel better too. Imagine then the ripple effect of a single compliment. If the person you complimented then complimented another person and on it would go.

Our words have that kind of power. They can build people up, or they can tear people down. I personally feel the world would be a much happier place if we chose words that made people smile on a regular basis. So today I would like you to do you and those around you a favour. Try to find something positive to say about everyone you interact with, and see what a difference it can and does make to your day.

A blueprint for living your life comes down to a few fundamentals:

In yourself and your own knowledge and personal development.
As Benjamin Franklin said “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest”

In those people around you.
Find the good in all people all the time and you will see them grow. Conversely if you expect little, you will get little. There have been many studies on this subject over the years. In some cases, teachers were told at the start of a new year – these kids are great, they may whinge and moan, but they’re just pretending to be lazy. Another teacher was told, these kids will never amount to anything, so I shouldn’t try too hard. The teacher who had the “clever” kids taught clever kids and the kids all did well. The teacher who had the “average” kids had average results – well what was the point in trying, after all they were never going to amount to anything. The truth is – none of the kids were “clever” nor were the other kids “average” it was the way they were treated that made the biggest difference. Imagine if you had that kind of “power” over someone else’s behaviour and life. Well you do – every single day, with every single interaction you have, you have the power to build people up, or knock people down. Be a person who builds people up.

In your financial future and security.
Don’t spend all that you earn and then a bit more. Every book on financial management states – if you want to be rich you need to a) rob a bank b) wait for great aunt doris to die and leave you a fortune or – actually you need to spend less than you earn and invest the difference.

In your health and fitness.
Do you remember the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay?” well what if that were true…if you ate “well” every day would you suffer from obesity and diet related diseases in later life? What about if you did some kind of moderate exercise every day rather than trying to run a marathon on a weekend to keep the weight down wouldn’t that make more sense? In the western world we have so much food to choose from it is so very easy to overeat. A few extra calories consumed every day may not seem like much – but over the course of a year add to what is known as weight creep. As we get older we also tend to slow down, but if we carry on eating the same amount as we did when we were younger, we are going to have buy a new set of clothes every couple of years….and who can afford to do that? So make a commitment to your future health by reducing the indulgences and / or learning how to run a marathon every weekend if you want to continue to eat more than your body needs for optimal health.

In your home.
Picking up a few things every day and putting them away means you don’t have to spend all your free time cleaning. I don’t have space on my washing line for the amount of laundry created each week to have a single day to “do the washing”, so I keep on top of the laundry by putting in a load every day or every other day. And it’s the same with everything. You don’t wait til the weekend to wash the dishes. Do something every day and soon it won’t seem like cleaning at all….just something that you do.

In your goals.
Invest a little time every day and you won’t be able to stop yourself from achieving anything you set your mind to.

In your faith.
Don’t neglect who you are.

This is a blueprint for a better life – your life. Live it with passion.

People who have not found out their true calling or use their skills and abilities are like "weeds" because "weeds" are the plants who have not yet found a use.....

Don't be a "weed"

Take an inventory of what you are good at, and if you really don't know, then ask your family and friends to give you a clue or two...

"Hey, what do you think is my greatest ability" - but only ask the people who would respect you enough to give an honest answer to that question.

This one may take some thinking about, especially if on first glance you can't think of anything you are good at....so - add another level to your thinking. If you could do anything right now, what would you be doing? What are your hobbies, what do you do when you have a spare day off, some free time? Or at the end of each day? Then make an inventory of your good points.

If you want to take this one step further - and you might - then list the things you don't think you are good at. Those are your "homework". How can you stop being lazy? How can you get into the right mindset to go to the gym, eat well, do your assignments...we all suffer from lazy thinking. We all need to do "homework" - but first we need to rid our mind of the weeds of our lazy thinking. Because like all gardens, our minds need guarding against the invaders.... those other "weeds" who want to suffocate us with their thinking. So don't let them.

You need to ensure you guard against the weeds.
You need to think about what you are good at
You need to think about what you are not so good at
You need to spend some time on your weeding (otherwise known as personal development)

Because in the answers to those questions you answered earlier are the seeds to your future successes.

Tend your crops and not your weeds

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia, but I do like the idea of saying thank you to the people who matter to you....

But one question - if these people matter to you - why wait an entire year?

So - given we don't have a formal "thanksgiving" celebration I prefer to do what I call random acts of kindness for people, as and when opportunities present themselves.

I know these seem like really small and insignificant things to do, but I can see the difference it can make to another person....and all I ask is that if you can and have the time or the means to do something for someone else - with or without them knowing.

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." -- Benjamin Franklin

But have you stopped, I mean really stopped to see where your energy is actually going? Believe it or not, it's not just in your actions, but your thoughts you need to watch to see where your energy is heading.

If you are worrying over something your energy is feeding the worry. If you don't stop thinking about "the worry" then it will persist into other areas. The more you worry, the less you are able to do what you know needs doing.

If you are wondering when this email is going to end, you are not reading and absorbing the message. And it could be any message - the news, TV, radio, a class you hate, a seminar you didn't want to go to. If your mind (and your energy) is not on the message you will fail to absorb it. You will be wondering what's for dinner, if your boy/girlfriend really meant what they said last night; what you will do that stupid driver if you ever catch up with them and on and on and on.

Our minds are one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal. But most of the time our mind is allowed to wander around like a teenager who doesn't know what to do with itself. And that's usually when the problems begin.

So practice the art of mindful thought and see if you can't change the way your mind and your energy is heading. Because if you can change your thoughts you can take the actions that will change your life.

With many thoughts
Elle

My neighbor was a "big" lady and the first to admit it. So knowing her own limitations - she opted for lap band surgery, well things were getting a little desperate and was already well on the way to becoming diabetic (food related version)....

Yes she lost weight - a lot of it in fact ... about 40 kilos

The problem with the "magic bullet" approach - she hasn't learned a damn thing about food and nutrition. She just bemoans the fact that she can't eat the pies and cakes she used to eat before the surgery. BTW she still makes them and uses up the small space where her stomach used to be for the fat and the carbs - instead of filling it with quality fruits, veg and protein. I know she still makes them because a) she told me and b) was proud of the fact that the rest of the family were putting on weight.

So it was interesting when she said - you've lost a lot of weight - how did you do it?
I replied - oh you know, dieting and exercise, so it's size not just weight, with the weight training i'm doing I may look thinner, i weigh about the same.

To be fair though I have lost about 5 kilos according to the scales. But as muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less space it's an interesting re-adjustment of body composition

The difference between my neighbors approach to losing weight and mine is this - she felt she couldn't control what she ate so opted for the surgery (she told me). I know that I can - and having stripped out the refined carbs, and as a result the fat that you use to make it palatable - am reducing my size and changing shape as a result.

Without carbs I have to get my energy from other sources - namely fruits, veg and nuts. My neighbor still eats what she wants, just little bits of it regardless of whether it's good for her or not.

Where our "diets" are similar though comes down to this.... We both need to maintain this way of eating for the rest of our lives. If she reverses the surgery she will gain weight - guaranteed. As I can't reintroduce the refined carbs back into my diet (allergy) - I stand a much better chance of keeping my weight in the healthy range, and as I enjoy the exercise, shall continue to tone up the skin as I drop the size. Apparently my neighbor is going back under the knife in the new year to get rid of some loose skin.

When you are faced with a problem or issue, remember there are many ways to deal with it...and the way you deal with it, is of course up to you

Peer pressure.

Usually when we think about those 2 words we think about the "bad" things kids are being subjected to - usually at school. But we are all affected by peer pressure.

* If you associate with people who smoke and drink too much chances are going to be good you will too.
* If you associate with people who enjoy going to the game more than working out, something tells me you'll be hanging at the game rather than working up a sweat in the gym.
* If you associate with people who challenge you to be more, then as you can imagine, you are going to have to raise your game if you want to "keep up".

Today my daughter has 3 of her school friends over for a sleep over - well it's school holidays, so that's ok. So far they have eaten a proper dinner - protein, some carbs and lots of veggies and are now sitting watching a movie. But what was interesting was the bit that preceeded dinner. I've been working with my two "littlies" (17 and 15 and both as tall as me !!) on school type assignments. Learning how to create branded labels for new products, writing reviews and editorials and learning how to structure essays and so on. But every day we sit down and have 20 random words for spelling (basically because the teachers seem to have forgotten the basics) ....but today I gave out 4 pieces of paper and pens (Eden had already completed his spelling test) and the girls sat down at the table and wrote their answers to today's spelling test. How many 17 year old girls would willingly do that? Apart from the four in my house that is?

And that is the beauty of peer pressure. They took the challenge in the fun way it was intended. When one of them didn't get 100% they made her re-write the ones she got wrong - but in a good natured way.

When you associate with people who want you to do well, they will ensure you do - because they will help you.

So - today's assignment. Who do you associate with? And is that a good or a bad thing?

If your associates are taking you away from your dreams and goals because they always have something they want to do and you have to join in, then something tells me you need to rethink your friends and your priorities. But if your friends and associates are challenging you, supporting you and expecting you to do what you say you are going to do, then I'd say you've got the right kind of peer pressure happening.

Do you have the right kind of peer pressure?

What are you doing?

No I mean, what are you doing? Stop for a minute - and take a look at where you are and what is in front of you. Whilst I can assume most of you will be in front of a computer when you read this, I need to have a look at what else you are looking at.

Why is that important?

Well, we can and do waste a lot of time on non-essential "stuff".

How many email accounts do you have open? How often do you check these accounts? (answer - too often). What other tabs / windows or programs do you have open?
When you last went on the Internet - was it for a specific reason or were you just wasting time "surfing"?

Truth is we can all be faked out by having a million screens open. Is this the best way of handling what you have to do. Or should you focus on one thing until such time as you cannot work on "it" any more? Really the only person who can answer that question is you and you do that by taking a good look at how productive you really are. If you are guilty of wasting too much time on programs and things that don't matter, then limit your time on these programs as much as you can. Easier said than done perhaps I know, but it can be done.

My daughter loves the SIMS games. Creating and living a fantasy life - which sounds OK as we are told by many of the "experts" to dream about the way we want to live our lives and it will come into being....one word - NOT..... playing fantasy games either on the computer or dreaming about how we want to live our lives will not get us what we want or where we say we want to be. We need to stop "playing" and start doing. And my daughter found that out the hard way.

Last week she accidentally dropped water onto her laptop and all of a sudden priorities had to change. She didn't have the means to get onto the net...she could borrow mine for emergencies - but myspace and the SIMS don't count. So what did she do? Homework. As boring as that sounds, she had been focussing on the wrong things and she had the marks to prove it. Consequently, last week we managed to spend a lot of time looking at the way she writes and structures sentences, and she has been able to get ahead on her reading and assignment preparation, all critiqued by her mama. Now please don't think I am asking you to do something as radical as blowing up your computer to stop yourself from using it, that would be a little extreme. But you can limit your time on those things that do not get you the results you want and focus on the attitude and the disciplines that will. And yes it helps when someone you know can help you, critique your work and make suggestions as to how you can improve. As a writer I've been a little wary about "helping" too much. But all that changed a few weeks ago - after exam time and every child in one class failed and were told by their teacher they were "sh**" and I do apologise - but that was the exact word that was used. I was not impressed. Anyway, as a result of a combination of events - no computer and mama taking a hand in teaching real world examples, my children have a better understanding of what it takes to get on "in the real world" away from school and people who may have a lot of theory, but can't put that into real life examples. That may sound a little harsh on my kids school teachers, but I will argue that point in a few weeks - parents evening is coming....(rubs hands in glee).

Are you willing to have a look at what you do?

Are you willing to turn off the reality TV and the social networking sites and get stuck into living the life you say you want to live. Only by spending time and working on those goals you say you would like to complete if only you had the time - will you get on and do them. Well today is the day.

Oh and before you say - but what about your daughter's computer? Well it is being dried out "at the menders" and hopefully it will be back online by the end of the week.

With many thoughts
Elle

Well the urban theory goes like this:

When an ostrich doesn't want to "see" something it sticks its head into the sand - figuring it can't see the problem so the problem will either go away or ....

Actually the problem is more likely to bite it on the bum

Are you guilty of living your life like the ostriches of this world? Well sooner or later you are going to have to pull your head out of the sand and sure enough the problem will still be there, just looming larger and larger and most probably will bite you on the bum too.

Think of bad marks for an assignment not handed in
4th quarter results not up to scratch

etc etc.

Sometimes the best way to deal with the "problem" is to do it first. Imagine that your daily task list is a piece of cake....the biggest piece is the thing you've avoided, so you nibble on the icing (doing those things you like to do first) and then when you've had enough icing you don't have room for the cake, so you can't eat it...so you say I'll eat that tomorrow....except tomorrow there will be another bigger piece of cake and some more yummy icing on the top.

Well sometimes the only way to deal with a lot of cake is to turn it upside down so you can't see the icing and start eating the cake - bit by bit by bit.... or should that be crumb by crumb.

Yes I can be guilty of telling you to "just do it" but sometimes there isn't an alternative.

I was going through my emails today and came across something I thought I would share with you. As you know I don't normally use an entire post - re-posting other people's work, but these 45 lessons of life are pearls of wisdom and should be taken to heart, used, passed on and shared because they are so true. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do (I keep things to inspire me too you know)

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful (always cleaning the clutter)

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. (Haven't I been saying this for years)

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. (Can relate to this one - Elle)

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words - 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. (YES - agree wholeheartedly)

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved..

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Most people look for the quick fix. Instead of spending time looking for the right tools we patch things up with bandages, band-aids and sometimes super glue. We think the "problem" is sorted, when all we are doing is hiding the truth from ourselves. We couldn't be bothered (we say we don't have the time etc etc) to work out the proper way of doing something, or more importantly, we don't think we should have to find the proper way of doing something, so we take short cuts.

Don't get me wrong - short cuts can be a good thing - in some cases - but not when it really does take time AND effort AND determination AND perseverance to get through to the end.

- You may have a brilliant idea for a new product, but you can't be bothered to talk to the bank, make a prototype, talk to the manufacturers, refine the prototype, work out a marketing strategy and tell the people about it.....
- You may want to lose 10 kilos to get into that suit for your wedding - but you can't be bothered to go for a walk every night, do 30 push ups and 30 sit ups - after all you have 6 months - so you tell yourself you'll start next week....3 months later you haven't lost any weight, in fact you've gained a bit becuase you've had too much preparation to do, to think about eating properly so you've been living off fast food and coffee. Drastic measures are called for and .....

How many times do I have to repeat this - there is no such thing as a magic wand, magic bullet or magic pill - You can't wish things were different, you have to do something to make things happen.

Put it like this -
- The dieting and weight loss industry don't want us to lose weight and keep it off (they may say they do - but) because we are worth nothing to them thin and healthy.
- There is a never ending light globe, but how many do you think the company would sell before it went out of business?
- Does the pharmaceutical and health care industry "Cure" us or show us how to manage our problems? Take Type II diabetes as a good example - most people know that Type II is caused by the foods we eat, surely by not eating the foods that caused the problem in the first place we should be able to reverse the problem - yes? Every book / journal article and health mag I've read on the subject says - YES - but are you given a healthy eating plan or are you given drugs to lower your hypertension, cholesterol and blood pressure etc etc?

Do you see what I mean - we want things to be different, but most of the time can't be bothered to do the work. Our goals and our plans falter at the first sign of "well that didn't work"

So - hands up - did you manage to complete any / all of your goals for 2009? If you did manage to complete your 2009 goals, another question - did you set your sights too low? If you didn't complete your goals - did you set your goals too high, too far out of reach or were they just dreams? - Remember when I said "I wish things could be different" - that's the difference between a dream and a goal.

Goals that do not inspire you, goals that are not written down, worked out and worked on - on a daily basis are lost in the day to day mire of "stuff" that needs to be done.

Believe me when I say I can be just as guilty of letting "stuff" get the better of me as everyone else. The difference I suppose is that I KNOW I need to do something about it. Remember I am working on me, just as much as you are working on you.

Do you have your goal list handy?

On a scale of 1 (does not excite me at all) to 10 (can't wait to get up in a morning) rate them.

Anything less than a 6 or 7 should be discarded.

For those items you have marked a 6 or 7 - what can you do to turn them into a 9 or 10? Because only the items marked 9 and 10 out 10 will EVER be worked on - anything else is just fluff and tools for procrastination.

What should be on your goal list? Well that is up to you of course, I'm not about to tell you what you should be doing - not everyone wants to be a millionaire, size 6, drive a beemer or have a dozen kids and run a rescue shelter for sick animals - we are all very different (and thank goodness for that). All I am asking you to do is think about it, give you some tools to help you think about things in a slightly different way and motivate you to make some changes.

All the affirmations in the world won't help you if you say the "right" things but continue to do the wrong ones.

"I'm going to make a million this year
I'm going to be the best sales person this company has ever seen
I'm going to get straight A's on all my assignments
I'm going to...... yada yada yada"

You know the old saying - actions speak louder than words?

Well - what ARE your actions saying about you?

So -
- Find your goal list, or spend some time today and write one.
- Get detailed. It's no good saying - I want to be a millionaire by the time I'm 30 - how are you going to make that happen (and winning lottery, waiting for Great Aunt Doris to die or wait for your knight in shining armour to come galloping up DO NOT COUNT)....what brilliant ideas do you have?
- Break it down - what can you do today? eg., Want to start a business - what on? What will be your target market? Web based - Is the domain name available? Do you have a product to sell or do you need to establish credibility first? Are you going to use affiliates? Where will the store be? What will it look like? Where will you get your stock? What prices will you charge? Have you considered the overheads? Future growth in the area? Long hours?
- Add a time line - how old will you be when you have achieved this?
- What kind of skills do you need to cultivate in yourself to make these things happen.

Live your dreams, make them tangible - get right inside them and make them so real you can't but help bring these things into being. That's what goal achievement is, go on you know you want to.

With many thoughts
Elle

To add your comments or join in the discussion -

Don't hang around waiting, do something else.

There are many times when we are waiting for things to happen.

* You're waiting for someone to arrive, or the phone to ring.
* You're waiting for the laundry to finish so you can hang it on the line before you go out.
* You're waiting for well anything really.

Any time you are sitting "waiting" for something to happen (something that is essentially out of your control), you can use the time to do other things.

But this is the key. You have to be organised.

I carry a notebook (and pen) with me, wherever I go. This means I can make notes of things I need to do, book ideas, ideas for products, ideas that I can pass on to someone else.

When I walk I usually listen to my MP3 player. There is a mixture of audio self-help programs and music. Believe me, it helps when you are travelling some distance (and for a lengthy period of time) to exercise your mind as well as your body.

I'm fortunate, I can multi-task most things. I can knit and read. I can knit and watch the TV. But so can you - well not knit perhaps, but you can multi-task most things.

Cook dinner and help the kids with their homework. Or if you live alone, cook dinner and catch up on your reading, but why not throw in some laundry at the same time. Whilst you are watching the TV, do some filing, or sew on the buttons that have fallen off your shirts. Stick on some music and dance while you clean. Makes the process far more fun and your body gets a double work out. Have a bath and read a book. Get on the exercise bike and move it in front of the TV if you have to....if your motivation to exercise isn't what it should be, then it may help if you have some kind of distraction whilst exercising the body.

Multi-tasking is about getting the important and the mundane but necessary jobs together and deleting two (or more items) off the to-do list. But it's also about being organised. But as with all things, it does take a little practice and you can be multi-tasking like a pro too,

And talking of the importance of exercise in your daily life....carry on to read a new entry - Exercise your mind as well as your body....

With many thoughts
Elle

To add your comments or joinin the discussion-

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Motivate Me to Exercise: Exercise your mind as well as your body
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I find I think better, more clearly AFTER I've exercised.But I have to exercise for quite some time for the effect I need to take place. So I walk.

Long walks allow my mind to slow down. My mind is a real chatter box when we start. Going over and over problems and issues and things that I need to do. Slowly as the miles and the time evolves my mind forgets it was in a hurry and begins to enjoy what we're doing and where we are going.

Read more at - Motivate Me to Exercise

When was the last time you contacted your old clients?

You know, those people and businesses you used to do business with, but for some reason you no longer do?

Put it like this, if you are not speaking to them? Who is? Or do you earn so much money from your business you can afford to let old and valued clients take their money elsewhere?

There are many theories as to how often you should contact these people and the way you contact them.

But let me put it to you this way - if your contact struggles to remember your name and / or your business, then you've left it too long. As to why you contact them - well if it's been a while, it's a good idea to leave the hard-sell at home, you'll just come across as pushy and desperate.

So my advice would be to start your new interaction by offering them something of value. That doesn't mean money, but a contact they may find useful, an article you've found which they might find interesting. Something that says, I've been thinking about you, how can I help you. Because for the ones in the know, if you are front of mind you will reap many benefits and again it may not be monetary.

The how you contact them is also interesting. If you've only ever dealt with them face-to-face in the past, you'd be wise to telephone first. People move on, so do your homework first. If your interaction has always been by telephone, then consider asking to go in to see them. While e-mail has become a preferred method for contact as it reaches across the globe, but if you don't have permission to send anything by email, then you are sending SPAM, no matter how good the content is. So, always make sure your contact details are up to date. Give your contacts an unsubscribe option and make sure your website has both a sign up form on the front and an FAQ as to what kind of information you will be sending and how often you will be sending it.

For those of you without clients to contact you may be thinking - this doesn't apply to me. Actually the contact applies to everyone - unless you live in a cave on a hillside somewhere.

Have you applied for a job recently? Have you spoken to them to see if and when they will be making a decision?

Have you spoken to your family and friends recently?

If for some reason you are estranged from family members, now is as good a time as any to pick up the phone. You many not remember what the problem was, and chances are going to be good they will have forgotten too. But if they do still harbour a grudge, well you did your bit and you picked up the phone. Never let it be said you didn't try.

And that is the key message to this edition of the daily dose. Never, ever let it be said you didn't try. Don't let clients, family and friends down because you couldn't be bothered to keep in touch. It can and does take time to pick up new leads, and for those leads to generate business for you. So why do you lose the clients you do have through inattention and can't be bothered?

And if you would like to speak to me - well I am always at the end of the e-mail. I may never get to see many of you in person, but I'm always here if you need me.

I have had technology problems for a couple of weeks. Process of elimination and we've thrown away the old desktop computer, replaced the modem and all of the cables...et voila - back online and at a much faster speed.

It may not seem like much, but we had to persist. Take each component and try the different parameters. And eventually I found the combination that worked.

But it was frustrating.

Very frustrating.

But my technology problems highlighted something to me and it has to do with goal achievement.

1. You must be willing to try and keep on trying
2. You must be willing to spend time working out the right combination
3. YOU need to want "it" so badly you will keep on with points 1 and 2 until you achieve your goal. Is that why most people don't succeed?

If your goals are not important you will not do the work, you won't find the solutions and you won't be able to move forwards.

The following list are a mix of light hearted and serious reasons why the economic downturn can be a good thing for us. But before you slate me for this post...please take it in the way it was intended....

1. There will be more use of telephone and video conferencing to speak to clients and colleagues instead of spending money on plane trips, hotel accommodation and eating expense account lunches / dinners. If you're not eating 3 courses 3 times a day along with the empty calories of alcohol that tend to go with these things, you are almost guaranteed to lose size, weight and gain more sleep and time at home as a result. Double bonus.

2. You walk more - if your car is a gas guzzler, then you should be tempted to leave it at home and catch public transport. This one also saves money on wear and tear of the vehicle and parking fees and fines too as well as fuel. If you are lucky enough to live inner city, or close enough to public transport - then you might even question the need to own a car in the first place. More walking (make that running to catch the bus / train) and you will soon be looking fitter, especially if you are prone to carrying too much - but this does give added weight training at the same time as cardio.

3. Downsize your car(s). Do you really need two 4x4's that cost as much to run as a small house? Save on fuel, insurance, wear and tear, replacements...you can still have small and stylish if you let your ego get out of the way.

4. Food - this one should not come as any surprise but eating out costs money. They have to buy the food and cook it for you so it stands to reason it would cost more than if you cooked the same thing at home - even taking into account the power to do it. And if you cook it yourself you know what is going into the dish - so - you can reduce the calories you consume too. Again good for both waist line and budget.

5. Growers markets - and whilst we are on the subject of food. Buying fresh fruits and veggies from a growers market is likely to be cheaper than the local supermarket. Buy the specials and the in-season and you will save money. You'll also be healthier too - if you eat it.

6. Coffee - I don't know about you, but I do enjoy my coffee. But I do object to badly made coffee. You can achieve great results at home - with the right beans and equipment. Most coffee shops sell the beans as well as the coffee, so if you want the taste without the expense - make it at home and save a small fortune over a year. Go on do the math - 1 cup of coffee per day x no of days in the year = about a thousand dollars. And I bet you don't just have a coffee when you're there either. If they use full fat milk, guess how many calories you'll save as a result of brewing it at home and using hi-lo or skim. Invest in a travel mug - and save hundreds of dollars each year and annoy your fellow travellers at the same time with the aroma.

7. Food - yes back to food again. If the budget is tight, you are less likely to spend money on treats and more on "proper" food than if you don't have money worries. And if there are no treats in the house, guess what - you can't eat them, especially late at night when you're watching the latest movie on download from the cable company.

8. Television - do you susbcribe to satellite TV? Are you paying for channels you don't actually watch? Cut them out and save money.

9. Shop around - for everything from insurance to toothpaste - you'd be surprised how much money you waste buying the same brand as you've always done. I always buy generic headache tablets (they have to be made from the same ingredients as their branded counterparts - by law). I save anything from $2 to $5 for the same amount of tablets, depending on where I buy them from.

10. Garage sale or e-bay some of the stuff you don't use / wear. Get rid of the clutter and make some money. Or if you prefer to give rather than make, then charity stores will gladly take the items off your hands. If you have a habit of impulse buying - then now is a good time to see what is lurking in your cupboards, drawers, wardrobes and dressers. It is up to you to decide whether to be embarrased by how much money you've wasted on things you've never worn or used. But it might make you think twice before buying things on impulse again.

Of course there are a lot more ways to save money, lose weight and downsize (and I don't mean just your house and car) as a result of the current economic crisis. So if you would like to share your favourite ways to save money etc during tougher times - add your comment here ....

With many thoughts
Elle

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Great personal development reading:
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Dr Seuss: Oh the places you'll go

And before you have another go at me - I think it is one of THE cleverest personal development books you can read -

"You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, towards a most useless place.
The Waiting Place....

and i'm sure you can add your own words to the next few pages

Utterly brilliant and if you haven' read it in a while, it's definitely one to borrow from the kids.

"Leave everyone you come into contact with the impression of increase"
Wallace D Wattles

Increase - means you make people "richer" as a result of meeting / interacting with you.

And no, you don't have to share your money - hard earned or otherwise.

Have you ever smiled at someone? Have you noticed how invariably they smile back. If you do this on a busy street, your smile might just be a fleeting moment in someone else's busy lives. But I can almost guarantee that as you pass them, their automatic reaction is to smile back - even though you may not be the person to see it. Like a ripple moving across a pond, one smile can generate thousands.

One kind word nicely spoken can generate hope when there might not have been one before. A compliment - genuinely given makes both the giver and the receiver feel good.

You may see a co-worker struggling under a particularly bad workload - team work means you help one another when someone genuinely needs a helping hand. The cynical may say - but if I spend all my time helping others I won't get my own work done - and they're the ones who are usually talking about how busy they are....

Andrew Carnegie probably didn't start out to become a philanthropist - but several factors led him to become one. He was fortunate to be given free access to a collection of books - this collection was owned by a wealthy individual who wanted to share the knowledge he had gained with people he thought had potential. Andrew Carnegie of course had a lot of potential which translated itself into millions of dollars (probably equivalent to billions today) and that money was translated into the creation of Public Libraries - and of course - anyone not heard of Carnegie Hall?

Of course there are sceptics who will say - but no-one should have that kind of money in the first place, and doing so at the cost of the planet.... and they would be right, but the truth is - they have it, so why not use it for some good instead of it sitting in an account somewhere making the owner even richer. These are the kind of people who hoard every penny, rarely if ever crack a smile and are a misery to be around. Bah humbug.

As you think about who you are, what you are currently doing and where you ultimately see yourself "when you grow up" - ask yourself this - how do you want to be known? What will your legacy be? Do you leave other people thankful they met you?

As we move into what I call "the silly season" sometimes it is the simple things that can and do bring the most pleasure. Spending time with someone who would otherwise be alone. Volunteering to do the "bad" shifts if your fellow workers have family. One of my friends does exactly that. He works for an organisation that runs 24/7 - he and his fellow "orphans" are working throughout the christmas and new year period so their colleagues who have youngsters can be with them.

There are many occupations that have to be on call, or work during this time. Hotel staff, catering staff, police, nurses, paramedics - and given the retailers perceived need to be open on boxing day this year - all the shop assistants who get a whole day off so "we" can buy even more stuff.

So - please, remember those who have to work and for goodness sake - cut them a bit of slack. Both my kids are in the fast food industry (great way to learn how to deal with difficult people etc) and the stories they tell....bad manners, rudeness, outright lying, oh and did I mention - bad manners.... this is a stressful time of year, but you can do your bit and it can and does start with a smile.

:-)

When you are in the business of business you can be sure you will have expenses. Even when you work from home, there will be expenses you can't avoid having. But there are some potential savings you can make, just by thinking differently.

Lights - if you're not in the room - do you need the lights on?It may seem like a very small thing, leaving a single light on in a room - but it only takes a few dollars a day to make a big difference to your bottom line at the end of a year.

Appliances - Don't leave them on standby - it's amazing how much these things take to run - even on standby. Where you can - turn them off at the plug.

Mail - Outgoing mail - do you still send hardcopy invoices? Why? Most organisations are quite happy to receive electronic invoices. Some organisations have ways to capture, index and store electronic records - including invoices - and with EFT - the whole process can be handled in cyber space. Consider the cost of an envelope, stamp, printing (colour is a lot more expensive than b&w copies), the cost of paper and the time it takes to reach your client. Add a "read receipt" to your message so you know the person opened it, and you have a better chance of being paid on time - none of "Oh I didn't get the invoice" rubbish you quite often get, with the second line "can you send me a copy?" - which of course doubles the cost to you, and gives the client another couple of days of hanging on to your money.

Whilst we are talking mail outs - do you need to send confirmation letters - most people supply an e-mail address, so save yourself some more money and email the confirmation. Not only does it improve your response time, it immediately raises your profile and your standing in the eyes of the client.

There will be other savings you can make as well. Individually they may not seem like much, but together and added up over a year - well the savings could be quite large - and well worth having.

It is a very interesting time of year - there will be some who will be celebrating Christmas, some who won't and some who would if they could.

To all those with loved ones who are away at this time, those people who are working or otherwise not with their families - I wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas. For those of you who do not celebrate this festival, I wish you a very enjoyable weekend - whatever you decide to do. And for those of you who do celebrate this time of year - be safe.

I'll speak to you again in a couple of days

Kind Regards

Elle

With just 2 days left in 2009 I have got to ask - how was it for you?

Did you achieve your 2009 goals? Are you on track to achieve your longer term goals, you know - the ones you have set for a couple of years down the track? Or did the last 12 months blur into a pattern of sameness?

We all start out with very good intentions. We say we are going to crack this goal setting thing once and for all, and 2010 is going to be the year that happens. Did you say the same things last year? Most people do.

There are a couple of reasons why that happens.

1. We try and change too much, too quickly. If your goal list reads like most people's - you could be argued that you currently hate your life. Lose weight, change jobs, have a nose job or a tummy tuck, move house.... is it any wonder you can't get inspired if you are working from a negative point.
2. Life gets in the way. We can be guilty of letting other people and other people's agendas get in the way of what we want and what we want to do. Whilst there should be space for compromise, you do need to be a little selfish if you want to get on. How can you write that novel you've always wanted to write if you aren't given space and time to do it? So you need to create both time and space to work on your own goals. People have gotten up at 4am to write before the kids wake up, or told their partner that between 8 and 10pm that is writing time and nothing gets in the way of these appointments with themselves.
3. We sabotage our own efforts. We say we won't have a glass of wine with dinner. We say we will get up and go for a walk before going to work. We say we need to lose some weight. We can talk ourselves out of doing almost anything. I should make those extra phone calls today, but I've not prepared my script and I don't know what I will say if they say no. I'd go to the gym, but it's too hot / cold, I'm a little sore, I've got a headache....

So, how do you deal with goal lists that don't inspire you enough to work on them? Simple, throw that one away and create a list of goals that do. We call these the "goals of life".

There are some goals that just are:

These are the health and fitness related goals we all have on the lists. Put it like this, we know that regular exercise and good nutrition should be an integral part of our lives, so your daily tasks would be to learn how to create healthy based foods and take a daily walk for example.
Personal development - again, these should be part of your normal activities. It is important to challenge your thinking - so make a habit of reading different things, watching different programs, meeting new people.

So what are the goals of life?

Well - these are the things that you want to do, at some point before you pass on.

Otherwise known as the "do before you die list".

When you focus on these things, you can begin to see where you might need to make some changes in other areas of your life. If you've always wanted to walk the kokoda track for example - and you are currently un-fit and overweight - you will not make it. Even "fit" people have died on the track. But you are determined, so you decide that if you are going to achieve this - you are going to have to get fit, and if you've read the same reports I have - extremely fit to cope with the conditions. So - one "major" goal of life - completes at least three. You walked the kokoda track, you trained long and hard and as a result you have a slim and healthy body to go with it.

Do you see the difference? Have goals that inspire you. Have goals that make you want to work on them today.

So - before you write the same bored list of New Year's Resolutions again .... turn your list into a goals of life list.

First of all let me say congratulations to all those who took part in the 100 day goal achievement challenge, I have received many emails from challengers to say it helped them achieve so many things during the last 100 days of the year. People who have removed bad habits and created new ones as a result. People who have lost weight and size, and others who said just having the workbook there to prompt them was a wonderful support tool. And yes I did manage to achieve my major "goal" for the last 100 days of the year and I wore my jeans for the first time in 12 months yesterday. And no I didn't have to lie down on the bed to do them up :-)

So - well done everyone, I am immensely proud of you.

As you can imagine, the people who understood and used the workbook as it was intended will not need to write a New Year's Resolutions list ever again.

A New Year's Resolutions list as I mentioned the other day comes at life from entirely the wrong direction. When you are focussed on what you don't want - how can you focus on what you do.

I want to give up smoking, I want to lose weight

Surely what you do want are things like:

I want better health
I want clean lungs
I want to be able to taste food again
I want my clothes / hair to smell nice and not smoky
I want to be able to run without getting out of breath

By focusing on the positives rather than the negatives - you will be able to move forwards

And that is what I wish for you in 2010.

I would like you to focus on what you want, and not what you don't want. I want you to focus on positives and not negatives. And one of the best ways to do that is by removing any negative language from your vocabulary. When all you can speak about is good things, when all you can comment on is what wonderful things you are going to achieve by making some minor changes to your daily habits will you create a life worthy of you in 2010.

So my friends, here's to a truly remarkable 2010, and lets make it a truly "Happy" New Year

"Give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others." This comment came from author Christian D Larson and it is such a wonderful philosophy on life that I ask you to consider it as something to take on board.

* When we expect great things from ourselves, we rise to the challenge...and conversely the opposite is also true.

* When we commit to life long learning, we are willing to admit that today we don't know it all.

* When we commit to honesty and integrity in all our business dealings, we know we will sleep well at night - as to everyone else - well that's up to them. People may get rich by using other people who for whatever reason - believed in the hype, didn't read the small print or trusted too blindly, but these kinds of people will always suffer as a result. I am a great believer in the karmic rules. Now that may sound like I don't want to get rich or make money - not at all, but I will endeavor to ensure every business dealing I undertake is ethical and honest.

* When we commit to honesty and integrity in ourselves, then everything else follows.

* When we have high expectations for ourselves, and are willing to do whatever it takes to live up to those expectations, then others will take note. We do not need to ask for respect, but we will surely get it when we see others emulating our behaviors and successes and follow in the path we have set.

Do you expect great things from yourself?

When you think about your future and the plans you have for the life you want to live, do you put your success down to the roll of the cards or the correct numbers coming up on the lottery? You wouldn't be the first if you did. A lot of people have this kind of mentality, the kind that says "when I win the lottery I'm gonna...."

Well to be honest you have better odds of being hit by lightening on the way to buying your ticket than actually hitting the jackpot. The lottery (and gambling industry in general) rely on people who are waiting for their big break, and these people spend a lot of money waiting for it to happen.

Now, there will be people who will argue black is blue they don't spend ALL that much money on a lottery ticket. No? Then it's time for you to go back to school and do some math. How many tickets have you bought so far? How much did they cost you? Do an average over a year and multiply. Are you surprised at how much money you can spend if you buy a single ticket each week for 20 or 30 years? You shouldn't be. And people do. Do you know how much you have won over the same period? If you're "lucky" you may have come out on top. But the reality is, the only people who make money regularly on the lottery (and every other kind of "Gambling" enterprise) - are the people who run it. Which shouldn't come as a surprise to you - not really.

Now of course it is up to you what you spend your money on and I'm not going to advise you whether to buy a lottery ticket or not. But what I am saying is this. If you are gambling away your chance of success and sitting with fingers crossed waiting for the right numbers to come up, then you will never be successful. Successful people have an idea (and usually more than one) and they put that idea into plans and into action and they keep working on them. Yes there will be times when it seems like people become overnight successes, but that's not actually the case. They have taken the time to determine what they want and how they are going to get it, and in most cases they are not waiting on the roll of the dice to make things happen. But to the people who think these people are "lucky" don't understand the hard work and the ability to keep going when everyone else around them is gambling their futures away.

If you are in the habit of saying - when so and so happens I'm going to... then you too are waiting for your numbers to come up.

Get out of the habit of:

* When the kids leave home I'm going to ....
* When we've gotten rid of the bad food I'm going to eat healthy stuff
* When something out of my control happens I'm going to ....

We are the masters (and mistresses) of our own destiny, our future lies in our own hands. If you want success, then NOW is the time to take action, only then will you be able to load the dice in your favor.

How do you load the dice in your favour?

Are you still fired up at the thought of what this new year and this new decade will bring for you? Or did it evaporate as soon as you walked through the front door of the office?

If you are struggling with motivation today, consider some little things that may help you to get started again.

Goals:
Read your goal list - does it inspire you? Re-write your goal list so that it does - break down one of your goals into some easier to achieve steps - then take one of the steps and break it down again into some tasks that you can do now.

We may be struggling with our goals because they seem too far out of reach at the moment. What seemed like a good idea at the time, on reflection may see you ducking for cover. That's ok, just remember, you are never defeated - unless you give up completely.

Problems and issues:
Do you have a lot of "problems" you can't seem to get to the bottom of?

Well, problems are like computer cables. Laid out in rows they are easily traced back to their origins and un-hooking a component is a breeze. But when your cables are snagged and twisted around each other it may seem impossible to sort out. But by taking one cable at a time, you can trace it - eventually back to its source and you can unplug it and remove it. By untangling one cable you can usually untangle many of the others too. But pulling on the cables, throwing tantrums and bits of equipment rarely solves the problem - and yes, usually makes them worse (if you've ever tried untangling cables when you've been in a temper you will know what I mean).

Any problem that you are facing right now can be sorted out - if you follow it back to the source, untangling it as you go.

By looking at and dealing with one "cable" at a time, by working out what caused the tangle in the first place and then putting strategies into place so it doesn't happen again, you can move forwards.

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Week one in review:
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Today marks the end of week 1 for 2010.

* What have you achieved so far that you are proud of?
* What do you intend to achieve within the next 7 days?

If you ask yourself these kinds of questions at determined points - (good times are end of the week, end of the month, end of 3 months and of course 6, 9 and 12 months) can keep you on track to achieve your goals like nothing else can.

So, get into the habit of asking yourself these questions. Using some kind of diary system, spend some time every day and write down your significant achievements of the day. It can make a huge impact on your
a) attitude
b) your goal achievements
c) motivation to continue to achieve many great things.

And what do I mean by "significant?" well that is entirely up to you. It may be that you went to the gym when you didn't feel like going, or writing the report you've delayed writing for whatever reason. Remember, it's the little things which, when added up can make a huge difference.

I am supposed to be on holiday this week. Holiday for me means I get to work from home, not work at work, then drive home and start again (if you run a home based business as well as work – you will know what I mean). I do enjoy working from home as it means I don’t have a 2 hour commute each day, so it’s nice to be able to have a block of time to get on with projects and building my own business.

This week was a little different though. Whilst I have many things I needed to do, I have a book I am trying to finish and of course need some head space to allow that to happen. Unfortunately I “chose” time off when:

But sometimes you just have to work through the noise. For two days I packed my laptop into the car, drove to the gym – worked out, had breakfast and then drove to the State Library where I worked for several solid hours at a time. Unfortunately you have to pack up and move if you want to take a break or go to the loo but that’s a good discipline to get into anyway. To complete significant pieces of work, you do need “bum glue” as Bryce Courtenay says. Work for a solid period of time then take a break and recharge the batteries before going back and doing a little more.

The beauty of where I was sitting at the state library though, there was a blind spot and the free wi-fi didn’t work. This was good for several reasons. I couldn’t be distracted by the normal email popping up, nor could I flit across to the Internet as I am want to do when at home.

But today is the day of the party. My daughter and her friend both turned 18 this week and the party is at my house. Well a much-scaled down version of what had originally been planned. But there has still been a lot to think about and organize. But instead of doing it all myself I delegated the inside cleaning to the girls. Vacuum cleaners, telephones going off constantly, two giggling girls and a friend who can’t make tonight’s party who called by to say hello and happy birthday made for an almost impossible working atmosphere (it was almost as bad as being at work !!).

So what do you do when faced with those kinds of issues – well you can try and work through the noise as I did. But rather than get frustrated because I couldn’t manage to carry on with the creative work I had been doing before the household awoke and the builders got going, I opted for some client work instead. The client had done the creative part, all I had to do was the technical side.

You can of course get angry, grumpy and start making noise of your own “to get your own back” but all that tends to do is wind you up, not other people. I don’t know anyone who has been able to get any kind of work done when they are angry, but the choice as always is up to you.

I saw a billboard on the side of a church on the way to work this morning... it had an image of a life support "blip" then a flat line followed by the words "then what?"

It's an interesting question isn't it. Is there life after life? What would that life be like? Would it be life as we know it or would it be a carousel of flashing images showing people living their lives whilst we stood and observed....actually come to think of it, most people are living that kind of life now, content to watch others live exciting lives whilst they stand by and watch.

But let's imagine for one moment that we get to review what we have achieved. If there is one thing that people agree on it's the "my whole life flashed before my eyes" when they were faced with a major trauma. The question is - what do you think those images would be for you? Would they be amazing, vibrant, oh my goodness did I do all that kind of image, or would the images meld together with no discernible gaps or highlights?

The great thing about tdoay is this.

Tomorrow we have a chance to paint a different picture. A picture of vibrant colour and amazing images.

Imagine that every day you are given a blank canvas on which to work, and you get to draw your day. Now, think about that flat line moment and you have a chance to review your paintings, you walk down a corridor with your daily paintings hanging on the walls? How scary would it be to see the same thing? Row upon row of the same picture, an endless stream of monotony, interspersed occasionally with the odd picture that stands out, a day that was “special” in some way.

You pause for a moment, to reflect, but then as you return to the walk down the corridor the paintings return to the same themes again and again. You stop and try to go back to that picture you saw earlier, but it’s no longer there. You have to keep walking, past picture after picture of mind - numbing drudgery.

Now imagine what it would be like to walk down a corridor where the walls are lined with vibrancy. You would walk quickly towards the next one, to see what new and exciting things you had done. You would smile, you would frown, and you would remember the happy times, the sad times, and the days of pure bliss. Each day the painting was filled with something different.

The question is - if today you had to walk down that corridor what would your paintings look like? Would they be filled with the same kinds of images day after day, or would your pictures be filled with lots of different things and memories?

But you know the best part?! You get to choose what each painting will look like. You get to choose the colour scheme and pallete for your life. Now is it time to ditch the greys and the creams for the more vibrant hues?

What would your paintings look like?

What would you do if you lost one of your senses? Can you imagine a world without sound or sight? How about losing all ability to touch or feel?
What do you think your life would be like?
Would you cope?
Would you adapt?
Would you give up?

Apply those same questions to what you say you want in life. Your dreams and goals?

Can you live without ever achieving them?

If the answer is yes - then you need to re-think what you do want, because it is only if the answer is a NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! will you have the strength ofcharacter to achieve every single one of them.

I have one more question to ask you

If you can't live without achieveing your dreams and goals - What on earth are you waiting for then? Permission?

OK - here it is - permission, a signed note from me to you

I hereby give you permission to live the biggest and bestest life you can ever imagine

All my love

Elle

You don't need MY permission - nor do you need anyone else's - just yours, which is why most people fail at goal achievement, we don't give ourselves the permission to be successful - which is the thing that really doesn't make sense.

I'm quite often asked for help and assistance with how to motivate others.

The question is - can you?

* Teachers have to find ways to motivate their students
* Employers have to motivate their staff
* Parents have to motivate their kids
* Trainers have to motivate their trainees

In reality the only people you can motivate are those who WANT to be motivated, and that includes ourselves.

I've seen people who came to training courses who didn't want to be there, and were totally disruptive to the other trainees - and the reasons are usually because:
a) they were told they needed to go
b) they thought they were above what was being covered

It didn't matter what the topic was - they came with a closed mind and that's exactly how it stayed. Closed, unwilling to participate and couldn't wait to leave.

I've seen kids do the most amazing things - because they were inspired to do so, and (and this is a vital key) because they knew there was something in it for them.

WIIFM - What's in it for me?

* Those people who perceive there is no benefit will not gain any
* Those people who think they above what is being taught will be disruptive
* Those people who can't make the topics so interesting the kids want to come back and learn some more - won't bother to find out what kids like to do, learn, play. More often than not the teachers can't see What's in it for them - they're being paid to do a job, so they turn up - and that's about it.

There are some teachers at my kids school who should not have been teachers. They appear to dislike the kids and can't see the point in helping them to learn - they're paid regardless of how well the kids do - so why go the extra mile? They feel they've gotten everything there is to gain from teaching - and next year's intake of kids are going to be the same as last year's. They feel constrained by the curriculum and unispired to make the lessons interesting. Is it any wonder the kids won't do their homework, or if they do - it's half finished and gets an average mark as a result. Completely discouraged by the quality of teaching (and the kids didn't want to change schools at that point) I started "teaching" them myself - and we started with "English" and the principles of writing. We looked at labels, brands, television commercials, soap operas, magazines and newspapers, we had field trips to museums and we had assignments and homework. The difference was astounding. Applying these principles to school work, suddenly the grades improved - but like all kids they had to be "told" what was in it for them. In reality I should have started sooner given the final grades they achieved. But now they know what's at stake.

If you can't work out what's in it for you, and the people you are trying to motivate can't see what's in it for them - the motivation will never be there

Now I come to think about that question, I can conclude I've been having a holiday from thinking....A chance to re-charge my mental batteries as I move into the second half of my life. Yes - Sunday 13th September 2009 is a major milestone birthday for me - and I can say with hand on my heart that I have been coasting, but now it is time to ramp up the effort to output ratio and get on with "stuff". I am perhaps more conscious than most of how much time I waste - that's both the trouble and the beauty of running a motivational website on ways to overcome the procrastination habit. Even I can and do waste time. I do things, then re-do things, I can be hopelessly addicted to perfectionism with my writing - even if I rarely reach it. And tomorrow I will share something with you that I have been working on for a couple of days. Why tomorrow? Well today is a special day for a lot of people around the world and I want to keep today's message short.

Today is father's day here in Australia and I just wanted to wish all the fathers, regardless of whether you are celebrating this day or not, a day filled with joy and love. We can all be forgiven for forgetting the people who matter to us, especially in our busy and hectic lifestyles. But today is as good a day as any to reconnect with these people - and not just with our dad's. Pick up the phone, write a letter, knock on a door - say hi, give a hug, make time to spend time with the people you say you care about.

And the reason is simple

* People can be gone in an instant.
* Life is too short to bear grudges
* Life is too short, even at its longest

So - again my single question to you - what are you waiting for?

Live a big life, make a difference to those people around you, and enjoy every single minute of it - it may seem like everything takes longer when you're miserable, but who wants to waste life being unhappy all the time? But that's up to "you" I suppose.

About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.
Herbert Hoover (1874 - 1964)

It's a good idea now and again to ensure your budget isn't blowing out - when was the last time you wrote down EVERYTHING you spent your money on? And I do mean every little thing - and how did you pay for
it - cash, direct debit, credit card?

* Are your outgoings less than your incomings, or vice versa?
* How far apart are the two?
* What are you doing about the gap?

Things break down, things need replacing - if that were to happen to you - would you have the means to fix / replace the item?

I wish my parents had been able to tell me the formula to financial independence when I was a kid. Unfortunately they didn't know it. The formula has been repeated many times by many people, not least of whom - Jim Rohn. Basically live on 70% of your income. 10% should go into an account and never be touched. 10% should go to pay for capital purchases and the last 10% is for giving. The what and who you give to is of course up to you.

Most people including me don't use the formula effectively because we started too late and with too many commitments - but like every goal we have - we need to start somewhere, and keeping an eye on what you
spend is a good start.

It's like time - do you know where and how you spend your time? Write it down - you will be horrified at how much time you waste on things that do not matter.

How about food? Do you know what and how much you eat? Are you overweight? Isn't it time you took an inventory of what you are consuming. Does this consumption have an impact on your bank balance as well as your waist line? Absolutely.

Do you wish things could be better - how? It's no good just saying "I wish things could be better" write it down. Get everyone involved in this. What amazes me is the fact that teachers don't seem to teach kids the importance of setting goals and time and project management - or was it just my kids school that didn't do it? What is the goal? Well a good grade at the end of the year - how do we achieve that? By doing certain pieces of work in a way that allows you to get those marks - how many pieces a year are you expected to do? How much time per piece? How many marks per piece? Break it down into ways they can understand - and in a way that means they can work out what they need to do and when it needs to be done by.

So what happens if you are not studying? Well if you want a better life then it still applies - what do you want at the end of the year? What steps do you need to take to get there? Do you want to live cigarette free? Then it starts with a single cigarette and the full knowledge that after a certain period of time you will be able to....

* If you put aside the money you spent how much would you have?
* Would your clothes smell better?
* Would your skin improve?
* Would you be able to taste things again?

Apply one of these strategies to where you are now and see an improvement in a very short space of time. Apply more than one of these strategies and every little step = a much better future for you and your families, your employees, even the company you work for.

We are still in the very early days of 2010 - not too late to make a difference to the way the year turns out - all it takes is a decision on your part to hold yourself accountable for your own actions.

If you have tried every which way you know to sort out an issue you have - and nothing has worked - then stop - you are probably trying too hard.

When all you can see is a "problem" you will never focus on solutions. (I love cliche's - they are soooo true).

The truth is there are probably a dozen, maybe 2 dozen solutions to every "problem" you are facing right now. And more to the point - you have thought about them, but dismissed them as being "unsuitable" for you and your current set of issues. It's quite normal to do that, but "normal" isn't going to get you anywhere. What you know you have to do is take one of the solutions you have already dismissed AND apply it to where you are now and what you are facing. It may be painful to admit that you have a problem, but it's even more of a pain to continue flogging the same dead horse when you know it isn't going anywhere.

What would you say to a friend or colleague who came to you with "your" problems? What advice would you give them? Stop thinking about "you" just for a moment, and think about "it" ... as Gene Hunt said it is "time to fire up the flip chart". Get creative, get the pens out and start to work out what advice you would give your "friend" if they were faced with your set of problems. I've said this once or twice before - but you then DO need to take your own advice.

The truth is, every problem you are facing is holding you back. You may like having "problems" because they mean you don't have to focus too hard on the future, and by future I mean - beyond the problem - because as far as you are concerned the problem will never be solved.

Do you like the thought of being unable to move forwards? Is that the real reason why you continue to repeat your patterns of behavior? You think you are moving forwards - but deep down you know you are not.

SO - it is time to do some homework, and don't you just hate it when I say that. I know there are a lot of younger people who read this e-zine and believe when I say to you, we all have problems. It's how we deal with them that's the key. This is going to be hard for you - but try not to let the "adults" in your life, drag you down with their negative thinking. Truth is - you can be anything you want to be, go anywhere, do anything - and that scares them. They will say to you things like "when I was your age, we had to get a job / we already had a house and a mortgage / what do you mean you want to be a ..... "

These are fear based comments, based on their insecurities. You see if you didn't know what you couldn't do - you would do ANYTHING you wanted - and isn't that exciting!

So - to all the "adults" out there - I say to you once more

* Stop doing the same things. Your problems will never be solved if you continue to do the same things in the same way - you know that, so stop doing it - it's the dead horse - and we don't flog those, not in 2010.
* Take your own advice and apply it - today to one of your problems. Face them, deal with them and move on. It's hard - it's potentially embarrassing - but we don't die from embarrassment. But we will die eventually and do we want to get to the end of our lives filled with unfulfilled dreams and a myriad of problems we could have fixed but didn't?
* Look at things from the perspective of - if you didn't know you couldn't - then why not do it. Challenge your way of thinking and you will improve your way of life.

With many thoughts
Elle

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100 day challenge: The workbook
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You will be pleased to know the 100 day challenge: the workbook is available again - we have created an undated version (in both word and PDF) which is available from - http://www.motivateme.info/challenge/ There is a nominal cost, but the value of the workbook (if used properly) is priceless.
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If you don't have clear thinking, then your thoughts are like that kitchen drawer. Full of bits and pieces and stuff you might get around to needing one day. We fill our minds with rubbish and day to day detritus and then wonder why we can't remember things and why we have trouble focusing on what is really important.

So, get out your goal list - yes that scrubby bit of paper - take a good look at it again - is it full of details? Or is it a vague "I wish things could be different" kind of list...

But as I told a friend of mine, don't limit your thinking either.... when you are working out what you want - a word of advice - ALWAYS ADD "This or something better please" after all - we don't know what we are truly capable of. But if we put an upper limit on what we say we want, then guess what - we won't try and surpass that. But if we say "I think this is a reasonable target, but I'm open to suggestions - so this or something better please and thank you."

Oh and whilst we are on the subject of kitchen drawers - when was the last time you cleaned yours out?

A caveat

When I speak about "customers" I am referring to anyone you have to deal with on a professional level - be it face-to-face, by email, telephone, via your website or any other form of communication method you choose.

So - teachers - your "customers" are your students, parents, fellow teachers, suppliers and parent teacher associations etc
Students - your customers are - your fellow students, any group you belong to, teachers, if you work then your work colleagues and the people you serve are your "customers" in the classic sense.
Small business owners, large business owners, employees - we all have customers.

So - how easy is it for your "customers" to do business with you?

Have you looked at what you do from their perspective? It's quite an interesting exercise and one that I would recommend you do on a regular basis. Basically you need to become your own customer.

1. Go through the public side of your website - can you order your own products? How hard / easy was it?

2. Have you telephoned your business - what message did you receive? Was the receptionist bored / bubbly? Was your own voice message bored / boring / informative?

3. If you had to receive your own letter / envelope? Would you know who had sent it to you? Would you know who the business was? Is it the image you are trying to portray to your customer base?

4. When you see people face-to-face - what do they see? This is always a good test - go and stand in front of a full length mirror - if you were in the process of hiring someone - would you hire the person in front of you?

5. Are you courteous when people knock on your door? Do you smile, do you frown, are you short-tempered? And you can tell what you sound like - if you are stressed, hurried, angry, sad, happy - it shows in your actions, your tone of voice and the choice of words you use. I see it all the time - sales people who don't like talking to people, never smile and don't make eye contact. Teachers who hate kids - well what on earth are you teaching for?

Authors and the movie business have depicted this in many different ways of course - Scrooge, The Super etc etc ....

Doctors who become patients and have to "suffer" the same treatment and method of support as the people they had been treating vow they will change the way they work AFTER going through the process they had subjected their patients to.

6. What do you see when you look at your social networking profiles? Are you giving mixed messages? It's no good telling people you are a professional if your pictures show you falling over because you were drunk or posting inappropriate status updates.

And of course when you see an area that you know needs to be worked on, then for goodness sake make the changes, or change jobs - you are not set in stone - you can change things.

Make it easy for customers to do business with you.

Are you focussed on your future or your past?

If you spend all your time wishing how things could be different, or if you had only done so and so then everything would be different now - I would say you are focussing in the wrong direction.

Once a decision has been made and you have made a commitment to that decision - accept the fact and use it to your advantage. Accept that you can make a "wrong" decision - so what - we all do, which is why we call it "learning from the past". But there is no time like the present to shift your focus.

The answer to the question of "What do you want?" lies beyond the beam of your headlights - do you know where you are heading - or do you just know where you have been?

I can remember several times during my life where I was extremely fit. I focused on health, fitness and exercise. If I loved it, I played it, if I enjoyed it, I did it. Sport played a huge part in my life and it showed.

Now I'm just not selfish enough. I fall prey to other people's expectations over my time and I "give in" and give up my exercise time. I tell myself I'll pick it up again tomorrow, or go for a walk in the morning instead.

It's wrong, I shouldn't do that. I shouldn't have to do that.

Earlier in my life I didn't realise that I had in fact done that. To me I felt that I had to change focus. For one I left school, so organised sport was no longer part of my "normal" day. But I loved the feeling that exercise gave me, so I took up competitive tennis (albeit it not at a very high level) - I played against the blokes so I could improve my returns and my ground strokes. But it was outdoor so during the cold / wet / windy months of a British winter I had to find something else to do. After school I also got a full time job, my boyfriend became my partner and we took on a mortgage, then we married, I worked full time, studied part time, gained my degree, and a couple of years later the babies were born.

Each major change in my life meant I had to refocus and find some new way to keep fit, keep healthy which I did in the beginning, but injury, operations, "age" and other people's expectations makes me feel like I am swimming through treacle.

If something is important to us, and I mean "REALLY" important - we should never allow anything or anyone to stand in the way.

We should (and by we I mean - ME too) make appointments with ourselves and advise anyone else that we are booked during these times - and NO you really can't change your appointment.

I need to learn how to say no. How about you?

Today is the end of another year. Another year of goals achieved, of
goals missed, of things we should have done but didn't.

Wait a minute, did you say today is the end of another year? but it's
only the beginning of February!

Of course today is the end of another year. Which means of course,
that tomorrow is the start of another year.

What? I don't understand.

No? What is wrong with the concept that today is the end of another
year? It's not hard to

a) imagine that today is December 31 2010. After all January
disappeared faster than it has ever disappeared (or is that just me
getting old?). What did you achieve over the last month? Repeat that
for the next 11 months and guess what - that's another year finished,
gone, never to be repeated.

Or

b) accept that the past 12 months makes one year.

You see, it doesn't matter what day / date we choose to measure, after
all time just is. Time is always there, ticking slowly away, counting
the moments before we "move on".

So if you can accept that then you are ready to use the very next
moment as best you can. Because we don't know how many "moments" like
this we will have. Are you now content to sit back and tell yourself
"you'll start tomorrow?"

We are still close enough to January 1st to know we had good
intentions. We know that January 1st is "supposed" to a good day to
start thinking about goals, resolutions and the like, the problem with
January 1st is we are still in holiday mode. How many of you say "this
year is going to be different, this year I am going to...." And by the
end of the first week you can hardly remember what you said you
wanted? Well most people are like that if you listen to the noises
they make whilst sitting around the lunch room eating too much.

Replay today - did you use your "moments" wisely? What would be your
top 5 achievements / highlights of today?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What 5 things are you going to do tomorrow? Are they going to be
worthy of celebrating?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What 5 things are you NOT going to do tomorrow?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Or are you still content to fill your life with "stuff" that doesn't need doing?

Most people avoid living their lives by living vicariously through others. How do you know if you are doing this?

The quality of your own life is directly linked to what you put into your mind. Therefore it stands to reason that if you want to get more from your life, you are going to have to stop reading the gossip mags and watching the soap operas and reality TV, stop watching other people live their dreams, and start living your own.

When you don't want to do something, when you are being "forced" to do something you don't want to do, you will obstruct / delay / deny / make excuses as to why you can't do that right now.

Truth is - we can all be a little childish when we need to find motivation for something we don't like, which is why it can be hard to overcome the procrastination habit.

"Shan't"
"Can't"
"Don't want to"

If you know you can't get out of doing "it" whatever it is - tell yourself you will do something towards "it" for just 30 minutes. It's a well proven technique. And one I go into in more detail in the section on Study Motivation.

But one more thing before I let you go for tonight.

If what you are procrastinating over are your own goals / dreams / targets I need you to do a rethink. Are they YOUR goals or are they something your family / friends / boss / coworkers said you should do? We can mistake other people's goals as our own you know.

So - pen and paper time - yes homework for a Friday night:

Re-visit your goals.

If you took one of your goal items and had to explain to someone

a) why you haven't achieved it yet - what kind of excuses would you use?

b) what would your life be like after you have achieved that goal? Can you "see" what your life will look like / be like? It's important you can otherwise it will always be at the back of your mind, but never comes into focus. We know it's there - but we're not quite sure of the details. Today I would like you to focus on the details. Regarding your goal - what does it really look like? What can you smell? What can you feel / touch? What do you hear? Spend some time (half an hour is a good time to devote to this task) and work on the details.

With many thoughts
Elle

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Study Motivation:
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When it comes to finding motivation to study, the thought of hour after endless hour of reading, taking notes and answering test questions can hardly be deemed to be very exciting can it?!
Believe it or not, that is not the best way to study. There is ample evidence to prove that to study effectively, you need to work in half hour blocks of time.

Read more: Study in half hour blocks of time

Today's daily dose is a little different...I promised you pictures from my recent holiday, well they are attached, along with a few thoughts on things I have learned.

The 23rd September is a very special day in the calendar. It means you have 100 days left in 2009. What are you going to do with those last 100 days?

Are you going to continue doing what you’ve always done or are you going to do some things a little differently? As you well know, if you continue doing the same things in the same way you are guaranteed the same kinds of results you’ve always been getting. My question to you is this – is that OK? Or would you like the next 100 days and the last 100 days of 2009 to be the ones that make the difference to the way your life turns out? Or not?

What is the 100-day goal achievement challenge?

The 100-day goal achievement challenge is quite simple – it is a challenge I give to you. I want you to get to the end of 2009 having achieved many great things.

Any day you can decide to change your life, all it takes is a decision on your part to do something a little different, or if you want – a lot of different things in your own unique way. What this also means is that when everyone else is busy setting New Year’s Resolutions you won’t need to. You will have begun the process that means you won’t EVER need to set them again.

You can achieve amazing things in 100 days. The question is – are you willing to make some minor changes so you can?

I hope the answer is a resounding YES, because I have created a 100-day goal achievement challenge workbook for you.

And because it is a workbook – it means you now need to make a commitment to yourself and follow through with the ACTION part. Which means you now have to go and download it.

I look forward to hearing about the challenges AND the successes.

With many thoughts
Elle

I hope you have downloaded your copy of the 100-day goal achievement challenge workbook by now and started filling in the pages. If so I would like to offer you something to think about:

The reason why the 100-day goal achievement challenge is so powerful is this:

What you do today impacts directly on what you will achieve tomorrow. Repeat the successes, repeat the momentum and your success will be massive - over time. Think of these days like compound interest. It takes a while to get started, but every time you make a deposit into your 100-day goal achievement challenge plan you gain interest on what you put in. As you continue to put in the effort, the time and the motivation - the interest starts to take over and before you know it - you will be cruising.

The people who say "oh so and so is just lucky, things just seem to happen to "her" don't realise how many days, months and years of dedication, hard work and quietly plugging away with the attention to detail that has already been put into that "luck" to make it happen.

With the 100 day challenge we have only just begun the process, tomorrow we begin with a brand new clean sheet on which to begin our lives. But don't waste today.

With many thoughts
Elle

Everything in life starts as a thought, which is a mind-blowing opening statement to make when you think about it.

And I do mean "everything" - including us.

And if that isn't mind-blowing enough, when you stop and think about "things" - be they books, houses, websites, furniture, pieces of art, sculpture, lawnmowers and toothbrushes - someone, somewhere had an idea - then (and this is the most important part) they took that idea and they moulded it, they changed things, they added things, they took things away - until such time as they were happy with their creation - and gave it to us to use, see, admire.

Don't you think that's exciting? We have so much ability, so many things we can think about - and then create and perfect, and everyone of us - is a skilled crafts person - if we choose to be.

What do you choose?

With many thoughts
Elle

p.s. In the beginning there was an idea and that idea was hmmmmm – that might work...5 years on and the success has been phenomenal. I am of course talking about MotivateMe! Thanks for being part of the MotivateMe success.

Imagine every problem you face is a brick in your very own brick wall.

For some of you, your brick wall is easy enough to step over, there aren't many bricks, so you don't need to worry about it, or do you?. Or you may feel that the brick wall is too high, too wide and too insurmountable to ever get rid of.

But I'd like to challenge both sets of thinking.

So how do you deal with your brick wall?

First you need to acknowledge you have one. That sounds rather obvious, but as you will realise, most people rarely admit they have "problem" bricks in their foundations.

Once you have determined that you have "problem" bricks you need to label them.

Once they have been labelled you can decide if you a) can remove them or b) want to remove them. The lower down the brick wall you go, the deeper and the more problematic it will be to deal with. They've been there for a long time, so as you can imagine they are going to take some time to get rid of.

But lets assume you don't have a spare sledgehammer available. I would recommend taking a chisel and a small hammer and taking one of your problem bricks - chip away at the mortar that is holding it in and deal with it. Whilst you can start with the lower bricks I would actually recommend you start with the ones that you have just put there, the mortar is less solid and will take less chipping away.

So, a visual piece of homework I would recommend you do - draw your brick wall and start labelling your problem bricks. Which are your foundation bricks? Which can you deal with first? Which is the key brick? And believe me there is always a key brick in any wall. Once you have discovered your key brick you hold the "key" to removing your brick wall completely.

Good luck with the demolition, and I look forward to hearing about your triumphs.

Before I get into today's post I would just like to give you a insight into a "ah-ha" moment. It's Friday evening. It's been a very long week, as I'm sure it has been for a lot of you. But I decided that if I wanted to keep moving with some of my goals I was going to have to make some changes. So instead of getting home and starting the usual Friday night clean up and cook dinner routine, I got changed into some old workout gear and went into the garden and started ripping out more (I hesitate to use the word lawn) - anyway grass - 30 minutes later and my back told me it was time to stop (old injury) - so I went inside, changed shoes, had a drink of water and went for a walk. As I was walking I could feel myself smiling - OK - grinning. And you know what, it was absolutely contagious. Every one I passed smiled back and in one case, three burly workmen in a "ute" waved. It was a great walk.

Which of course made me think about tonight's post and the kind of energy we attract. I think it was Jim Rohn who said "if you want to attract, you need to become attractive". Now I'm sure you have all heard of the Law of Attraction and "the secret" well I'm not sure if it's a "Law" or just one of the fundamentals of human nature, but I do feel we attract that which we expect to receive - but we also attract that whch we "put out". Tonight I was happy (and I'll come to the why in just a moment), actually I was more than just happy - I was pleased with myself. I had made a decision today that I wouldn't waste tonight, I would do certain things and within a very short space of time I had virtually crossed them all off my list of want to do items. Life is like that. When you make a decision and you act upon that decision - you achieve things. Simple. It's also easy not to do.. Anyway, because I was pleased with msyelf - it echoed around me, other people could feel it and they responded accordingly.

So - an observation for you as you start your weekend.

What kind of energy magnet are you?

What kind of people and situations are you attracting into your life? Now you may not want 3 burly workmen in a ute to wave and smile at you, but you know what I mean.

My garden is like that. I've been removing turf for weeks now and never seemed to have gotten anywhere but dirty. Tonight made all the difference. Just 30 minutes and "all of a sudden" I am 2/3 of the way to clearing the grass to make way for a border I want to plant in the autumn (bear in mind we are "down under" and it is still summer here).

Oh and by the way - when I started to think about that particular post, it gave me another reason to smile because it will be featured in an upcoming book to be published by Bob Proctor - yes, he of the secret!! the book is called "What you don't fix...your kids will inherit" by Anamarie & Cory Seidel and I'm really quite excited.

So a couple of things to think about

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/moremotivation
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

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Discussion Topics:
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There was an interesting question on the forum - Health, Fitness and Weightloss today and I thought I would throw the question over to you....I've already had my say of course, but I could be wrong as I don't know the science behind these energy drinks.

Anyway the question was -

Are energy drinks and other supplements good for you over the long term?

If you have any advice for Becky and anyone else who is interested, please go to - http://www.motivateme.info/health-fitness-weightloss/post/1018883

If time, money and energy were not an issue what would you like to achieve over the course of your life?

When we are talking about goals and goal setting these aren't the normal goals most people set themselves, such as pay off the mortgage, maintain a healthy weight / BMI, do 200 push ups / learn French or whatever you have on your normal goal list. But your life goals, those things you have always dreamed about doing.

Where do you want to go? Who do you want to meet? What do you want to learn how to drive / fly? Racing cars, motorbikes, helicopters, planes? Do you want to star in a movie? Do you want to write one?

To my friends, these were both "dream destinations" as in something they've ALWAYS wanted to do. Speak to them about it now and you can still hear the passion in their voices.

So - do you have "Dream Destinations"? What would it take for you to get there?

Your life goals are not "stuff" you acquire necessarily but experiences.

If you have never written a life goals list before, today is a good day to do it. You need some time, some paper a pen or three and your imagination. Start writing.

And don't let the usual negative chatter infect your mind with - but, what if's and I don't think that's a good idea - do you?

Remember the caveat - if time, money and energy were not an issue - what would you be doing?

My next question is this - what would happen when you get to the end of your life (whenever that is) and you have not managed to achieve any of those items on your list? Would you still consider yourself to have lived full life?

My next question then - are you still happy doing what you've always done or are you going to find a way to achieve some or all of your "goals of life"?

Most goal setting strategies recommend we use the SMART principle for goal setting.

When I speak to most of my clients, they always have the same problem - "time"

They know what they want, they know what they should be doing, it's just that in most cases - they feel they don't have enough "time" to devote to their goal. They have trouble visualising 1 year down the track let alone 5 or 10 years. And we all know what happens then. Because it seems to be too hard you allow yourself to believe you can't make the time today to work on your goals. At the end of a year you are no further forward (in most cases), with the only change being your age and the physical manifestations of "getting older". When we are young, we may feel that it doesn't matter, we have all the time in the world to work on our goals. A few years of thinking those kinds of thoughts and 5 years have gone by.

The reason why the 100 day challenge works so well is because it asks you to work on your goals in 100 day blocks of time - it's important to have long term plans and goals, but don't look a year down the track, or even 5 or 10 years - just work on this next 100 days. As those of you who have already used the challenge will know these 100 days are further broken down. What are you going to do today? What are your plans for the next 7 days?

What difference can you make in 1 day?

You'd be amazed.

Do you hold yourself accountable for what you do or don't do? If you set SMART goals you do.

I feel "Accountability" is one of the keys to success. Holding yourself accountable for both your successes and failures means you are more likely to:

a) know what worked
b) repeat the successes
c) work hard on the "failures" so they don't happen again

How do you remember what worked and what didn't?

Write it down so you don't forget - and keep these notes to yourself, that way you can be honest.

What were you going to do today? Did you complete the task today or not? If not, why not, and be honest - if you couldn't be bothered - say so and say why. Over time you will note patterns of behaviour. These patterns can provide us with additional information we can use.

You can of course give someone else permission to hold you accountable for your actions. While I am not talking about confessing our sins to a priest, I am talking about groups of people to whom you have pledged to do something - be it a weight loss group, a team fitness program you are taking part in, your training partner, the person you walk with every morning or your work colleagues.

Do you hold yourself accountable?

M is for Measurable: How do you know you are on the right track?

When you set goals it is vital you know where you are in terms of achieving them. But have you ever tried to "measure" your progress?

By the time we get to the airport to check in, we should be safe in the knowledge the airfares and accommodation are paid for. We’ve organised the time off, the house sitters, the dog walkers and clothes, passports and inoculations.

But let’s assume for just a minute you don’t plan to go on holiday. What kind of measures do you have for your goals?

The measures you can use to track your progress are endless, so don’t just rely on a single one, because if you do, you may feel you are not getting anywhere.

So when you are working out what is on your goal list, spend a little more time and work out how you are going to measure your progress. Because once you can see how well you are progressing, you are almost guaranteed to succeed.

Set priorities for your goals. A major part of successful living lies in the ability to put first things first. Indeed, the reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.
Robert J. McKain

Setting goals can be classed as the easy part - taking the steps we need to achieve those goals.... Well if it involves any kind of personal discipline and the day-to-day steady progress through the use of correct action, it's no wonder most people stay stuck.

What kind of friends do you have? Are they the kind who watch your back and make sure you're ok when you're in a tight spot? Or are they the kind to say - see you around, I'm not bailing you out of jail if you get stuck. Do your friends offer you a shoulder to cry on, a glass of wine and a bar of chocolate (or whatever the boy equivalent is); and a safe environment to get to the heart of your troubles? Or do you fear telling them because you know it will end up on facebook and twitter?

But what does having friends you can talk to have anything to do with motivation and overcoming procrastination?

Well I think it has a lot to do with both motivation and how we overcome procrastination. You see, procrastination occurs when we know we have an issue and we don't want to deal with it.

We may pretend we don't have an issue, we pretend we don't have a problem and we go round in ever decreasing circles.

If you feel you don't have any friends you can confide in, there are a myriad of organisations who can and will help you. But there are other ways you can deal with the issue.

It may take time and it will take a lot of soul searching, some of your problems and issues may be buried deeper than you think. What you may think is a minor issue today, you may find yourself dragging up stuff from your past you thought you were over.

So - pens and paper at the ready. Make sure you are not going to be disturbed for a couple of hours and make sure there are plenty of tissues around.

WHAT THIS IS NOT

This is not a time to blame other people for where you are - this is about taking responsibilty for your actions AND your inactions, or your part in the process.

So, what is troubling you you can't move on and create the life you say you want?

Only by asking those questions of yourself will (I believe) allow you to forgive, forget and finally move on. Oh and while we are in the process of forgiveness, don't forget the most important person in this process - YOU.

Apologies for the deep and meaningful post today - sometimes I feel like I have to ask the hard questions to make you think.

With many thoughts
Elle

p.s. anyone else worried that we are already into March already? 100 day challengers - how are your journey's to better things progressing? Be good to hear from you.

Yesterday was the hump day of the challenge...day 3 of any new program is the time when you decide you can stick to something, or you can't. I hope you got over the hump. I'll let you into a secret about goals, sometimes trying to achieve them is like pulling weeds from your garden.

You can see what needs to be done. But you can't face the thought of starting.

* Do you pick the big weeds first so you can then see the little ones underneath?
* Do you start at the beginning of a weed bed and work slowly until you get to the other end?
* Do you enlist the help of others?
* Do you off load the problem to a third-party?
* Do you spray them with weed killer; Or
* Do you ignore them and hope that either - someone comes along and gives you a hand or they disappear and hey presto - a weed free garden.

The people who achieve more are the ones you put in a little bit of effort over time. If your garden is anything like mine at the moment (coming off quite a wet September) there will be weeds everywhere. But I can't do more than about an hour in the garden because of 3 reasons:

1. The size of my bin
2. An old back injury and
3. Boredom

But I know that over time I can weed the entire garden and achieve my goal. But I also know that other people do this kind of thing better than me - so sometimes I do enlist the help of professionals. I know my limitations and there are some things I won't touch - water, gas, electricity and mowing the lawns. Whilst I can hope someone will wave a magic wand and the weeds will disappear and my goal will be achieved I also know that's not realistic. So I take the slow but sure approach. I can see the big picture, but I know the details are essential.

But most people set goals that are way ahead of where they currently are - and guess what happens then. They blitz in with the weed killer, go hell for leather and spray everything in sight. Then they sit back and wait for the poison to take effect. By the time the poison has done it's job - they've forgotten what the goal was. New weeds start sprouting and before you know it the weeds have taken over the garden again. Not only are they back to square one, they've got even further to travel the second time.

And then you have the last group of people - these people know the weeds are there, but they don't care one way or another. Oh they'll whinge about how bad their lives are, but they never do anything about sorting them out. These are the people who were offered a chance to work with us here at Motivate Me - but couldn't be bothered to download a copy of the challenge.

Well if there is one thing that is certain. I cannot MAKE you do anything. I can only hope to inspire you to do what you know you should - if you want a different life to the one you've got now that is. But only you can change your mindset - about anything, and if you don't think you have the time to do something - you know what - you're absolutely right.

To become "bigger" than you are, you need to grow and to change wht you are currently doing.

In exercise terms, if you exercise at the same level with the same intensity and don't vary your routine you will reach a certain point in your physical development and you will stay there. Which is why we should up the weights, do more reps, move from the treadmill to the bike, throw in a personal training session, a swim, a walk on the beach or take a dance lesson...or all of the above and then some more.

Because the variety removes the complacency from your body and your mind as you master the new things.

You may say yes, and some of you will say "yes, I read all the motivational books and goal setting books I can lay my hands on. I just read and re-read it so I've absorbed all the information."

Well, reading is a good start, but if you don't begin the process of putting the good ideas you've gained from your reading, you are NOT learning. You might be growing your mind, but what good is that if you don't use it?

So, if you think about your mind as a super-saturated sponge, then in order to take in some more "information" what is in needs to be squeezed out.

So - put down the book, turn off your CD, switch off the telly and take one idea you have had swooshing around your mind forever and do something with it. Flood your life with new ideas and make a splash in the world (sorry Mike - couldn't resist the cliche).

It's not very often I watch television, but I do love watching "talent shows" and especially the "add name of country" 's got talent program. We always speculate as to whether one countries top 10 would make another countries top 100 - but that's really missing the point of what these shows are about.

These shows pit frisbee catching dogs against dancing street kids against opera singing cancer survivors and unemployed chicken catchers.

What makes these people want to prove to the world they have what it takes to be a star? To be the best in the country and to win the prize?

Apart from talent, drive, ambition and enough guts to get up in front of thousands of people and three judges with very big buttons who can make or break your chance in an instant. As the un-talented find out all too quickly. But even the un-talented get their moment of glory - because they also think they have what it takes to go all the way.

We can make all the excuses in the book and then add a few more - but not these people who put their "normal" lives on hold to take a shot at what they've always dreamed of doing. And for Kevin Skinner he proved to the American public he had what it took to make it all the way to the top. Yes he may have been overshadowed by another person on the night - but Kevin Skinner, the unemployed chicken catcher and farmer from Kentucky will be able to live his dream. He has achieved his goal - and what an amazing goal it is to have achieved. And if you have no idea who I am talking about - youtube will come to the rescue of course.

With many thoughts
Elle

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100 day goal achievement challenge:
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Are you beginning to take short cuts? Why are you not being true to yourself?

It can be so easy to do a little less than you said you were going to do. I am coming back after having the flu. Every day the virus manifests itself slightly differently - for the last two days I've been excruciatingly tired. Add in a coughing fit at 2am that woke me up and you can imagine what my motivation was like when it was time to get up, get ready and go to the gym.

But my two main areas for the challenge and beyond are:

Health and money

Health:
Lose a couple of dress sizes so that not only do I fit into my clothes better BUT I don't have to buy bigger clothes. Believe me with a budget as tight as mine, that's one expense I don't need. But with the better size and shape SHOULD come better health, and that has a far reaching impact. If I want to live a long and productive life I need to be in good shape - physically and mentally, which means taking control of my body and my mind (more importantly) now.

Money:
Money allows you to do everything else. Most of the other items on my goal list relate in some way, shape or form to money. Places I want to see, things I want to do - all need money, sometimes not very much granted - but having enough (or more than just enough) is important. Money gives you choices, so I am looking at the budget and finding ways I can make adjustments. I am also looking at several other avenues to utilise my skills and abilities to "earn" more.

What are your goals for the challenge? What are you doing on a daily basis to make your goals happen?

To achieve "work / life balance"

1. Always do a job you love, that way it will never be "work"
2. Ensure your house / living arrangement is a place where you feel comfortable
3. Exercise daily - even if it's a 10 minute walk at lunchtime, you need to get out and feel the elements
4. Eat well, but never to extreme
5. Find time each day to reflect on what worked well, what didn't work as well and plan for tomorrow - today - then you can forget about "forgetting" things
6. Spend quality time with your family, friends and your significant other
7. Find time each day to do something just for you
8. Don't forget the spiritual side of who you are - if you believe, then it's important to connect

On your day's off "work" there are a couple of additional things which need to be added to those 8 key points listed above

1. Have a special date night / day with those people you care most about. We all have busy lives, so these will need to be planned in advance - but what happens after that is entirely up to you. And that is the key to planned spontaneity. Plan the time, but not necessarily every detail - doing so will only make you worry that it's not going to "plan".

2. Have a special date night / day with yourself and do something YOU enjoy, and without worrying about whether your partner is also enjoying the experience. When we give so much of ourselves to our customers, our families, our partners, our work, charities, churches and schools - we forget that we also need to be able to receive. And one of the best ways to do this is - having time to yourself to do what you want - WITHOUT feeling guilty.

And the beauty of these planned spontaneous days, they don't have to cost very much.

When my kids were little there wasn't much money for treats and going out let alone on holiday, but that didn't stop us. We would pack the picnic bag - regardless of the weather - and we would go somewhere. The beauty of the parks around Perth, WA are the covered shelters - they stop rain as well as providing shade from the summer sun. My kids still to this day talk about going on picnic's in the rain - and usually with a wry smile.

Make sure you add some time every week to your calendar and start planning your first spontaneous day(s), believe me when I say - you will enjoy and be able to cope with every thing else if you have spent some time having deliberate fun.

For those of you who are reading this, as opposed to having just clicked the delete button, or read later button will see the benefit of taking action now.

As you know we have been looking at the importance of goals, how to set them and more importantly - how to achieve them. Well we've pulled all the posts together and added a few extra sections and created an e-report. It is 16 pages of specifics covering:

    * S is for Specific: Know what you want
    * M is for Measurable: How do you know you are on the right track?
    * A is for Accountable: Keeping yourself on track
    * R is for Realistic: Don’t set your sights too far / too high
    * T is for Time-bound: Deadlines are essential
    * Goal Achievement: Action Speaks Louder Than Words

Why give something like this away?

Easy -

Because we can

Because we also know how hard it is to set goals, and how hard it can be to achieve them. This blueprint will show you how to do both, so if you would like a copy - Get SMART with Goal Setting

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

First of all can I say thank you for the wonderful response to the Get S.M.A.R.T with goal setting e-report we sent out yesterday. Thank you for the thank you's they are very much appreciated.

But that is not the only tool on the site available for you to use. One of the most best ways to get more out of every day is with the use of a Time Log. It is both simple and effective. To gain the benefit from it all you need to do is download it, save it to your desktop and keep it open during your online day. When you start and finish anything you type in what you were doing. When you see how much time you spend on certain tasks and activities, you automatically want to do better tomorrow.

Long-time readers will have a copy of course, but for those of you who don't have a copy and would like one - Download time log

It's like using a timesheet. If you had to charge back your work time to a client - how much would you have earned today?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

One thing I don't say very often, but I would like to welcome to all new readers, it's wonderful to have you with us. 20 days ago, we began the 100 day goal-achievement challenge - basically to see what we could achieve in the last one hundred days of 2009. If you would like a copy of the workbook - you can download a copy under the downloads page.

There are also forums where you can interact with your fellow readers should you wish to.

Since the daily dose of motivational medicine was launched several years ago we have covered a myriad of topics - some more often than others - and one of the reasons is due to the fact that the fundamentals of motivation are the same regardless of what you need motivation to achieve.

Sometimes we forget the fundamentals. Sometimes we forget that to achieve great things we need to look at what we are doing and ask - is that serving me - OR - not? And that is the importance of the 100 day goal achievement challenge. A daily reminder of the things we need to do - but also - what do we NOT need to do.

"When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun with nettles"
Horace Walpole (1717-1797)

Never underestimate the power of influence, especially with regards to your mind.

What are you saying?

Have you stopped to consider - what is coming out of your mouth is in direct relation to what you are:

a) putting into your mind
b) telling yourself
c) listening to when other people insist on giving you advice

Let me explain.

I caught the first episode of a reality TV show on Friday. I don't watch much television, let alone reality television - but it was there and I thought why not - I can see why the tabloids love her - the whingeing, the whining, the antics and the carry on - perfect fodder for every newspaper and magazine who thrive on passing on gossip. Negativity oozed from her every word. I hope to goodness you don't ever watch the program, or programs like it because they can and do influence what we talk about. Am I saying don't watch reality TV shows or crime shows or any other program that has negativity as its dialogue and story line - in a word - YES - actually it's up to you - all I can ask is you be careful to put things into perspective.

The second point - about what you are telling yourself - if you tell yourself you can't do something, you won't try very hard. In fact try very hard to get rid of the word "try" out of your vocabulary - it is giving you a perfect opportunity to give up. As Yoda said "Do or do not, there is no try"

Finally - what are other people telling you? People love to give advice, whether we want it or not. What are they saying you can't do, are no good at and why don't you give up now before you embarrass yourself. If you associate with these kinds of people they can nudge your good intentions off course, one well-meaning but totally inappropriate comment at a time.

So how do you counter all of the above.

Watch what you are saying to yourself and outloud - easier said than done perhaps but it is a good idea to "try" and monitor our own vocabulary at all times. Try not to associate with people who don't support you - but its interesting - most of the time they don't realise they are being negative (they often confuse this with being "realistic") so why not say, well I appreciate what you are saying, but I am going to ..... And avoid the gossip mags, tabloids and the news - I can't remember the last good news story item I heard, so I don't watch it anymore / listen to it or read it anymore.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip – Money:
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Any food you throw away is money wasted. Freeze any left-overs you can, these make great lunches or spare dinners when you are running late and tempted to buy “fast food” because you can’t be bothered to cook. But if you throw food away, which has gone past its sell by date, or you’ve got half eaten jars etc in the fridge – this too is money wasted. So before you buy anything else – make sure you are not throwing money away on things you don’t need to buy.

The strength of your desire is equal to the amount of effort you are willing to put into achieving the outcome.

How strong is your desire?

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Motivational Tip - your mind:
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If you read just one chapter of a book a day you can read 365 chapters in a year. That equates to a lot of books. How much more do you think you could accomplish if you took just one idea from each chapter and applied that to your life?

Motivation is like bathing or personal hygiene, if you don't clean your teeth daily or have a bath then you are going to quickly lose that nice, clean smell aren't you.

- If you allow negativity to impinge on your thoughts (if you read the papers, listen to the news or watch the television - is it any wonder!!)
- If you allow other people to pour rubbish onto your ideas
- If you don't have a clear goal

It can be almost impossible to stay positive - all of the time. I know I can't, and I am perhaps better than most.

So what do you do?

- Limit your association with the things and the people who drag you down
- Try to do something good for yourself once a day - spend time with yourself doing what you like to do. I have a half an hour with a book, or i will go and get a massage every couple of weeks or go to a new area I've never been to before and try out a different coffee shop. Little things that allow you to put back the positive.
- The other thing I try and do, and believe me when I say it has taken me years to get through to this point - but I used to constantly churn over what other people said, or even didn't say, but what I thought they might say. I would suffer as a result - poor sleeping patterns, weight gain/loss, stress - and for what? Nothing ever happened, nothing ever came of my worry - other than ulcers. Now I don't worry quite so much. Occassionally I have to slap myself and put things back into perspective, but it has to happen a lot less frequently these days. It is almost impossible to be positive if you are worrying over nothing. But like I said, this happens a lot less frequently than it did.

So today I would like you to make me a promise. Today I want you to remember that just as you need a daily dose of personal hygiene, you also need to remember the daily dose of motivational medicine - and I'm not just talking about this e-zine, but whatever you choose to put a positive spin back into your life. And just as you plan your working week, make time to plan your daily half - hour personal time sessions. Everything is important.

The annual sculpture by the sea at Cottesloe, Western Australia - on the shores of the Indian Ocean draws to a close this week and whilst many people will have visited and marvelled at the exhibits, the motivation behind the sculptors, their dedication to their art and craft, their ability to see things within things that others can't or won't see - majority of people who live nearby would never have made the journey - which saddens me.

I know we will always do those things we want to do, I know a lot of people will say they don't have time, more often though the truth is - they just couldn't be bothered.

Don't miss the special things because you "don't have time" we all time - if we want to make time to do special things.

I know a lot of you don't live in Western Australia and will be unlikely to visit before next Tuesday - so for those of you who have connected with me on facebook - the pics are all there for you - enjoy - but remember - you shouldn't live your life through someone else's camera lens. Get out and enjoy whatever today brings for you.

Are you in business to make money? Strange question perhaps - of course people are in business to make money. But bear with me for just a second.

If you are in "business to make money" first and foremost do you struggle to gain enough prospects? Have you tried every sales technique in the world and still have trouble making the sale? Do you have your pitch worked out, do you know all the features of why this widget is so good compared to its competitors? Do people make excuses when you go to networking events because they know they're going to get the "pitch?"

Do you use the online social networking tools in the same way as you've leveraged first the Direct Marketing and then Email to try and get more business? A couple of times this last week I have received emails from people who tell me they are Search Engine Optimisation specialists - they tell me in the first sentence they've noticed something wrong about my website and how they can fix it. I usually ignore these messages. But one guy decided to get antsy - "look I emailed you before do you want to do business with me or not." And yes they were his exact words.

Unfortunately some people never learn - but would you like to do better in the sales arena?

If you said yes - then you need to stop focusing on you, your product, your business and your bottom line and focus on other people for a change.

Excuse me?

You heard me correctly - no-one's interested in you, they're interested in themselves.

Have you heard of Twitter? (http://www.twitter.com) Twitter is one of the phenomena's of the social networking world. I love twitter, I love hearing about other people's goings on (and all in 140 characters or less).

What I really enjoy though are the people who truly understand why and how important twitter is - especially those people who are in the people business as opposed to the sales business. The difference between those who are in the people business and those who are in business to make money comes down to a single point (IMO). Those people in the "people business" are always looking at ways to add value to their followers. They offer interesting insights and links to articles they might be interested in. They make recommendations of other people who may also be able to help them and they rarely (if ever) make a single comment about themselves or their products. The products are all there, sometimes in the discussions, and definitely in the profile pages, but there is never a direct sell, ok there is the occassional subtle comment, but it's not offensive, and those who do, tend to get the short shrift. Like the obnoxious sales person - we know we are being sold to and usually we don't want or need whatever it is they are trying to sell. In the Twitterverse it's easy we just unfollow them, it's a little harder in a face to face situation. Do these people make money via Twitter? I'm sure a lot of them do, and its not because they've asked for the sale, they don't need to - when they've added value to their messages, people know where to go and who to buy from.

For those of you in business and using networking events to talk about you and your needs, do yourself a favour - next time, turn it around and listen for a change - who knows you might hear something important.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

P.P.S And the book I recommended? Bob Burg and John David Mann's "Go givers sell more"

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Motivational Tip: Exercise
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If you want to get more out of your walking as exercise routine, then walk as if you are late for an appointment. You know that slightly out of breath feeling we get when we know we're going to be late. It gets us into the fat burning zone much faster, and of course walking faster for a long period is a great way to boost your overall fitness levels and get a toned butt and legs as well. If you swing your arms you add an upper body workout to the plan, or why not try carrying a backpack – add a litre of water and use it to strengthen backs and shoulders at the same time.

Perth, Western Australia suffered through the worst storm in half a century on Monday 21st March 2010. For several hours we were at the mercy of the power of mother nature in all her magnificent and stormy glory.

We were lucky though compared to most, whilst our kitchen roof leaked and there was a waterfall through the light socket in the carport. The gutters may not have coped and there was a lake outside our house where once there used to be a road, we came through the event relatively unscathed, unlike some.

We had had little or no rain since the beginning of November, and then hardly enough to measure on the rain gauge. What we had were records, the second longest time without measurable rain, the hottest nights since records began and endless days of heat. To be honest most of us were hoping for rain – and boy when it came we couldn’t cope – we got what we asked for and then some.

In a pond close by, mamma coote decided quite late in the season to build a nest, laid 5 eggs and sat – waiting for her babies to come into the world. They were about a week old when the storm hit, the nest was damaged, the pond overflowed, but the birds seemed better able to cope that most humans. During the heart of the storm – pappa bird was finding material to rebuild, while mamma protected the babies. They didn’t need outside help, they knew what they needed to do and they got on and did it.

When I went to get into my car so I could fetch my daughter from work, I was greeted with some interesting sights. Grown men and women were wading through the water to take photographs; the neighbors teenage boys were pushing stranded vehicles (who thought they would attempt to ford the newly created river rather than wait for the flood to subside), and there was no way I was going to be able to drive anywhere. Then my son appeared, shoes and socks in hand – wading through the water – a friends father had dropped him close by and Eden had “walked” the rest of the way. As soon as my neighbour heard about my daughter – he got into his 4WD and made the journey to fetch my daughter for me.

The motivation behind it all was interesting. Why would you wade into a roadway to take photographs – fully clothed? Why would we all stand outside getting wet? Why did we – all of a sudden become a functioning community, where neighbours helped each other?

Of course, the parallels between the summer of the century and the drought breaking storm and most people’s lives is also interesting.

We can all be guilty of doing just enough to get through each day. Do we use our time effectively? Do we work on our goals? Of course not, most people are on coast mode – I’ll do that tomorrow.

What would be your “drought breaker”?

Monday was the storm of the century and you can still the effects almost a week later, the clean up is happening and it's going to take a while.

Monday I also managed to re-damage my left hand - circuit class at the gym includes a boxing component - and I hit the pad incorrectly - result - ligament damage.

The next 4 days was a break away from home and planned a long time ago to celebrate my partners birthday - 4 days of travelling down and around the SouthWest of Western Australia.

So why am I telling you this?

I spoke earlier about "drought breakers" - what would it take for you to make some major changes to your life. Well some things you can deal with and some you can't - sometimes you do have to make changes to your plans on the fly. The trouble is most people never experience the kind of calamity that means you NEED to do something. Life changing experiences MAKE us want to change things, they INSIST you do something. If your home and family were threatened - you WOULD do something. If you were injured - you WOULD ensure you get treatment.

Which is why most people never achieve their goals - they are simply not what we call life threatening, things are not that bad we NEED to do something - they are sort of like - well it would be nice but it doesn't matter if I don't achieve them.

Don't focus on what you have now, focus on what you want to have and you have the beginnings of potential change. Then like the water carving the grand canyon take one small step towards that end point. Or take one giant leap - after all you cannot jump a chasm in 2.

A simple question today but one that needs to be asked

How are you doing? Is there anything I can do to help you at this moment?

I spend so much time telling you about the strategies I use to overcome procrastination, when I know that not everything that works for me, will work for you, or if it works for you it may not work for your teenage kids or employees.

We can all get caught up thinking, well this works - if you do this, this and this in this order - it will work for you too. Well it might, but then again it might not. That's why there are so many "self-help" books on the market (IMO). Everyone has their own way of making things work - all I can hope to do is provide strategies, suggestions and tools you can translate into your own lives. I know that some will work and some won't today - but they may tomorrow - all I ask is you keep an open mind and try them.

But one thing I do know for certain is this - the best way to overcome the procrastination habit is quite a simple mind trick you can use.

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Motivational Tip: Weight Loss - Portion Sizes
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Are your portion sizes out of control? Don’t know what constitutes a correct portion size anymore?

If you still cook and eat at home (and I know there are a lot of people who don’t – but more of “eating out” in another segment), then you need to do one or two things to get your portion sizes back under control.

The first is the perhaps the easiest – reduce the size of the plate you use. Now that doesn’t mean you get to pile the plate higher, just adjust the amounts so it looks like the plate is as full as the old one used to be.

The second is to get out the scales and the measuring cups. According to every book and website I have read on the subject is this – your protein serve should be no bigger than the size (including the depth) of your palm. A single portion of carbs is about the size of a tennis ball. Cheese – should be no more than the size of 6 dice or a box of matches – which is interesting don’t you think. But don’t take my word for it – For example - http://www.mealsmatter.org/EatingForHealth/Topics/Healthy-Living-Articles/Portion-Sizes.aspx

So adjust your portion sizes and you should see a reduction in your body size as well, granted it may take a while especially if you have a bit of weight to lose, but every decision helps - and portion sizes is a good way to start.

Only follow in the footsteps of the people who know where they are going
Day 10 - 100 day challenge

If you had only 90 days left to achieve your goal, after which time the opportunity had gone forever - would you be happy to waste a single moment, let alone any 1 of those precious 90 days? Well if you think about it, we have just worked our way through the first 90 days of 2010.

If you used the start of the year to begin the challenge again, I'm sure you will have seen some major changes already for the year which is really exciting. Are you on track to achieve your first 100 day challenge for this year? I re-started a month ago which just goes to prove it doesn't matter what day you decide to make some changes, just that you do.

With many thoughts
Elle

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Motivational Tip: Exercise – Improve your mood
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It has been said that a 30-40 minute walk on a daily basis can help with depression. If you are feeling down, the last thing you probably want to do is go for a walk, really though it should be the first thing you do. Experts are divided over why – it may be because serotonin is released after exercise, it may just be the air going into your lungs, or the physical movement of walking. Of course it may be something else entirely, but one thing the experts do agree on and that is this – walking does improve your mood.

When you speak to most people about changing their life styles and the day they plan to start working on their goals, the most common day they say they are going to start is Monday morning. They say (totally believing themselves this time) that on Monday morning great things are going to happen. It's like waiting for January 1st (add year) to begin.

That's what makes it so silly. We know, and so do they (if they are totally honest) that if a decision needs to be made, then NOW is the only time there is. Waiting until 9am on a Monday morning will only make things worse. And the main reason is because if you wait, you can find all sorts of excuses not to begin when that time comes around. Other things can and do get in the way - if YOU let them.

If something means enough to you, you will begin now. Won't you?

Have you ever stopped to think about rainbows? They only exist because 2 forces have come together to create one beautiful whole.

When you look at any "problem" you have - consider that inside every problem lies at least one solution - all you have to do is find it.

When you start to look at your problems as solutions, then the problem disappears.

And given that today is here, then today is definately the day to re-evaluate what is happening in your life at the moment, because now is all there is.

"The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself"
The Law of Authenticity
p95 - The Go Giver

Whilst imitation may be a sincere form of flattery, you would do better to model yourself on you and your own skills and abilities than trying to be someone else. Sure you may admire them enough to emulate them, but when you go to extremes to be someone you are not, you are not doing yourself, your customers, friends or family any favours.

I'm not a great believer in conforming to stereotypes. I wear weird things, my hair cut is a throw back to the 80's asymmetrical look of the human league, I wear odd earrings and odd socks - why? because I want to. I don't care what other people think and I certainly don't believe I should conform to being a 40 something, single mother of 2 with a degree in librarianship. And when it comes to this e-zine and MotivateMe - I don't offer you platitudes and give the usual "motivational" hurrah. Me - I expect you to work hard, but I also want you to have fun in the process. I want you to explore what is holding you back from being everything you can be, and I want you cast off those restraints and go for it. Because I think this single aspect is one of the keys to where you are and what you think you are capable of.

So - a thought for the Easter Weekend:

* Have you tried to conform to someone else's stereotype of what you should do and how you should behave?
* Why?
* What did you want to do "when you grew up"? Is there any way you can re-capture that?
* If you had all the time, money and energy in the world - where would you be, what would you be doing? How would you be earning a living? Who would you be helping?
* What would you "look" like? Did you have a personal style? Has it got lost somewhere in the conformational stage of your life? If you're having trouble remembering - get the old photo's out. Am I embarrassed by my old looks? No, I've had some truly awful haircuts on reflection - but you know what, it grows - so what!! But it probably explains where my love of hats comes from, amazing what you can hide under a hat :-)

If you do take some time to answer those questions I posed earlier you should find at least one of the keys to living a more authentic life.

Let me know how you get on -

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Your Mind - Sleep
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Don’t burn the candle at both ends - apart from the fact that the wax drips everywhere - if you intend working hard tomorrow you need to ensure you get enough sleep tonight. The average person does not get enough sleep and this “sleep debt” can affect us in many ways. It can affect our concentration, our ability to function and

Most people wind down for the end of the year, but I prefer to push through this time and get stuck into some "stuck" projects and those things I just don't seem to find the time for during the rest of the year.

I love the thought of being able to get organised in the lead up to christmas by cleaning out various spaces that seem to accumulate "stuff" during the year. One of the reasons is a simple one - my budget does not run to a single shopping expedition - and besides who can find everything they need in one go? Well certainly not me, so I buy bits and pieces and store them. Over the course of about 6 months the house gets progressively fuller so it is a relief to begin to parcel up the goodies and send them onto their new homes and owners.

The same goes for big things I know are coming up. At the beginning of January my daughter turns 18 and so we have been accummulating bits and pieces for the party...

During this wind up time I clean out filing trays and put things into the archive (well it's a collection of archive boxes of the kids stuff - their school work through the year, the certificates of achievement, the letters of concern, Rhia's yr 12 school shirt she got her friends to write on on the last day...etc)

And I usually plan at least one painting project. Last year was my son's bedroom, this year it's going to be the kitchen, dining and my office - the colour scheme just isn't right.... and I've got the time to paint as I don't do sitting down and resting for very long. Most people rest for so long they need jump starting...cos their batteries have gone flat. Don't be like those people.

This is also the time I re-evaluate my goals...what did I achieve, what didn't I achieve, why? why not? I decide which need keeping and therefore re-evaluating and working on, and I discard or file the rest. Many of my stalled projects relate to books I've started to write. I don't have the head space to write fiction as much as I would like, and case in point - as I was going through one set of files, found a complete manuscript - it is now a couple of years since I last looked at it, so I shall read, edit and consider sending it off to a publisher for a professional opinion.

And you know I am going to give you some homework don't you :-)

It is time to re-evaluate your goals and your plans for the next phase of your life.

For those of you who are working on the 100 day goal achievement challenge will be pleased to know that today I achieved one of my goals a month early...yes I have dropped one dress size....and to "celebrate" I bought a new dress - and for those who know me well, will be shocked to hear it's blue with peacock feathers on it... I could only achieve that particular goal by the steady, day-to-day progress of exercising regularly and eating sensibly. It's also given me an extra incentive to keep going and to see if I can't drop at least another half size by the end of the year. And yes, realistically that is possible, if you want something badly enough and you are willing to work on your "goal" day after day after day you can achieve many things.

During these tougher economic times, you see people almost giving up - well nothing has worked for me so far, I might as well....

You might as well have another go, pick up the phone, write a sales letter, try something different, try something new. Change tactics, change plans, change anything, just don't stop now. The people who get there don't see a setback as a setback, merely a chance to re-evaluate their strategies.

So, get out the challenge, or download a copy - http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-goal-achievement/ you still have a month or so left to the end of the year - what can you do in a month. That is the beauty - once you decide to do something, anything is possible. For the new readers - you may not know, but the challenge book was completed in 3 days....from inception to completion - yes they were 3 very long days, but the challengers have achieved some amazing results. Re-evaluate your goals and the tasks you need to complete in order to make some inroads into completing them. Or you could get to this point next year and say - but where did the last 12 months go - what have I achieved during that time? Well if you write it down and follow your plan, you will know exactly what you have achieved won't you.

With many thoughts
Elle

Here's a thought for today.

If you were to ask someone, or a group of persons who had recently "passed on" if they were happy with what they had achieved whilst they were on Earth - what answers do you think you would get?How many would be happy with what they had achieved or the legacy they had left behind?

If you think about your own goal list - does it inspire you to even want to talk about it - should you be asked when you get "to the otherside"? Consider this, The Ancient Egyptians had this interesting test - they were taken to the hall of judgement to be questioned before a decision was made, would they be allowed to pass into the Egyptian heaven. Would you pass the test.

Now before you start going on about - well I'm not Egyptian therefore it doesn't matter - no-one is going to judge me. This is rhetorical - however, when you think about it, we are all judged, every single day - why then should our passing be any different?

So my question for you today - and you knew there would be questions about this topic

Imagine living your life in such a way so your dreams became a daily reality. You were able to travel and see the world, volunteer in both the local community & in remote areas and had a career that looked at ways you could improve the lives of people, had a great family and wonderful friends - would you be happy with your life?

Imagine what would happen, when you got back from one adventure, you were planning and organising the next. You would make sure you had the correct level of fitness and endurance to not only enjoy the process, but love every aspect of it. Would you consider your life to be the perfect balance? Would you ever dream of not being able to carry on forever?

I was honored to know CC - We shared a workplace, friendships, meals, drinks and dreams. I would receive her emails and read with fascination where she was and what she was doing, who she was helping, the places she had seen. CC lived her life and loved every single second of it. When I think about the person who embodies "Motivation" and goal achievement I think of her. Procrastination wasn't in her vocabulary and certainly never in her actions, she knew what she wanted to do and her family and her friends know that she had done more in her few short years than most people would manage in several lifetimes.

Yesterday we spoke about having conversations with the dearly departed, not knowing at the time what was happening in Spain. I feel the only regret CC would have had, would be that she didn't have time to do even more, and knowing her, she probably had several more plans in place for the remainder of 2010 and beyond.

I know I have said it often, but this is personal - a personal plea from me to you.

Don't waste a second, you really don't know how long you have.
Don't waste your talents, others may need them more than you know

And as CC's mum said this morning

"She was doing what she loved with her friends. She would not want us to be sad, enjoy your life, love your friends and family."

With love and light

Plans are important for many reasons, not least of which you can decide what you should not be doing as well as what you should.

A plan allows for flexibility though, it should not be set in concrete and cannot be changed. That would be like saying “I have a plan to make an extra $10,000 this year” and someone coming up to you with a brilliant suggestion and you turning around and saying – no – I have my plan and I’m going to stick to it.

Why would you want to stick to that plan when this new option will give you 10 times or a hundred times that?

Which is interesting when you think about it because most people live their lives in much the same way.

So when setting your plans and goals – always leave room in your plan for improvements, changes and setbacks, they’re all part of the cycle of growth and change.

How do you set plans and goals? Assuming you have downloaded and read our report on SMART goal setting then you should be well on your way. However, for those of you who haven’t read it, or need a bit of extra help and guidance – let me put it this way

Decide where you want to be in 1 years time, then break that down into 52 weekly plans and break those 52 weekly plans into daily tasks. If you already use some form of calendar or diary system then you will see if your 1 year plan is anywhere near target or are you going to change either your expectations, timeframe or change what you have planned / already scheduled, to accommodate the new items.

These daily task lists of course can keep you on track like nothing else can (apart from the 100 day challenge of course) – as long as you follow them and use them properly. Any program can work as long as you work your plan.

It is essential to think about what you want to do, figure out how long, the cost, the time it will take, the outcome, and of course what you are going to need to do in order to achieve your goal. But there are 2 sides to preparation:

All preparation precedes action but too much preparation prevents it....

Are you guilty of spending all your time "preparing" to do, but never get around to starting? Is it because you think you don't know enough to begin, you just need to do a bit more research and then you will start ....

You can over cook an idea you know and you do that by not begining where you are right now. Jack Canfield perhaps said it best when he said that any goal is like driving a car through the night, you can only see a couple of hundred yards ahead, but you know the road will unfold as you go along. Most goals are like that road journey - so begin, enjoy the detours (if you take them) but don't let preparation ruin a good idea.

If you do begin now - don't worry whether you have got it all right, because take any car journey - if you are the driver, you will need to make adjustments as you travel- you will change gears, you will get stuck in roadblocks and snarl ups and you will find yourself driving down one way streets - usually the wrong way - but you know what - you can always turn back, you can correct as you go along, you can change course completely - and yes you can enjoy every single detour along the way because you do know the ultimate destination.

So don't get stuck in endless preparation - too much preparation prevents action.

By now you will have realised we are well into December, which means you are just 25 days away from the end of the year (well tomorrow is). For those who have been on the 100 day goal achievement challenge that means you have completed 75% of it. So a couple of questions for you:

- Are the goals you set for yourself 75% complete?
- Have you achieved more than 75% of your set goals? If so congratulations, BUT now is the time to set in place the next 25 days and then the following 100 days so you can begin 2010 ahead of everyone else.

You see, most people are thinking about Christmas - food, parties, more food, alcohol, more parties and the occassional turkey dinner. Something has to give and it's usually your waistline. Most people have trouble burning off their current food intake let alone burning off the extra and the excess we find ourselves consuming during "the festive season". Please believe me when I say if you stop exercising for more than a couple of days you will struggle to start again - so don't stop. If you are like most people the last 2 weeks of December, especially if you are in the northern hemisphere (because it's cold) is a good excuse to have a holiday from working out - and speaking from experience, that is the worst thing you can do. One week off turns to 2 which turns to a month and sooner rather than later you are back to where you started, except fatter and unfitter than you were before.

And that premise goes for every goal you have on your list. If you don't find time to work on your goal(s) today - when are you? Don't fall prey to the - I'll do that tomorrow / when i have more time kind of thinking - when you are planning your next month make sure you make time and plan time for your goals. Which is why these last 25 days are arguably the most important - because if you can get through these 25 days and still be working towards your better future, then you are well ahead of nearly everyone else. Remember, now is not the time to quit, now is the time to give yourself another kick up the backside and say, you know what I can and will achieve more between now and the end of the year.

If you would like to become more successful it would make sense to know what habits "successful" people have and incorporate their habits into your way of life. In doing so you will soon find there is less room for the bad habits we don't think we have.

Habits of successful people include the following:

Instead of looking at successful business models, look at the habits of the people who created them.

So - today there is going to be a lot of homework.

I need you to analyze your patterns of behavior, it will take a little bit of doing, but is essential. You need to determine where you are now and how much change you need to make - AND then be willing to make those changes as a result of the analysis.

Starting with the time you woke up yesterday I need you to write down (as much as you can remember) what you did and how long it took you - and include everything until you went to bed. You can use the time log as a starting point.

Now looking at the habits of successful people - how many of your daily activities fell into those 12 categories?

How much time did you waste?

We have spoken about to-don't lists before and it is worth repeating here. Your to-don't list is far more important than your task / to-do list especially in the beginning when you are setting up new habits for your successful future.

"There is an old proverb which says that “habit is second nature,” but an artificial habit is stronger than nature. Take for instance, an old tobacco-chewer; his love for the “quid” is stronger than his love for any particular kind of food. He can give up roast beef easier than give up the weed."
P T Barnum

I speak a lot about habits. In fact it could argued that I have a habit - and it goes like this - I nag.

* I nag you about doing stuff
* I nag you about thinking about things in a different way
* I nag you every time I send you an email - have you done this, have you done that - I sometimes feel like I am your mother and you're the kid who hasn't done his / her homework.

I don't want to nag you, but re-reading some of the posts I send you, I feel that is exactly what I am doing. It is a habit I have gotten into. I forget that I should be inspiring you, not nagging you. I should be motivating you when I can feel the eyes rolling - "G_d she's at it again."

But is it a habit I am going to remove from my life?

Well - to be honest I'm not sure I want to get rid of this particular habit.

But how do you know if you have a habit - bad or otherwise?

Well a habit is something you do repeatedly and with little or no thought attached to the process.

    * The person who goes to the pub every day after work for a beer
    * The person who lights a cigarette when they walk out of the office building at the end of the day on the way to the car
    * Brushing your teeth
    * Watching a certain program every day
    * Buying a cup of coffee on the way to work every morning
    * Getting up early and going for a run
    * Walking the dog twice a day
    * Making dinner
    * Biting your nails, sucking the end of your pen, chewing the inside of your lip when you are concentrating.

They are all habits. Only "we" can decide if they are habits we are happy to keep or not.

From experience, habits cannot be broken easily - if we do something sub-consciously - it means we have managed to form patterns in our minds, and if we stray from those patterns - the nagging feeling that something isn't quite right forces us back to whatever it was we didn't want to do.

So how do you get rid of habits?

The only way I know of getting rid of any kind of habit is by replacing it with something else. Then repeating those behaviours until they become something we don't have to think about. As in we create a new habit whilst getting rid of a bad one.

Say for instance you have a habit of lighting up a cigarette when you get home from work, and whilst you are relaxing you have a glass of wine.

Now, you decide that you want to stop smoking. Unfortunately your "habit" of having a glass of wine at the same time gets in the way - if you have the wine, your mind says - but what about the cigarette? We "crave" whatever it is we say we don't want. So in this particular case we have to give up both the cigarette and the wine trigger and do something completely different.

Of course what you replace a bad habit (something you no longer want) with a good habit (something you do want) is up to you and as individual as everyone reading this. What may work for one person may not work for another. In the case of the cigarette smoking wine drinker above (and it is a real person - the story was told to me a while back) her and her partner - yes they both had the habit, decided they would walk and talk instead of sit and talk about their days. Well. I don't know anyone who can walk and carry a glass of wine without spilling it, and if you are walking at a reasonable pace, you will have trouble smoking too....eventually they managed to reduce their habit and create another one.

Did it work? As far as I know it did. But that is not the point - the point is - you need to make a conscious decision to break a sub-conscious action.

And yes there is homework attached to this one boys and girls....get out your notebooks

Write down all the things you do - every day
Take today as a good example of a typical day - what did you do - and it is important to get into the details here.

Now take a good look at every single action, and ask - is that a habit I want to keep / need to keep (getting up, getting ready for and going to work etc etc), have tried to get rid of in the past?

For those items you don't want to keep - what can you do to replace it. Bear in mind your mind will find all sorts of ways it can and will play tricks on you.

It's time to make a conscious decision about all your actions and then you can see how much you can change your life.

Clarity of thought and action comes from clearing the clutter and we do that by taking action on what is causing the block.

Clutter allows us to hide, and whilst we are hiding from our problem (cluttered thinking) we cannot move forwards.

- What have you failed to act upon recently?
- What are you hiding behind?
- What are you hiding from?
- What are you afraid of?

When we are surrounded by our clutter we feel safe, we don't have to deal with the problems - because we can't really see what they are.

And our physical words are the manifestation of this process.

You may say you don't have the time to "clean" - fine get someone else to "clean" for you - but it doesn't stop you making the messes. However, there is one task that you cannot delegate entirely - and that is cleaning your mind of the thoughts that are holding you back. You may of course ask for help - from a friend with a willing ear to listen to your problems, a therapist or counsellor - it's OK to talk things through - but unless you take the steps you know you need to take - you may as well not have bothered.

Say for instance you are struggling under a mountain of debt. You make an appointment with your financial advisor and he / she makes some suggestions as to how to solve this particular issue / problem. Fine, now you have some solutions - but unless you follow through with the action and deal with it, you've just wasted your time and paid for a service that has given you no tangible benefit AND you still have your mountain of debt.

- What problems are you hiding behind?
- What have you spoken about dealing with but never followed through with the actions?
- What are you continuing to do that you know will only make the problem bigger?

Here's to many solved problems

Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Your Mind - Homework and Assignment Planner
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Part of my cleaning spree included my computer, it's not completely finished and who knows what additional goodies I will find, but I did find something I thought I would share with you.

If you are struggling with keeping track of assignments and homework - if you are forever forgetting what assignments are due and when - then you may find this planner useful.

Fr*e for you to download

It's hard to get excited about the sale you didn't make, the commission you didn't get, the holiday you were going to take but didn't, the house you were going to buy, the car you nearly got.

But talking to a lot of people - that's exactly how they live their lives...talking about things they don't have or things they didn't quite manage to do.

Then you get the second half of the equation

It was because of so and so

Really?

I don't think so

Playing the blame game is an interesting way to live your life. You blame other people for the actions you take (or rather the in-action you take). It's all right for you / them - "you / they" have all the luck.

What these people don't see of course is the hard work, the dedication, the perseverance, the minor successes. Each "minor" point adding up over a period of time towards what other people call "luck".

The "lucky ones" are the kind of people who pick up the telephone to make one last sales call of the day - they've already met their daily quota, but they're making just one more so they can get ahead on tomorrow and maybe make the big sale in the process. Whereas the person who thinks these people have all the luck are already pulling on their coats and grabbing bags so they can miss the traffic.

Have you been guilty of thinking you'll leave now so you can "miss the traffic?" Then don't blame others if they have "all the luck".

You know the kind of person I am talking about, the one who wants to engage in a conversation with you - just because he/she doesn't have anything to do, or is trying to avoid doing. They are just procrastinating and want to help you procrastinate too.

If you have this problem at work:

Noisy offices: Whilst we are on the subject of noisy offices - and you need to get work done, consider plugging into your mp3 player, or use the computer speakers - sometimes it doesn't take much to drown out the noise. If all else fails - clear it with the boss to arrive early or leave late - then work before people arrive or after they've gone.

Dealing with ourselves: Perhaps the biggest energy vampires are ourselves. We can be guilty of being the person who's chatting to avoid getting things done. Be conscious of what you are doing - and stop it. If you find yourself telling the same thing to a dozen people during the course of a day - you are being the procrastinating energy vampire. Check the amount of work you have managed to complete on these days - you'll not be surprised when you find the answer is "not much". Other things to consider:

    * Don't take on more work than you can handle.
    * Don't take on other people's work to get out of doing your own
    * Learn to say no to people who "want to catch up" for no other reason than they do

Emails: If you need to get something done, don't open your email and don't open the Internet. Pretend they don't exist and start the task / item that needs to be done. When you do open your email I can guarantee you will read a lot less than if you had had the darn thing open all day.

Make a conscious decision about how you use your time and try to limit the associations with the energy vampires and you WILL get more done and feel far less drained as a result.

We think it can't be "THAT" easy, we think overcoming the procrastination habit has to be hard, else why are we having the problem in the first place. But what if I were to tell you it can sometimes be easy to overcome the procrastination habit if you do a few things on a regular basis - would you believe me? Or would you read what am I about to tell you and say - but I know ALL THAT - you're not telling me something I don't know.

You see the people who seem to have all the luck and those who always seem motivated to do things, really do some if not all of the following on a regular basis. They are easy to do, they are also easy NOT to do. You've heard the phrase - an apple a day keeps the doctor away - well what if that were true? It's easy to eat an apple a day, it's also easy to forget to eat an apple a day - we dismiss it as being too simple.

Well as I say, it can be simple - the biggest problems we tend to have is getting our minds to believe it. So my suggestions to overcome / end / cure procrastination are as follows. Try one suggestion, try all of them - remember, some may work well for you and some may not. But don't throw this list away thinking it's useless and nothing new ... after all one day you may thank me for it.

Overcome the procrastination habit by:

And finally for today - although I will give you some more ways to overcome the procrastination habit tomorrow

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

Today's message really does go down as perhaps "pointing out the blindingly obvious" but sometimes it's good to take a look at what you are doing, and why you are doing it.

Email is a great tool - unfortunately we are bombarded with so much stuff it can seem like a never ending flood of information and demands on our time. So a suggestion for you. If you receive emails which you never open, but file or delete them straight away then consider:

Blocking the sender (if it is rubbish). Once you have begun to train your email program - you won't need to open and read the entire contents of your s*am folder.
Filtering the sender to a separate folder - I do this for several people who only send me jokes and funnies and people who seem to think their "problems" are mine. I read these a) when I have time and for the latter b) when I have sufficient energy to deal with it.
Move the unread items to a separate folder (I do this for newsletters I receive - and want to give the contents the attention they deserve - but don't need urgent action).
Unsubscribing from whatever it is you are not reading. If you have consistently deleted the item without ever opening it - then why are you still cluttering your inbox with this stuff? Unsubscribe for goodness sake and free up your inbox.

It takes a few minutes to set up the filters and deciding what needs keeping and what you can do without, but it can and does save hours of wasted time and keeps your inbox free for the important stuff....like the daily dose :-).

But just as importantly, you don't get distracted by things and people you don't need to deal with - today. Which means you can focus on what you do need to do.

"Progress is like a wheelbarrow if you don't keep pushing it, it stops"
WGP

Carrying on with our suggestions on ways to overcome the procrastination habit - because some of these will resonate with you, and when they do I need you to put the suggestion into action. In doing that one single action you can create the momentum to move forwards and begin the catalyst for change.

We can all be guilty of saying things like "I'll do that tomorrow" it is a classic way to procrastinate over a task you don't really want to do and hope will disappear overnight. You may justify your stance by saying things like, I'm too tired now and will be able to think better in the morning, but in reality we know that isn't the case at all. So if you want to a) overcome that particular procrastination habit b) sleep better tonight and c) have a clean slate for the morning you need to stop borrowing time from tomorrow and deal with that particular blockage.

Other ways to overcome the procrastination habit are:

--
Regards

elle
[email protected]
http://www.motivateme.info
P O Box 789, Mt Lawley, WA 6929
Tel - Mobile:+61 419049237

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

As 2009 draws to a close I would like to offer you a thought for today

"Everybody has limits. You just have to learn what your own limits are and deal with them accordingly"
Nolan Ryan

Now for some it may mean accepting those limits, after all we have been told by so many people why we can't do something we have begun to believe it must be true.
And for others, there are no limits. Everything is an adventure, something to explore, test, learn and enjoy.

What kind of person are you?

Do you accept that you have your lot in life and that is what you are going to deal with - come hell or high water, never straying beyond the boundaries of what "normal" society has deemed is your place in life? Or
Are you willing to accept that maybe there is a bigger, better, brighter world out there just waiting for you to discover it?

Believe me it's not that scary a place in the world of new things.

I'm sure there are a few of you thinking about writing the same tired set of new year's resolutions - well for once I would like you to do something radical. Don't take a step outside of your comfort zone - take a giant, flying leap - pick something you have always wanted to do - and give it a go. Believe me when I say - once you decide you are going to do something, the ways and the means do come.

Then once you have figured out what it is - start work on it straight away - that's right - now, right in the middle of the run up to christmas - or do you enjoy spending too much time sitting on your butt, watching tv and eating too much?

For some people - that flying leap might be to hold a dinner party at their home. For others it may mean climbing that mountain, or trekking in Nepal. Pick something you have always wanted to do and plan it, work out the details, work out what it would take......and yes you guessed it, that is what goal setting is all about - living the details so they are so real you cannot help but complete them.

Don't waste the end of the year - plan the next and glorious part of your life, believe me when I say - it's a good thing to have something to look forward to when the snow turns to mush and you're bored (or your brain is melting from the heat of the summer sun down under).

So, remember the old but true cliche - the only limits you have are the ones sitting right between your ears.

We speak thousands of words to ourselves every single day, and in the main they are not very complementary. We tell ourselves we're useless, we can't do things, what were we thinking etc etc etc. Our sub-conscious mind can and does play a huge part in what we achieve, and it can be difficult to "over-write" but it can done, if you want to. How? Well, as we have said in previous editions of the daily dose of motivational medicine, and ways to overcome the procrastination habit in particular. If you believe you can, you will speak words that "affirm" what you know to be true. You believe in yourself and your abilities and not much can get in the way. So the trick really is to create a goal list that inspires you, goals that you believe in, and goals that you work on.

And finally for today I would like to give you something that has always stuck with me. Jim Rohn asked 4 simple questions:
1. Why
2. Why not
3. Why not you
4. Why not now

When you take those 4 points as part of your philosophy for living a positive life, you will achieve many amazing things and you can kick the procrastinationj habit to touch

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

A message to all my readers of the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine (http://www.motivateme.info/daily-dose/ I am experiencing a major bluescreen headache with my computer - the one where my Group Mail send program resides (lessons to be learned me thinks) and won't be able to send the Daily Dose for a couple of days.... Do I download another copy onto my Netbook or see if the laptop can be saved? I'll let you know.

Of course, those of you who receive this via RSS feed, well you're the lucky ones, because I can post these messages from anywhere and at any time (within reason - as I do need to sleep occasionally :-) )

The Daily Dose for Wednesday 5th March 2010 - Don't settle for average

Average is not you, you have your own story of life to write and you need to find your creative voice and to speak it. It may be through the written or spoken word, it may be through activism or politics, it may be through teaching - or whatever else is your forte. Your creativity is who YOU are.

And when you do start to live your life - properly, doors will open, doors you had glimpsed but didn't know you could get through. Just like Alice, sometimes you have to trust your judgement and take the odd risk to get through the doors so you can live to your full potential.

Without firm foundations your building will be on shaky ground and will eventually come crashing down around your ears.

Most dreams and goals fail because of the lack of these firm foundations. Firm foundations begin with the vision. In the case of building, you need to know what you want the building to look like - before you start dumping bricks in a haphazard fashion and hope they turn into something that resembles your idea. If you "think" you know what you want, your bricks will not be laid properly and I can guarantee your "dream" will never become a reality. And you know i'm right, yet every time we begin a new project - we don't stop to build a firm foundation. We don't stop and think what the finished aspect will look like, feel like, smell like. We have this vague, wishy washy notion that we'll work it out as we go along. No we won't, we know we won't, yet we think that this time we'll get it right. Yet we have failed to lay the foundations....again.

Take any of your stalled projects and go back to the beginning. Spend time today taking your project apart, what should it look like when it's finished? What will you have to do / change for that to happen? If you can't see it in its finished state, you will never complete it. And if that is the case, then you should stick it in the back of the drawer or better still in the garbage, because you're just kidding yourself and wasting your time. And we don't want to waste time, life's too short for that - even if you think you have all the time in the world, you haven't so why waste your life on things that don't mean anything to you. Because, believe me when i say this - if your projects mean something to you, you will see it in all its technicolor detail and nothing will stop you from achieving many great things.

The beauty of being open minded to change and the knowledge that anything is possible, is this

There are no wrong answers

If you think about it, a "wrong" answer is just another way for you to re-evaluate what you said you wanted, where you said you wanted to go and how long it's going to take you to get there.

The road trip springs to mind - you have your ultimate destination, so it doesn't matter how many times you take a wrong turn or detour, because you know where you want to go, so you will get there. Of course you may also like to get yourself a GPS, a map book or ask directions - which as we all know equates to - asking for help and advice from people who have already been there, done that and made the mistakes.

Of course we may not like the answers we are given, especially if it means we have to face up to a certain decision or two we don't want to have to make. But if all the answers we are given point in the same direction then ultimately if we want to succeed we are going to have to face up to the "wrong" answer being the right one.

If you are willing to throw away the blame list of why you can't do something because of so and so, or because you think someone "did" something to you, then you can overcome the procrastination habit.

What do we mean by the blame list?

Do you see what we mean - every time we "blame" something else for our inaction or our so called inability to do something, then we are giving in to procrastination.

You may turn around and say - no way, I am ALWAYS busy I just don't have time to ....

Really? ALWAYS?

Remember this one thing - you will ALWAYS find time to do what you want to do.

So next time you think about making an excuse as to why someone else is to blame for what you can or more importantly can't do, or when you blame circumstances for why you can't get on....remember, then consider taking a closer look at your goals - why don't they inspire you enough to work on them? Are they really your goals or did someone tell you it would be a good idea for you to ....

Believe me it's hard to get inspired by someone else's goals.

Are you ready to throw away the blame list?

There are so many ways to overcome the procrastination habit - it's exciting. No I am not being facetious, I think what motivates us to procrastinate can be harnessed to overcome the procrastination habit itself.

Did I just say motivate us to procrastinate?

Actually I just did - if you think about it, you do have to be motivated to not do things, you have to be motivated to think up the reasons and excuses as to why you can't do something, and you have to be motivated to do whatever it is you have chosen to do instead of what you were supposed to be doing.

Interesting isn't it.

I bet you hadn't thought of it in those terms before.

Most of us use structured procrastination as a way to get around the procrastination habit. As in, we have this massive to-do list and the items at number 1 or 2 are those things we know we need to do... so what do we do - the items sitting further down the list of couse. Not because they excite or motivate us more, it's just we can be bothered to do those items rather than the ones we have been putting off doing. Human nature is fascinating don't you think - and the reason I say that - well tomorrow, other things will take the place of items 1 and 2, so what do we do? The new items sitting at no 1 and 2? probably not. So what do we do instead? Well - those things that were at number 1 and 2 yesterday. Now to be fair I didn't say it had to make sense, rather I feel it's our way of trying to control the situations we find ourselves in. We tell the powers that be, we would love to do the new items, but because of their unrealistic work loads - we haven't done yesterdays' yet....whether that's true or not, is not for me to say - but I'm sure you can relate.

So why?

Well as I mentioned, control is part of it - we try and make sense of what needs to be done, what we can get away with doing or not doing and we do what we feel most comfortable with at the time. With me so far? I hope so, because the next bit becomes interesting.

What if you were to do the items sitting at your no1 spot - today, right now? How would it make you feel? Would you feel empowered to think you had achieved the task? Or would you feel that if you had achieved the task item "they" would think it was easy and you could handle more work?

You see an honest appraisal of those few questions will answer why you procrastinate one day and not the next.... well I think so at any rate ...

So - an honest appraisal time. Why do you procrastinate over tasks today, yet tomorrow you know you won't have a problem with doing them?

And I don't want you to use the

Well - I will have more time tomorrow, I'm tired now, I've got too much to do .... reasons we see all the time.

You don't need to be honest with me, just with yourself - why are you motivated to procrastinate so much?

When it comes to overcoming the procrastination habit and finding ways to motivate yourself to achieve your goals, you might be interested to know you always have spare time to use. You see it's usually not time we're lacking when it comes down to it, but our emotional state of mind at any given time.

Weekends are a great way to waste time on things that don't matter, yet these 2 days and 3 evenings (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) are a great way of moving projects forward in huge leaps and bounds. I can hear the screams of indignation from here -

- But I've got to go out with my mates - do you? at the expense of not just money, but time as well?
- I've got to have some down time? - really? ALL weekend?

Life is balance I know and only you can decide if yours is in balance or not. But by taking a critical look at what you do during your "leisure" time you can perhaps see ways to harness a couple of hours extra a week to work on your goals. Bear in mind it doesn't have to be consecutive either - you can move projects forward in 5 minute slots if that's all the time you have.

Do you play the "what if" game?

Most people I've come into contact with over the years do this for items / times in the past - they churn over and over the various scenarios, of "what if" they had done so and so. Unfortunately playing the what if game in the past isn't really helpful. Most of us fail to learn the lessons and we keep on repeating the same patterns of behaviour, so really the "what if" game when played like that is worthless.

But you can harness the "what if" game for huge benefits.

It goes something like this

Say you are a normally shy and retiring person and you struggled to make anyone take you seriously because you were not able to articulate what you wanted to say - for example, job interviews, sales calls, letters you want to write but daren't, phone calls you need to make - but won't.

The first part of the "what if" game involves you looking around for someone who has the skills and abilities you require for this particular instance. Your current boss for instance, a sibling, a parent, someone you work with. Now - observe. What do they do? How do they handle it?

Now the interesting part of the "what if" game - what if you could harness those same skills, what if you could pretend to be that particular person - do you think you could handle the situation a little better than if you were being the normal "you"?

But the "what if" game doesn't stop there.

The problem is, we don't believe it. But it is true - the real problem is not having the right goals to inspire you enough to work on them. You may not associate yet with the right people, you may not yet read the books that will inspire you, you may not have challenged yourself recently.

So - a second part to the "what if" game is something I have asked you to do before and that is the "I want" list

If you write down those things you say you "want" every day, not only will you see patterns of goals emerging, you will also see barriers appearing

Sometimes the conflict of those two wants will stop you pursuing a business venture that can give you both...eventually.

So - my tasks for you today

From today I want you to write your want list
Every day
Then take each want item and ask:

Your want list can focus your attention on what is important to you like nothing else can.

Or you could ask - What if this is a load of bunkum - well then you'll never know if I'm right or not, and you will probably struggle to move forwards.

Let me know....

Whatever you are currently doing - is it moving you towards your goals or not?

We can be fooled into thinking that what we are doing is ok, but if we get to the end of another year in almost exactly the same situation as we were at the end of last year I would have to say the answer would be no.

So, time to be honest with yourself.

I see it all the time especially at the gym, and I can be guilty of this to a certain extent. But, there are 2 ladies who go to the same gym I've been using, they pay additional money for personal training sessions - and a year later they don't look any different. The how and the why are interesting though. One is always whingeing, the exercises completed half heartedly and it does make me wonder why they continue doing the same things when what they are doing obviously isn't working. It could be argued that at least they are doing something and I would have to agree, it also depends on their particular goals, but most people I know who are unfit and overweight "go the gym" to lose weight - first and foremost, lose size secondly and get fit - whatever that means - the third.

Today I started working with a different trainer with another fitness company (Efit121 - http://www.efit121.com.au) - what I had been doing wasn't working for me, and today I found out one of the reasons why.

I only had half the picture, I thought I knew what I was doing - nope - not even close.

My trainer Hilary is working on herself to get down to the right body fat composition for a body sculpting competition. My trainer is 55 (has won her category 3 times already) and has 3 stress fractures of the left foot and can't work out as she would normally do. So how has she managed to get so toned? Believe it or not through diet. According to Hilary 80% is diet, the rest is proper training.....not the other way round. And in reviewing my "diet" Hilary was quickly able to point out several major flaws - one of which my partner has said all along (sorry Mike) I need to eat more protein, but I also need to eat more foods at different times of the day to make it all fit together.

It's interesting because over the course of the next 12 weeks I am putting my body to the test - and this time, with Hilary's help will be using a proper diet to do the bulk of the work.

You see, we can all get faked out into thinking that we are doing is OK. Sometimes you do have to be honest with yourself and admit that it's not. And if it's not, then find the right kind of help to get you to the next level.

I'll keep you posted.

Every day you decide to work on your dreams and goals you are starting from a brand new baseline. That baseline is now - today. What you did yesterday was a good starting point, your foundation stone for where you begin today's process.

But it is what you do today that makes the biggest difference.

We can all get faked out and sit back and say, yesterday was great, I did really well yesterday.

Let me put it this way - Yesterday and all the previous baseline yesterday's mean little if you don't build on that starting point - today.

When it comes to overcoming the procrastination habit, yesterday was good but it's gone, finished, over. Tomorrow doesn't count - all that counts is what you do TODAY.

Ask yourself:
- What was so great about yesterday?
- What can you do to better yesterday?
- What can you do today so you have a much better baseline tomorrow?

Here's to today's strong foundations

Children are always learning. They want to know how things work, they want to know why things work and they are always asking questions.

When you think you have answered every question, there is always one more - WHY?

Children have a huge capacity for learning, which is probably a good thing given they have to learn everything from scratch - we're lucky, we know everything there is to know about life - well we do don't we?

Actually we just think we do.

Are you a business owner? Well if you had to set your business up again from scratch - what would you do differently? Every business can benefit from looking at it from a different perspective. Don't just ask - what is working / what isn't working. But how would I do this better next time? And please don't tell me your business is perfect and doesn't need reinventing. Just do me a favour, and don't start with what you know and re-create it. But ask yourself some questions - what would happen if ....

*What would happen if we were in a different location
*A different size premise
*Can we work from home?
*Can mobile technology make my job easier?
*Can we do without a dozen email accounts?
*What lines would I not touch with a barge-pole if I had the chance to do it all again?

Given that you are older and supposedly smarter than you were when you did set up your business - you should have some interesting answers to those kinds of questions.

I know some of you won't have businesses to run, but there will be some things you do on a regular basis - and the same sorts of questions apply to you.

* What could you do differently to make your life / lives easier / better / different?
* What would your ideal life be like? Take time to plan it

When you are willing to question whatever you do and ask - is what I am doing the best use of my time right now? Is this taking me towards or away from my goals / where I say I want to be?

Remember: Variety is the key to defeating boredom, and vitality the key to achievement. 2010 is the year to make sure you do live a vital life - it's time to question EVERYTHING.

====================================================================

What habits do you have? Write them down, acknowledge them - every one. Then ask yourself:

Can you replace a bad one with a good one?
Have you replaced one bad habit with another? The big one that comes to mind here is smoking. Have you given up smoking and gained weight? A lot of people do - they don't know what to do with their hands / mouths so they substitute cigarettes with food. Whilst I have never had to cope with the habit of smoking I have had to deal with weight loss and gain a number of times over the years - and as you know I am replacing my current bad habits (the ones that allowed me to gain weight with better ones that is allowing me to lose it again) (FYI - 1.8kilos this week)

Acknowledge every habit, only then can you decide:

In the case of talking ourselves out of doing those things we know we should do, these situations are our block points, these are de-railing our progress and with it our motivation. So next time you are faced with a deliberate attempt by yourself to not do something you know you should be doing - acknowledge it. Once you have acknowledged the fact you are deliberately procrastinating or not doing a task you can then talk yourself into doing it. This might sound strange, but once logic takes over the previous arguments don't usually stand the scrutiny. And if you do decide not to do something - at least you will have made a proper and conscious decision - and that's a good starting point to overcoming the procrastination habit.

Given that we have almost reached the end of week 2 of 2010 I have a couple of questions for you.

Your life is made up of minute decisions, day after day each tiny decision impacts on the next set of choices you are faced with.

You can choose to sit in front of the television drinking beer all night, or you can delay your "pleasure" for the longer term plans you have and other things you say you want to do.

What would happen if you chose to do your homework instead of sitting in front of the computer on facebook / myspace / second life all night? Would you get better marks? Would you be less stressed about
looming deadlines? Would you be forging your future career one assignment at a time?

What would happen if you decided to pursue your dream of being an artist rather than working 9-5 in a job you hate but were "forced" to take because it was the most sensible thing to do?

What would happen if you made those phone calls you've been putting off? Would you make the extra sales? Would you beat your first month quota? Or would you prefer to stand in the kitchen drinking coffee
talking to your fellow workers about how tough things are and how you "wish" people were buying. They might if you spoke to them you know.

What would happen if you spoke to your family - you know, the ones you haven't spoken to in a dozen years because of some slight or other you can't remember. Would you lose face by doing so or gain a whole new
relationship with people who loved you and you loved them - at one time?

What would happen if you decided to go for a walk when you got home from work rather than sitting down with a glass or three of wine? Would you be fitter, healthier? Would you be able to work through the
issues of the day? Would you sleep better as a result?

What would happen if you made the decision to read a chapter of a book each night? What would that do to your personal development, business, family life?

What would happen if you decided not to buy that cup of coffee on the way to work each morning - would you be able to save yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year?

What would happen - well only you can decide what will happen next.

All I can hope is that you choose to do something that for the next 7 days and beyond that will enhance your life rather than ultimately detract you from it.

With many thoughts....

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine
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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: 29th May 2010
* Blog post - Motivate Me to Lose Weight: Week 1 is all about setting patterns
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
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If you said yes to at least 2 out of the 4 - there is something I need to tell you.

Promoting your business through the social networks isn't merely an extension of the old sales techniques - give em enough blather and they will come and buy from you, although you would be forgiven for thinking that's why most people have websites. Social networking is about adding value to your "followers" - yes by all means tell them about the article you have just written and give them a link to your site - because that's where it should be located. But a direct sell? Only if you want to annoy the heck out of people - and have them unfollow you at a great rate of knots.

As for my final point - can you make lots of residual income from these channels? Well - yes and no.

Yes - if you provide enough reasons for people to buy from you (these are the benefits - of why, what's in it for me?!) The most common way to describe what a benefit is - is the hole in the wall. Millions of drill bits are sold around the world, people of course don't want a drill bit for the sake of having one - they want a drill bit for the benefit it gives them - the right size hole in their wall.

So - why ARE you in business - what makes your business different / better than anyone else's? Give them enough information and quality information at that - and yes, they might buy from you eventually (this is the conversion rate). In website and social networking terms, to get enough traffic to visit you, guess what? Yes you need a lot of good quality information that people are looking for - and you need to give people a reason to visit on a regular basis. If you cultivate enough credibility through your network you may get enough people to do business with you (and they may even buy from you) although not necessarily - what they might do is refer people to you - because you provide the right kind of information they need.

Something as always to think about in our online, socially interactive world.

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Blog post - Motivate Me to Lose Weight: Week 1 - Setting patterns
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Day 1 is always both the easiest and the hardest when it comes to changing your eating habits and deciding to get fit, lose weight and hope this time you are going to keep it off.

* Easy because you’ve made a decision
* Hard because you know how long it’s going to take and you hate feeling hungry all the time.

Read more - http://bit.ly/cQYcRw

And it is the same with any goal - for example:

What are you going to smell like once you have stopped smoking? What will your skin look like? How about your hair and clothes, will your teeth be whiter? Will your food taste better? What will you spend the money on - you know - the money you used to spend on cigarettes - what will you use it for?

What will your new business look like? Where is it going to be located? Are you on a road where there is a lot of foot traffic? Have you got a website built? Have you done your marketing and business plans? What will the floor covering be? What is on the walls? Do you have a pot plant on your desk?

What will life be like when you have finished school? What is your perfect job? What suit will you be wearing for the interview? Does your resume cover all the significant points of your life - did you captain a team? Did you have a part-time job? Do you have a long-term plan for your career? Are you going back to school to finish your degree / get your masters or doctorate? Do you need one or are you delaying the point where you stop being a student and become the entrepreneur you always said you wanted to be?

So - with all that in mind - what are you doing today?

It is important to know what you want your goal(s) to be / look like - when you get there. But it is ESSENTIAL to know that what you are doing today will actually get you to that first point - goals should never be - do once and finish - but a stepping stone to other things - so you have your first business venture - are going to be happy doing the same things every day - what about your plans to travel the world and read 100 books this year - are those items being planned and executed yet?

Don't lose yourself in thinking about the big picture or the end result because it is also important to enjoy the process. If you don't enjoy the journey of getting / reaching your goal you are less likely to succeed or enjoy the goal once you have reached it.

Today's daily dose of motivational medicine asks - If not you - then who?
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If it wasn't for people like you there would be no:

    * Breakthroughs in science and medicine
    * Amazing photographs taken or books written
    * New ways to teach the children
    * Reason for other amazing people to entertain you
    * Companies
    * Entrepreneurs

Or anything else done either come to think of it. Imagine if there had been no-one to grow crops or raise livestock, fishermen or boat builders. What would have happened if "they" had decided not to use their talents?

So why do I hear "I'm just a ......" which is usually accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders in embarrassment, a roll of the eyes and a change of subject

In my world there is no such thing as "I'm just a ..... "

You have been given unique talents, unfortunately most people

a) don't think they know what they are, or
b) ignore them - even if they do know what they are

So - what are you good at?

and

Are you sharing those talents yet?

Remember the caveat - there is no "well I'm just a ...." if that is what you are doing, and you are good at what you do - then - FANTASTIC - just remember one thing though, you might have more than one talent to share with the world and those people around you. Don't neglect ALL of who you are.

Today's daily dose: It's a marathon not a sprint
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There is one thing of which I am totally convinced....

There is no such thing as an "overnight success"

What we may see as "an overnight success" is in fact months if not years of dedicated work and practice to get to a point where someone notices you and what you are doing.

The author who has labored over a manuscript, been turned down by a dozen publishers and still they write, still they send out proposals - until one day - someone takes notice. J K Rowling and Stephen King are 2 examples of that kind of overnight success that took years.

The person who dreams of paying off their mortgage and diligently deposits money week after week to do so....

The person who thinks about setting up a website to promote their business....the business has been running for years, but because it can't be found until the website has been created....

The person who wants to create a new business, it may have taken months if not years of thought and preparation before the doors finally opened for business....

Google - yes THE search engine we know and love so much today started off as a research thesis for 2 doctoral students .... did you know it started off life as "Backrub"? doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it.... overnight success? I don't think so.

Every goal you have in front of you is likely to be a marathon not a sprint. Yes there will be spurts of inspiration and energy that will take you further than perhaps you had ever dreamed possible, but I do know that mostly it is a slog, not always a hard slog, but a slog nontheless. Getting up day after day to do something that will mean the goal is achieved.

And what do we hear - Oh they were lucky, they ....

Yes they created their own luck by working hard for it.

Are you willing to create your own luck?

can you imagine a life without books?

no?

Then ask a person who can't be bothered to read

When you consider that the worlds greatest thinkers have put their
thoughts, opinions and ideas into a format that we can access - isn't
it a shame that most people don't bother to read, to explore the
contents and to see how those thoughts, opinions and ideas can change
their lives. Well I think it is.

We have a chance to have a few hours of intimate discourse with people
we would never have met otherwise. How lucky are we?

You could argue that you don't have the time to read all there is to
read - and you know what you are absolutely right - There are e-books,
free books, printed books, articles and websites - which is why you
have to be discriminating about what you read - because there is a lot
of "rubbish" out there. Which is why you should also try to safeguard
every precious moment you have that you could consider "spare" and put
it to better / other uses.

1. Of all the books you have read - which would you consider to have made
the biggest impact on your life?

2. What was the last book you read - why did you choose it?

3. What is the next book on your list of MUST read books? Why that book
and not one of the others?

4. What book would you recommend to someone who is struggling -
financially, emotionally, spiritually?

5. Do you give books as gifts?

You don't have to answer these questions of course, but perhaps you should take the time to do so, if you want to be a serious student of life and living.

- Think and grow rich - Napoloen Hill
- The Go Giver - Bob Burg and John David Mann
- The Angel Inside - Chris Widener
- 12 pillars - Jim Rohn and Chris Widener
- The Law of Attraction - Esther and Jerry Hicks

Jim Rohn once said that "all leaders are readers" and without exception every leader I have known and met do exactly that - but they are discerning about what they read. After all, like I said there is a lot of "rubbish" out there.

People often talk about putting things into the too hard basket, rarely do you hear of anyone who dives into it, fishes out one of the things they know needs doing - and completes the task.

Believe it or not, we've all got a too hard basket. We use this phrase to denote anything and everything we don't know how to deal with at a particular moment in time - or more appropriately - don't want to deal with. Whilst there are some people who are quite happy to stuff theirs until it's overflowing and never move beyond the fact they can't be bothered most of the time, we are not talking about those kinds of people.

To my way of thinking, the too hard basket is just another way to describe "structured procrastination". We know what needs doing and we know what we should be doing, we just decide some things are a little too hard today so we will deliberately do other things. Tomorrow of course, we may quite easily complete today's delayed task - not because it's any easier, but because there are other things we don't want to have to deal with. In other words we swap what's in the too hard basket.

The trick is of course knowing you are doing it.

Today I would like you to find your too hard basket - or if you have more than one, I need you to find them all. Get yourself a nice space where you can spread everything out and grab a notebook and pen, or computer task list, or diary - or whatever I don't care. What I do care about though is this. I need you to be honest with what you are putting off. Write down every task, every goal you started but didn't complete, everything - then you need to work out why. If you do have a visual - as in you have a filing tray filled with things you have not worked through - bills you haven't paid, letters you haven't written etc, then start with the oldest and sort it out. Once you have done that I need you to take a walk around your home and your place of work - again make a note of everything you need to do and haven't dealt with. It may be the leaky sink or the button that fell off your jacket. It may be a project that got stalled because one of the team members was away or had other priorities at the time. Re-visit them all.

And we won't stop there.

Your personal goals also need to be looked at - why are they in your too hard basket?

Work out what you need to do to move things on, it may be a meeting, or a telephone call. It may mean re-allocating money or discarding something that will never work but thought it was a good idea at the time.

What's in your too hard basket?

How many times have you heard the stories of people who have been given weeks, months or if they're lucky a couple of years to live, and then decide to live what's left of their lives in an exciting way?

Well there is a movie that portrays this called "The bucket list" - the premise - take 2 men hospitalized with cancer, who decide to do everything they ever dreamed of - before they "kick the bucket".

I've never heard of the movie before today, but I have spoken to you about something similar - your "do before you die list" - many times.

The beauty is of course, we don't have to wait until we have been given a death sentence before we decide to do everything we ever said we wanted to do - although as you can well imagine these things do take on a bigger degree of urgency if you have.

So how do you create your bucket list (the do before you die list) - and more importantly - how do you create the sense of urgency that you would get if you had been given that kind of news?

First of all, you need to stop and really think about it. This is not a five-minute process whereby you write down a list of things you would sort of like to have /do/ be or achieve at some point - but an in-depth process that looks at everything. So with that in mind I do need you to set aside some time - now would be good and decide:

    * If you only had 1 week left to live - what would you do?
    * Expand that - what if you had been told you had 2 weeks or a month at the most - what would you do?
    * Try working it out for 2, 3 or 6 months
    * Then and only then add the ones you can achieve if you have 12 months to do them all.

In creating this kind of list you create your own sense of urgency:

    * Need to make amends with a member of family or an old friend you wished you had never fallen out with?
    * Need to get your finances in order?
    * Need to stop thinking about yourself for 5 minutes and think about how your family will cope when you've gone?
    * Need to spend time with your kids before they don't want to spend time with you? How about your spouse?
    * Have you waited to tell someone you love them and isn't it time you got married?
    * Have you ever wanted to chuck your job in and never felt brave enough before now?

These thought processes are those goals everyone keeps talking about - when you think about it, the bucket list is a goal with a "DEAD Line"

And isn't that just one very good reason to stop procrastinating and a) start writing your list and b) start achieving them.

So - before you dismiss this as just another goal setting exercise, you've missed the point - because what will you remember when you are unable to get out and about and do all those things on your list. Will you lie there remembering all those amazing things you did manage to achieve, or will you wonder if work will miss you?

Today's motivational tip will contradict what I am about to say - but I do believe it is true in a lot of cases. Where it doesn't hold any kind of sway is with what is about to happen in South Africa, and similarly with every major sporting event around the world. Near enough is never good enough in the sporting world.

In the sporting world there are winners and there are those who tried but didn't quite get there. The reasons as we know are many:

The "winning" team / person / country - played better, they may have wanted it more, their belief in themselves may have been stronger, they knobbled the ref! (kidding). Their preparation may have been better, they may have slept better the night before, the other team (etc) was struck down by flu, they had bad news from home, they didn't know / like the pitch or conditions.

Whilst some of these may sound like sour grapes or excuses - what is even more interesting to me is not the fact that there is yet another sporting tournament on which I won't watch, but the fact that so many people will give up huge swathes of their lives to do so. Given the time zone of where this particular tournament is being held, there will be a lot of very tired and probably hung-over people over the next couple of weeks.

I have just 2 questions to leave you with:

Why are so many people so motivated to watch other people living their dreams?

AND -

Why can't we be as excited about our own goals?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Strive for good enough
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Sometimes good enough really is good enough. If you have been "guilty" of thinking perfection is the only way of living your life I would suggest you are trying too hard, and putting yourself under too much pressure. Now I don't mean, be sloppy or slapdash in your thoughts or actions - but polishing the manuscript for the 14th time is probably a little bit of procrastination overkill if you know what I mean. And believe it or not I know of some people who iron sheets, underwear and t-towels which to me is striving for perfection when it really isn't necessary. A case of watching for your procrastination spots and asking yourself - am I striving for perfection?

We all have jobs and things we know need doing. But most of the time, it's really easy to find other things to do instead. However, we can feel a little guilty when we use this technique (structured procrastination) which basically means doing #7 on the to do list instead of #1 for example.

So how do you get rid of the guilt thing and not have to worry about a lack of motivation? One of the easiest way of getting away with not doing the important stuff is *drum roll* make sure you can't find it.

* Don't put anything away
* Don't file anything
* Stack your books instead of putting them on shelves where you can read the spine labels
* Don't sort your clothes, even better if you can leave them all over the floor instead of hanging them up or putting them into drawers - that way you don't know what's clean or dirty.

Are you bristling indignantly at my facetious comments yet?

In truth, a lot of people do live their lives like that. They use things and then leave them wherever they land after they have finished with them or move on to the next shiny object. If you have kids you will understand only too well what I mean...most kids don't seem to understand the concept of putting things away. Thankfully most of them do grow out of it.

However, most of us do this without really thinking about it. And before you say - I take offence at your comment - Then answer me this:

* Do you have a filing tray filled with stuff that does need filing / sorting / throwing away?
* What does your desk look like? I've just covered mine with the remnants of 2 filing trays. I needed my laptop back so I could do all the electronic filing / entries first (tax time coming up you see) - however, I am the first to admit that my laptop has actually been back now a couple of weeks - so yes even I can be guilty of procrastination over filing now and again. I am also in dire need of a new desk, new filing cabinet and a couple of new bookshelves as I have outgrown my space.
* Do you have cupboards and drawers jammed with stuff you've been meaning to go through
* Does your wardrobe have clothes you've never worn / can't get into

But what has this got to do with motivation and overcoming the procrastination habit?

Well a good example - around tax time every year, most people will have a mad sort out of those in-trays, filing baskets and shoe boxes filled with receipts. They sort, they tidy, they vow NEVER to let things get into that state again - they visit their accountant and file the tax return....and then they go back to doing exactly the same as they had always done. You see, motivation sometimes only happens when there is an outside force or deadline. It's much easier to get through things if you know there will be ramifications for not doing so:

* Failed grades instead of passed ones for not handing in your work on time
* A meeting that needs your time and preparation so you burn the midnight oil getting ready
* The tax return that needs sorting out before the tax department gets antsy and fines you for not getting your paperwork in on time

We've spoken about artificial deadlines before now, and they can sometimes work - but we can also find ourselves unable to pick up the pace when the real deadlines hit.

So is there any answer to any of this?

Not really - I can't stand over you and tell you to put your stuff away and do your homework - maybe I should just record it so you can download it .... but its hardly motivation - more like nagging
Because - Only you can decide how to live your life and what that life is going to look like ...

I'll leave you with the final word from Ann Morrow Lindbergh

"it is not merely the trivial which clutters our lives but the important as well"

With many thoughts
Elle

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Motivational Tip: Goal Setting means deciding what you want
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When I think about goal setting I am often reminded of this particular piece from Alice in Wonderland. If you don't know what you want, or where you want to go, then you are like Alice ....

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to" said the Cat
"I don't much care where " said Alice
"Then it doesn't matter which you go" said the cat

Standards - these are the things that makes YOU who you are

Do you have a standard that means you are constantly improving yourself and your "game"?
Or do your habits keep you stuck - "living" to your current set of "standards"

How do you raise your standards?

By changing your habits.

Habits are created first in the sub-conscious part of the mind. We may think it is our actions and behaviours - but in reality our sub-conscious is telling us what we need to do. So it is not your actions that need to be changed first, but your thoughts. Your conscious thought processes need to overcome the pull of the non-conscious thoughts that rule our lives.

Once you have made a conscious decision to change, then your actions should back them up.

These actions repeated over time, become new habits. But in the first few days / weeks it is your thoughts that are the most important part of the process. Guard them carefully or your sub-conscious will drag you back to the safety of "what you know".

You can make this easier for yourself - and you do that by associating with "better" people.

These may be people you can see and meet on a regular basis - mentors and coaches for example, changing your job so you can meet new people. By associating with people who do the things that you want to do. Do you associate with people who exercise or those who prefer to watch the game rather than play it? Check your associations - they are important in this process of change.But they can also be "people" you can't meet - now or in the future - but you can read their words and you can watch programs that tell you how they became the people they did.

You may not think your associations play a big part in how you live your life and your current "standard" of living. But believe me - everything is important, and if you want to improve your standard of living then you need to understand the equation

Thoughts + Action = Habits

And as you now know, HABITS create your standards.

Inspiration comes from many people and I would like to thank the great Tony Robbins for the initial thoughts that prompted this edition of the daily dose.

Goal setting is easy, decide what you want. If you want to stand a better chance of achieving whatever you said you wanted, then you also need to write them down. However, that is just a first step because -

Goal achievement on the other hand is slightly harder than merely writing down your desires on a bit of paper and hoping someone or something will bring it to you. To succeed with your goals, you do have to spend time and energy on a regular basis and sometimes for a very long period of time in order to achieve them, which is why a lot of goals fail. And the reason is quite simple - you need to want "it" badly enough that you will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes or die trying.

If you have a strong enough desire then it doesn't matter how many times you fall down or fall over, you will always find a way to get back up and start again.

Conversely

No desire = no action = no results

So - a question

One of our new readers of the Daily Dose posted this today:

"I am an over-committer. I want to be involved in everything and say "yes" too much. I need to weed things out and prioritize so I can be effective. When I have too many thing going on I get paralyzed and procrastinate. Help!"

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What follows are my suggestions, along with an added note for clarity:

I would just like to wish all the fathers out there a Happy Fathers Day, I sincerely hope you have a wonderful day.

As most of you know I now live in Perth, Western Australia, so when I heard my father was poorly we made arrangements to go home to spend some time with him, unfortunately we landed back in the UK the day before the funeral... we thought we had time, we didn't.

Jet lag came in very handy that day let me tell you.

This post is not meant to be "sad" just a reminder that we may think we have all the time in the world - sometimes we don't.

Live your dreams, live your life to the absolute best you can, but always make time to speak to those you love, and if you are physically close (both in distance and emotionally) words can never say as much as a hug can.....

Of course, then we need to break down the next 26 weeks - what do we want to achieve by the end of 2010?

Planning and preparation are two of the main keys to goal achievement, but they are nothing without action.

So a couple of action points to consider:

The answers to those questions should determine your actions, and it is our daily activities which will determine our success and / or our failure:

It's easy to pretend we are doing OK, but if you are still at the same point now - half way through the year without any kind of movement, then it is time to be honest with yourself. After all if you can't be honest with YOU who can you be honest with?

And take a good look at your brag book, those things that you HAVE achieved. Why those things? What was it about those items that made you want to work on them and complete them?

Moving forwards it's a great idea to review both how far you have progressed as well as how far you may still have to go, and if and when things don't go quite as planned, knowing that you have done well in the past can get you past any plateaus you may think you've encountered.

Congratulations on all your amazing hard work so far in 2010. Here's to the next amazing 26 weeks, what can't we achieve?

"The mind is an iceberg - it floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water"
Sigmund Freud

Whatever you are thinking about when you are not thinking about your thoughts are why our goals succeed or fail.

We can use affirmations until we are blue in the face but if all the time we are uttering the positive our non-conscious thoughts are bleating back at you - not a chance, not you, who do you think you are - and guess which will win?

The reason is simple, most of the time we don't realise we are being down on ourselves. But our non-cosncious thought processes remembers every single time we've tried and failed, been told we are no good, and why should this time be any different?

Great, so how do we get around that minor problem?

Well there are a couple of things we can do.

1. Catch yourself when you are thinking negative or self-depracating comments. Easier said than done perhaps, but with practice it can be achieved. The more you catch yourself, the better chance you stand of overcoming the habit of bad thoughts and thinking. Of course once you have caught yourself - what then?
2. Trick your mind - I use this all the time. I regularly shock my mind by doing things "it" thinks I can't do, or it thinks I shouldn't do. Really what this comes down to is take action no matter how small. What do they say about affirmations? Saying the words is all well and good but if you fail to act then you are merely deluding yourself - and guess what, our minds know this and it will whisper into your conscious thought processes "see I told you so ..."

So take action - today. Write down 5 things that you can do starting right now to move one of your goals forward. It may be as simple as making a phone call or writing some bullet points which will form your business plan. It may be booking that holiday you've always wanted to take, or the dance lessons or making contact with your old school to see if you can organise a reunion. Your goal list, your dreams, your reason for being.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Blog post: Losing weight - Eventually: Day 31
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End of week 4 I could have given up when my weight went back up by 600grams. Thankfully we are not relying on a single measure to track my progress. At the end of 4 weeks other changes were happening. I had managed to.... read more

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“Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” - Denis Waitley

Whilst reflection is a good and necessary thing, after all we do need to learn from our mistakes. However, going over and over the same ground isn't going to get you anywhere, except maybe a hole in the ground where you've been walking in circles - which is otherwise known as a rut - and what causes a rut - HABITS.

When we talk about getting rid of habits, we usually mean replacing bad habits with better ones. Unfortunately most of us don't realise we have habits until they are strong and like the multi-headed hydra.

The more habits we have, the faster we dig our holes, the deeper and harder they are to get out of, and stay out of.

If you can't see over the wall of your current "rut" you are going to need some major assistance. Someone may be willing to throw you a rope, or slide a ladder down for you to climb out of your self-made hole. However, the problem with waiting for assistance is this:

If you don't help yourself and by that I mean - truly understand what caused you to be stuck in your rut in the first place you are almost always guaranteed to repeat the process. You say - this time it's going to be different, this time I've got it all worked out, a few days after being hauled out of your rut, you are back to your old habits and - and you guessed it, fall smack bang into another one.

Are you stuck in a rut?

Then it's time to check your habits.

I've procrastinated over my wardrobe for about a year now. I know there are some things in my wardrobe that shouldn't be there.

There are clothes I used to wear and should throw away
There are clothes that I used to wear and can't get in at the moment
There are clothes that I bought on impulse, wore once and have never bothered with again

And then there are clothes that just don't suit me.

I had a good workout tonight though - I started cleaning out my closet - but rather than "guess" I tried each piece on and gave a critical - well even if you were "thinner" would you ever wear this? I have to say the answer was an embarassing NO.

So - Why was it a good workout?

Well not only did I get to exercise my judgement, but I exercised my body - have you ever tried on about a dozen outfits and ended up worn out as a result? If you have then you will know what I mean. I am only a fraction the way through my clothes, but already the thrift (charity) shops will be receiving several bags of goodies. I've even thrown something away - I know - shock horror.

But why clothes as a form of energy?

Well if you are stuck in the "wearing the same styles / items / colour all the time, then you are stuck and so are your clothes. I know of one lady who doesn't appear to have ever thrown anything away - unfortunately she still wears it ...

So if you want to change your outlook and get real - then it's time to get into your wardrobe and get rid of what really doesn't work for you, you'll be surprised at how good it makes you feel (besides there will be space for all the new bits you need to buy as a result - always a bonus :-) )

Happy closet cleaning.

Sometimes it may seem like nothing is going right. Sometimes it may seem like life is a grind.

Well - sometimes it is and sometimes it is a state of mind

The question is - are you willing to to deal with it and move on, or do you prefer to complain?

I've had MAJOR problems with email this week, for some reason the email account I've had for 14 years has decided to start playing up, deleting messages, not delivering them - you name it I've had the problem this week - it's frustrating, but you deal with it the best you can. I know I should have received some messages - I didn't so I contacted them instead. Could you please re-send. Thanks.

My daughter started full time further education this week - her timetable keeps being changed - she hasn't yet learned the art of dealing with it .... hopefully by the end of the week she will have.

My son dislikes the place he works - and for one reason - they keep him beyond his allotted hours (and legally the company is going to be in trouble if I get involved - but I don't want to make life difficult for him) - he too hasn't learned the art of dealing with it....

So - I've had to impart some hard lessons to my kids over the last couple of days

Life isn't fair sometimes, sometimes life IS a grind - but it depends on your state of mind as to how you deal with it - OR NOT as the case may be.

If you have deliberately put off doing something because you are afraid of what the outcome will be, then you will not be able to deal with it effectively. The problem will continue to manifest itself and you will continue to replay the problem. And usually it will get worse and worse.

You see the ones who are able to deal with it, make a decision, get organised rather than angry are the ones who can move on.

Are you able to tackle the grind?

With many thoughts
Elle

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Admin: Sending Emails to [email protected]
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I've had a few problems with my email account this week - if you have sent me an email and I have failed to act upon it, I do apologise, please re-send me your email and I will deal with it ASAP

Thanks and regards

Elle

I made myself a promise at the end of last year - after completing my own 100 day challenge, and that was - every day, without fail I would write down at least 5 things that had been good about that day.

It's not like journaling where you get to write down the good, the bad and the downright problematic (OK ugly), but I suppose you could call it a gratitude journal if you want - I call mine the little black book - because that's the color of it - but you can call it whatever you like.

At the end of each week I go back through my daily lists and write down what would be the highlights of the week. And at the end of January I did the same - took each weekly positives list and wrote out my significant achievement and things I am particularly pleased about for the month.

It has helped me far more than journaling has ever done.

Why?

Because I have to look for the positives - every day, regardless of what is going on around me, or how I am feeling - there are always positives. And because I focus on the positives, I don't fill my journals with problems / issues / negatives anymore. Some people say it's good to get these things down on paper and out of your system, and I bought into that for years - but in truth all you are doing if you are focussing on the day to day detritus you will find it hard to write 5 things that you feel good about today or any day for that matter.

The other good thing about my little black book is this (well two things actually)

1. When I am feeling a little down (and yes I do "feel" down occasionally) I re-read my book....it makes me smile, when I read things like - saw a tiny hummingbird this morning; great cup of coffee; walked 8k's tonight (blister on left heel - but it was worth it - brain finally calmed down after 6k's)
2. It also makes me look at what I have achieved and I find new ways to do more the next day / next week - when you want to recapture the feeling of "high" you automatically want to do more, be better, be better at it.

Now, I am not saying that you should

a) give up journaling
b) take up the 5 things a day "challenge" - but if you do decide to keep a "little black book" of your own. Make sure you hand write the entries rather than create an electronic version. There is something
eminently satisfying in being able to carry it with you to give you a lift when you need it.

Happy choosing

I saw a t-shirt not so long ago that said

"If we are what we eat, then I'm fast, cheap and easy ..."

Whilst it did make me chuckle, it also made me think. I know, I know, I can't see a simple t-shirt slogan and just take it at face value ...

What would your "slogan" for life be?

To determine that you need to look at every aspect of your life, your relationships and your business.

There are some good indicators:
* Your kids and spouse / partner want to spend time with you
* You got a thumbs up from your recent health check
* You exercise on a regular basis, not only do you enjoy it, you look great too.
* Your diet is not "fast, cheap and easy" ... unless we are also talking healthy, nutritious and balanced (and no a burger in both hands does not make for a balanced diet).
* You get good marks for your assignments
* The bottom line for your business is in the black and not the red
* You are keeping your current customers - they're coming back to us, and we are getting referral business

But it can be so easy to tell ourselves we are doing OK, when we know in effect we aren't. It's easy to be faked into thinking we are doing everything we know we should be doing, but can let things slide
* We can tell ourselves we are doing all that we can - when we know we slumped off for an hour today when we should have been working.
* We don't pay off the credit card debt every month so the interest starts to jack up
* We don't pay our debts on time
* We may go for a walk, but it's not to keep fit but to escape the house for a bit
* We hate going to work
* We are bored, tired and listless

So - if we are what we repeatedly do -
* Who and what are you? And
* Is that OK?

'If you are not getting as much from life as you want to,
then examine the state of your enthusiasm"
Norman Vincent Peale

If you live your life with passion, excitement and enthusiasm I feel you can do anything and everything you set your mind too.

Think about it - when did you ever achieve a goal you weren't excited about?

"I've got to get up the enthusiasm to work on this darn goal of losing 20lbs by Christmas"

Err, how far do you think you'll get with that kind of "enthusiastic" emotion to something?

But every day people do have that kind of attitude to their goals. And you know why? Because the goals aren't exciting enough in themselves.

If your goals start with words such as

Give up or stop doing something - you are coming from a negative point of view and you are NEVER going to excited about a negative. Turn your statements into positives and you will be able to achieve far more - and that I can guarantee.

With many thoughts
Elle

p.s. Happy Valentine's day to you all. I hope you enjoyed time with your loved ones today.

I love photographs, they can tell us how far we have come and how far we still have to go. The beauty of photographs is a simple one - we have a way of documenting our entire life - in glorious colour. We can of course take pictures of the places we have been, the people we have met, our families, as our children grow, the houses we have lived in and the beauty of everything around us. But we can also use them as a check point for our personal goals - we can use them to check to see how far our shape has changed when we are starting and moving through a diet and exercise plan. We can tell whether our choice of clothes really do work or we can decide "what were we thinking" - pictures can do that.

Have you ever considered documeting your goals through pictures?

When we get stuck (and believe me, we all do get stuck) we can go through our pictorial time line and we can prove to ourselves what we have done, where we have been and how far we have traversed through our personal journey's, and use this as a way to get going again.

But don't stop with your photographs.

Have you ever tried painting? If you were given a blank canvas on which to record your ideal life, what would you paint? Think in colour if not in actual images just for a moment. I consider that a rich and vibrant life would not be painted in cream, gray nor black or white, but would encompass every single shade of the color spectrum. Be honest - how many colors is your canvas currently missing at the moment. How can you add some more?

Your goals can inspire you to add more colour - and if they don't scream "PAINT ME IN BIG BOLD AND VIBRANT COLORS" I'd suggest you need better goals.

If you are not a visual person at the moment and can't think of painting your own canvas if only in your mind - go through appropriate images, find them, cut them out and use those as your visual reminders and clues as to the colour your own life should be.

And don't forget dream boards - either a physical one, or a computer based one. I've used both. The beauty of a computer generated one is that you can put the file onto a portable storage device and take it with you, so if you need inspiration at work for instance, you can load it up, remind yourself.

Sometimes our minds do need a jolt now and again - so why not use color and make it more interesting, appealing and vibrant - guaranteed you'll achieve more as a result.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S. I hope you have found time over the last couple of days to try some of the suggestions I shared with you. We can be inspired, but the only true test of this or any other "motivationa;" book or ezine is if you take some of the suggestions and start applying them to where you are in your life. Use the ones that resonate most with you now, others can be added at a later date to make your solution truly unique.

P. P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

Just a quick thought for today

If you don't live your life by design, you will live your life by default

Default means - living your life how other people want you to live your life. You go along with their plans because you can't think of what you would prefer to do. If you have ever uttered the words "I don't mind dear" to the question "what do you want to do today?" Then you are living your life by default and not by your own design.

Take back control, it's the only way to get what you want, and certainly the only way you can achieve your own personal goals.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

I'm sure most of you reading this are all "writers" in some way.

If you have an assignment to complete, an email to send, a letter to write, a book to edit, a website to fill with content, a news piece that needs completing then you are a writer.

How many times have you stared at the screen / blank piece of paper, decided it was too hard and decided to leave whatever it was to another day?

In a traditional sense, you can call this "writer's block" . In reality it may just be, we're really not sure what we want to say "so we'll just think about it for a minute or two", in other terms we could call it procrastination.

The best and easiest way to get over this - well I'll give you 2 ways (well three) and they can be combined quite easily - these are:

I do a lot of my preparation work on paper. Yes with a pen so I can scribble, cross out, change. But that's up to you. Only when I think I know what the structure is going to be do I transfer that to the computer and write in the headings / points I want to cover.

Once that part has been completed, I choose one of the headings and I write the contents of that section. Where you choose to start writing is up to you, but I choose an area I feel I know the most about. Once I have written the first draft of that "bit" I move onto the next bit. Once I think I have covered most of the sections, I close down the document and do something else. Yes you heard me correctly.

I never write and edit a major piece on the same day if I can help it - and the why is interesting. What you think is a coherent sentence one day may sound like utter drivel the next. Every one of my articles and books have been written in that way - and believe me I am quite prolific in the writing department and not just on motivational topics.

When I next sit down at my computer (usually the following day), I open up the piece and I start reading and editing the main body of the work (those "bits" I'd written before).

Believe me when I say the day 2 editing and reading process takes a fraction of the time you think it will but it hones and tightens your writing like nothing else can.

If you have the time, and really want to tighten the piece, start from the last paragraph and the last sentence of the last paragraph. Read that. Does it stand alone? Move to the next sentence and read it on it's own - does it work as a sentence? Repeat the reading process backwards sentence by sentence. Once you have reached the start of the paragraph, then read the entire paragraph, does it stand alone as a good piece of writing on the particular point you are trying to make?

You can overcome writers block when you are not constrained by the normal process of writing and starting a piece at the beginning and writing until you think it has been completed - so if you do struggle to work in a traditional beginning, middle and end structure, don't do it.

As always - with many thoughts

Some people need little or no motivation and the reason is both simple and profound. People who do not need motivating know what they want, what to do and how to reach their destination and ultimately achieve their goals. And I'm sure there have been times throughout your life when you were exactly the same. The trick of course is to recognise the why and to recreate the steps that made it work. But it's not a clinical process, you do have to enjoy the process, and believe me when I say this - that is the key to goal achievement.

Some people are driven by money, others philanthropy, yet others will say their motivation lies in trying to make the world a better place for themselves and their families and work colleagues. Others are driven by drunken stupidity (if you can believe the stories about a man who tried to ride a 5m crocodile), but we are not talking about those kinds of motivated individuals. And others are driven by the sheer joy of doing whatever it is they love doing.

This morning was one of those special days when I was glad I had my camera and made the decision to drive to work via the coast road. After a week of storms, today was stunningly cold.

Find the key that is your passion and you will never have trouble motivating yourself again.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: 19th July 2010
* Motivational Tip: Exercise and Health: Music
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: Happiness is contagious
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It can start with a simple smile, a door held open for someone who least expects it, a tip, or a compliment, but when you are happy it shows in everything you say and do, but more importantly - it shows in you.

You can't fake true happiness though, but you can see it when it is genuinely there and you will gravitate towards whoever is "genuinely happy"....as they will towards you when you are genuinely "happy". You must have heard the saying - s/he smiled but it didn't reach their eyes... that's what I mean, we can pretend to be happy and "smile" but genuine happiness is something that comes from within and spills over and touches everyone and everything.

Why is being "happy" good for motivation and achieving goals?

Well I know how hard it is to get motivated when I'm not in the mood, but when I am "happy" everything and I do mean everything seems so easy.

Unfortunately, happiness is not a destination - it just is....although there are some things you can do to help things along. I use music as my primary happiness generator (see the motivational tip below), but you might be able to tap into it in a myriad of other ways, the trick (IMO) is to find it on a regular basis - because when you do you can and will achieve many, many things. Rent a comedy, chat with a friend - preferably one who is also happy, enjoy the serotonin rush of a good workout, play with the kids, grandkids or the fur critters ... or whatever flips the happiness switch for you. Believe me when I say this - you will not only feel better, but you will look better too - and as I mentioned, you will move your goals on in leaps and bounds as a result.

With many thoughts
Elle

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Motivational Tip: Exercise and Health: Music
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Struggling to motivate yourself to exercise, clean, garden, go for a walk .... then use music. Are you old enough to remember Disco's? or is that just people of my vintage? The beauty of disco's are many - not least of which is this - it is extremely hard to sit still when there is a "beat" - your body will start to move, you will tap your feet and sooner rather than later you will be up and moving. I can't remember the last time I went "to a disco" but I do enjoy loud music - trance, techno, some punk, heavy metal - you name it, anything that makes your blood move. If you have ever wondered why gyms and exercise studio's use music - well that might give you a clue. Sometimes the faster the music, the faster you are tempted to move.

I've rediscovered my classic trance albums....it's really funny to sing and move along to the music when you are driving, especially on a monday morning when everyone else is sitting there, stone still wishing it was still sunday. The beauty about movement and it doesn't have to be a lot or big movements is this - it burns calories - but even more important than that - the "happier" the music, the "happier" you usually will be. So don't listen to banal drive time radio, find some catchy music and start your day off on a positive note.

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http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

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Sometimes it can be more fun when you can't think straight.

If you know where you are going and you know the exact steps you need to take to get you to your goal, then going from A - B is easy.

"A" being where you are now and "B" your goal / target or end point

So, piece of paper and pen time

Write your "B" at the top of the paper - this is what you say you want

First of all I would like you to write down every reason for NOT achieving this - what is stopping you?

And believe me there will be lots of reasosn why you have not yet reached your goal. Some will be real "stops" for example -
* my 16 year old wants a car...his stops are real - not old enough to drive, hasn't saved up enough money for a car / pay for driving lessons.
* I want to pay off my mortgage - but that's going to take a few years and lots of savings

And some will be pure excuses
* I haven't got time to
* I need to know more about
* My family wouldn't understand

Look at your list - are they genuine stops, or are they pure excuses?

Now, take the list, screw it up and throw it away. That signifies what will happen if you let those excuses "win".

How do you feel about never being able to achieve that goal?

Again, a piece of paper and write down every feeling about what would it be like if you got to the end of your life having never achieved that particular goal. If it's a "well it doesn't matter" then it wasn't a proper goal in the first place and it's no wonder you had trouble working on it.

If however you would be devastated by not achieving that goal - then we are getting somewhere.

Starting again

Write your target at the top of the page, now work backwards - what is the immediate step which precedes you reaching your goal? What is the step before that? Work backwards to the point where you are now. In some cases you may have multiple steps which need to be taken, write them all down - yes it will take a while, but this will become your blueprint for this goal. Once you have reached what is POINT A - then you can see exactly what steps you need to take to get to POINT B. All you have to do now is take each step in order and you WILL succeed.

See what happens when you can't think straight - you get to have much more fun.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

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In This Issue: 23rd July 2010
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* Today's daily dose: How do you use yours?
* Dear Ed ...
* Motivate Me to find work: Personal Presentation
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: How do you use yours?
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How you allocate your spare time is a good indication of whether or not you will achieve your goals – OR NOT.

You may argue that working a full time job, taking care of the home, garden, kids and your partner leaves you with little time to do anything else, so why can’t you chill out and relax with friends and a movie in your "spare time". Well I am not saying you can’t, but if you have trouble achieving your goals, then all I am going to do is challenge that thinking just a little.

One of the areas we need to look at are New Year’s Resolutions. That is the time most of us think about when it comes to goal setting. That time when we decide that we hate everything and we are going to change every single thing we do. We are going to stop spending money, give up smoking, exercise more, get a better job, travel more, write that book, set up our own business. The reason why most (if not all) New Year’s Resolutions fail is because:

a)      We want to change too much too quickly, it can be overwhelming to change every aspect of your life, overwhelming and almost impossible to maintain if....

b)      They are negative. Stopping this and giving up that always means we are coming from a negative view point – it’s hard to get inspired from a negative view point over a long period of time, and to make lasting change usually takes time. Sorry. If you can set "positive" goals then you are more likely to achieve them by the way.

c)       We are usually out of our normal routines when we make those decisions. It’s easy to exercise every day and find time to cook healthy meals when we are not bogged down with trying to make a living (ie going to work, take the kids to school etc). ie., when we are "on holiday".

Which is why when it comes to goal setting, we need to look at our "normal" daily / weekly routines to see where we can make some small but subtle changes that says, over the course of a few weeks I can do this. This is the time that I have – AFTER I’ve done everything that I currently have to do. Then you can see if your goal timeline is correct of not. By slotting things into your current time line also means you can begin to see where you can make other small but subtle changes to your life so you can achieve your goals a little quicker.

To get the most out of today’s edition of the Daily Dose there is something I need you to do. I need you to be honest with yourself – what are you willing to stop doing in your current timeline / schedule so you can move your goals forward - faster? Can you give up half an hour of watching the television, or the beer after work with your mates? Can you get up half an hour earlier? Everything we do is a choice, and everything you do is up to you.

Put it like this – only you can decide if where you are now is where you are happy to stay - which is exactly where you will be if you can't see any way of changing your schedule or timeline. But if you would like to get a little more out of your life, then it is time to look at your schedule, time line and your current habits and see where you can make some changes.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

P.P.S. Don't stop reading there. Today marks a brand new day and a brand new segment.... read on for more information.

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Dear Ed:
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A slight change of direction:

Over the course of a couple of weeks of the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine, we will focus our attention on one particular area of motivation. That may be how to motivate ourselves to find a new job; motivate me to exercise; motivate me at work, motivate employees, motivate children and teens, motivate me to lose weight etc etc. This does not replace the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine, but expands on the Motivational Tips I have been sharing with you.

But where do we start – and why wait until nearly the end of a month before launching the new segment? Well why not now? Why should I make you wait for something that may benefit you today? I am a great believer in taking action – and not procrastinating over the taking of that action. So today is the day, but to make it easier for me to remember to change topics – this subject will be running until the end of August. However there is another reason – the topic is MASSIVE, and one that will impact on all of us at some point in our lives. And that is - Motivate Me to find work / change jobs.

I have worked in the employment industry for over 10 years, and this information is taken from a number of programs I have run to help people gain confidence and get the jobs they want. People have paid a lot of money for this information and because you are you.... well you get a lot of it for free. Why not all of it? Well some if it is in a book I wrote for the organisation I worked for, some of it was part of the individual programs I ran, and we all know there is no way you can recreate the personal interaction of face-to-face teaching. But you will get a lot of very good information over the next few weeks on “motivate me to find a job”.

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Motivate Me to find work: Personal Presentation
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I was asked to lead a panel of experts on “the employers perspective” when it comes to selecting candidates to interview, and the answers we expected to receive as part of those interviews. We had about 50 RSVP for the event, which was free to anyone who wanted to take advantage of the knowledge we were about to share. Of those 50, approximately 30 turned up, which says a lot about the motivation of some people to find work. Of those who did attend, and this was telling – only 4 people (not counting myself and my colleagues) would I have considered to have passed the first “test” of taking the time to present themselves in a manner that said – I am taking this seriously.

Bear in mind that myself and my colleagues represented 4 very large employers in the state, we all have the power to hire – and only 4 of the 30 attendees took the time to dress to impress. What was also interesting though, no-one had taken the time to bring an up to date CV to hand to myself or my colleagues either which seems a little silly.

I know I have rather skipped ahead – you would think that starting a program on Motivate Me to find work I would start with writing CV’s and job applications wouldn’t you. But there are some things that need to be stated with regards to presentation – BEFORE you get to the interview stage.

Handing in your application:

Say you were going to hand deliver your application because you wanted to find out where the organisation was based, what the people looked like and whether you liked the building. Do you go in whatever you are currently wearing, regardless of what it is, or do you take the time to make a bit of an effort – after all you never know who you are going to meet.

Hint – if you are taking the trouble of hand delivering your application, then make sure you are dressed the part. Never assume the person on the reception desk is the receptionist as some people may be covering for the role, and don’t ever think the receptionist is only JUST a receptionist. I know of several organisations who specifically ask the person on reception about the candidates who were sitting waiting for their appointment. And of course there are the people you will meet on the way into the building, or standing in reception at the time you walk in. How embarrassing would it be for you to be called in for an interview only to discover the person you were rude to was actually the person doing the hiring, and had looked down at your torn jeans and daggy jumper. Would you do well in the interview? Probably not – given their “memory” of you will always be tainted by that first meeting.

So – dress to impress.

Go for classic:

If you are planning on working in the corporate world – go for the classic look. Ladies – knee length skirts, jackets and a clean, pressed blouse are always a good choice. Even better if it’s a suit, or a dress with a jacket over the top. Wear stockings and a nice pair of shoes that you can walk in....or put another way – don’t wear heels if you only wear them to interviews – believe me they take practice to walk in and look confident enough to do so. Gents, always go for the suit, shirt and tie. Yes it may sound boring, but it’s expected, and make sure your shoes are clean and polished.

A simple question - What do you look like?

Make sure you haven’t missed bits when you were shaving, ladies – nail polish should not be chipped, hair brushed and if you dye your hair, make sure the roots don’t need touching up. It may sound petty – but remember this one thing – it’s a game, and if you want to win, then you do need to play it effectively.

So what do you look like?

Put on your outfit of choice and get ready as if you were going to attend the interview. Now, go and stand in front of the mirror and assess yourself. Ask yourself the tell all question – would you hire the person standing in front of you?

Until next time.

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

* Today's daily dose: Motivate Me to Exercise: Make the training interesting
* Motivate Me to find work: CV's
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 26th July 2010
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If you enjoy the exercise you are more likely to do it. Simple truth.

On the weekend I took some photographs and a short video of some of the training that I do. Granted I don't do this kind of training every week, but it has become part of my overall health and fitness strategy. Challenge the mind and the body will have to come to the party. And that I think is part of the problem - most people won't challenge their thinking. The thinking that says, exercise has to be hard work, it has to be boring and you have to go to a gym ... to be effective you do have to get a little out of breath - as you will hear, but the faster you can recover from that breathlessness after vigorous exercise is the best indication of your level of fitness. Exercise should never be boring - or if it's boring, for goodness sake do something else. And no, you definitely do not have to go to a gym as you will see -

Pics and video are here

Enjoy and let me know what you think, or if you want to join me one weekend and train with me then email me so we can arrange something. (hint - just hit the reply button)...

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Motivate Me to find work: CV's
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1. Is your CV up to date? Odd thing to start off a job search with perhaps, but it is important. If you "had" to look for a job today - because you had just been made redundant, would you be able to submit your CV in time for the closing date if that date was today?

Tip: Always keep your CV up to date - even in your current position, because we forget what we have done in the spur of trying to get something completed. Your CV should be a working document, not something carved into stone.

1a. What should your CV contain?
All the highlights and significant achievements. Don't down play your role and what you have achieved. Don't make people guess about what you are good at .... tell them.

1b. What should you not tell them?
Age, religion, sexual preferences, no of kids, etc

When I was studying for my degree I listened in amazement as my lecturer told us that she had been asked how many children she had - of course the assumption is - as a woman, you are going to be taking time off work to give birth and when kids fall sick you are usually the one to take time off (well it was in "my day"). My lecturer said - I have a dozen children and plan to have more.... Of course in today's political society prospective employers should never ask you those kinds of questions, or if they do - they should ask everyone who they interview .... including men and people who it can be deemed may be rather too old to be thinking about babies....but - do you answer? Up to you - I'd be tempted to answer as my lecturer did.

1c. Spell check and proof read (not the same thing) Homonyms - "correct" word, wrong context - boot (could mean a pair of boots or the boot (trunk) of a car... Then you have the usual grammatical errors - It's, its ... They, their, they're - all mean very different things, and if used incorrectly can prove you
a) do not have good eye for detail
b) do not have good written communication skills
c) makes you appear lazy with regards to your writing.

So - Read everything out loud before sending things through - as this one technique can highlight errors like nothing else can. And really that goes for any piece of written correspondence and not just your CV.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: The man who knows he can
* Motivate Me to find work: 2: Where to Start Looking For Job Information
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 28th July 2010
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I'm not sure where I first found this poem, so I must apologise for not accrediting it - but it is too good not to share:

The man who knows he can

If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but think you can't
It's almost certain you won't

If you think you'll lose, you've lost
For out in the world you'll find
Success begins with a fellows will
Lies all in the state of mind

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who knows he can
Anon

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Motivate Me to find work: 2. Start looking
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If you have never had to look for a job before (or it has been a while since you have had to look for a job) you may not know where to look. These are a few of the resources available to you.

And whilst you are working - Ok the work may not be very interesting, it may not even pay very well, but if that's the difference between having money or not - then guess what ... not only do you have something to put on your resume / cv - but you have the motivation to keep looking for something else. After all if you can get 1 job, you can get many others .... And besides you never know where it may lead. Think internal recruitment, secondments and promotion etc.

Good luck with your job search.

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb
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If you are looking to improve yourself and the results you get, you need to take stock and evaluate what worked and what didn't. You can tell if you are on track in a sales situation if you made your sales figure target, or if your savings are on track by the numbers in the bank. But what of other ways to measure your performance?

One of the reasons we created the 100 day goal achievement challenge in a workbook format was so you could go back through the days and see where you on target and where you needed a little bit of extra work. But for it (or any other system) to work - you need to work it, you need to use it and you need to do so on a regular basis.

Do you make a note of how you "felt" at the time of writing? Why would emotions and feelings be important? Well they play a huge part in what we say we want to achieve and what we actually do achieve. You may not say in so many words - but your choice of words will give you a good indication of your moods at any given point in time - assuming you've written it somewhere.

I spend some time every day evaluating my performance. (BTW I never ask you to do something I am not doing, or not willing to try myself) - now these measures may not work for you, but it is important you spend time and work out what your measures are, otherwise how will you know how you are doing and how far you still have to go.

What measures would you add?

I know that when I am feeling up and positive I can do ANYTHING I decide to do. Everything is easy when I am in a positive mindset. On the other hand if my emotions are a little flat, if something has knocked me from my centre usually illness or injury (sports) - my output is definitely less. But when I am feeling "down" I struggle to do anything other than get through the day. Sometimes that's Ok, sometimes it's just your mind and your body telling you to take a breather, but if those feelings remain on the low side, what can you do?

This is another reason to keep it all in writing. Go back and see if you can pinpoint the trigger. If you can pinpoint the trigger you can avoid it in future. Putting it into writing may help you see what you can't otherwise remember.

If you haven't reviewed your performance yet this year, please consider spending some time this weekend and going back over what you did, what you didn't and how you felt as as a result of, and because of events.

"No one ever hurt their eyesight by looking on the bright side of life"
Anonymous

Just had a minor giggle - I typed in Anonymouse - oops - but that's what today's post is all about

No matter how bleak your situation appears to be, there is always something good happening around you - it just depends where you are focusing your eyesight as to whether you see it or not.

First of all let me say this

1. Someone, somewhere will have been through what you are going through - there is always someone who can help you.
2. Sometimes all it takes IS a change of mindset - speaking from experience I also know how naff that comment can sound when you are feeling low and you can't shake it off. But if you are just having a grumpy day (and yes we all have those) then take yourself away from whatever is causing the grumps and put things back into perspective.
3. Be interested in the process. Work out what is causing the grumps - there may be an underlying issue you need to deal with.
4. Accept that some days you are the statue and some days you are the pigeon

But does that mean you have to always be positive, uplifting and cheerful.

Absolutely not. If you situation is dire, then acknowledge that and work out ways to deal with it. We can provide you with many strategies to overcome slumps and the procrastination caused as a result. Failing to deal with the issue and think your knight in shining armour is going to come riding to your rescue / win lottery / receive your inheritence will solve all your problems - you are deluding yourself - JUST A LITTLE.

So, understand your emotions and your moods, but accept that there is always good things happening around you, start with something small and acknowledge at least one good thing about today. Acknowledge it aloud, say thank you.

Be a Polyanna and count your blessings

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip – Weight Loss
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Put your fridge on a diet. No seriously when was the last time you had a good look at what you have stored. If you don’t have “bad” foods in the house you can’t eat them - simple strategies are often the best ones. And if you do have to fetch them because you can’t do without them – at least put on your runners instead of getting into the car. At least that way you will have "earned" your indulgence

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

* Today's daily dose: Duplicate your efforts
* Motivate Me to find work: Failure to customize your applications can mean failing to get the job you want
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 4th August 2010
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Goals can be achieved by the simple activity of duplicating "one's" efforts.

Say you set yourself a goal for today that said, today I am going to:
- Smoke one less cigarette than yesterday
- Walk for 5 minutes more
- Call one more business client
- Spend 5 more minutes working on my assignment / business proposals than I did yesterday
- Eat one more piece of fruit / veg and one piece less of processed *stuff*
- Drink one more glass of water and one less glass of beer
- Go to bed half an hour early so I can get up tomorrow half an hour earlier to work on my ....
- Save $1 or the money I would spend on a cup of coffee / lunch by taking my own you would reach my savings goal by ....

If you repeated those efforts tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and so on, how fast are you going to achieve your goals?

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Motivate Me to Find Work: Failure to customize means failing to get the job you want
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In our Motivate Me to find work section we look at -

Not getting the jobs you think you can do standing on your head? There might be a few Issues and Problems to sort out.

and that includes - Failure to customize your application

Your CV / Resume is not a once size fits all document, you should have a master document and you should then customize different versions for the different types of position you are applying for.

No, this is not about fudging the truth, rather ensuring you have the correct mix of keywords and key phrases in your document(s).

If a prospective employer asks applicants to have experience in a particular type of software, then they want to see that information in your CV or Resume and your Job Application (Covering Letters, Forms and Statements Addressing the Selection Criteria). They want you to state that you are familiar with it, how much experience you have with it, where you used it and how long ago.

Employers don’t like to guess.

Did you know that some employers use software to check documents for keyword density for a designed set of parameters? Well believe it or not they do and applications without the correct density will be rejected.

Can you afford to be rejected because of a lack of basic information such as this?

Why do organizations use software to do the initial weeding of applicants? In a tight labor market, where there are hundreds of applicants for each job it can be a very time consuming and labor intensive job to go through each application individually, so they get the computer to do the initial work for them. If you have ever wondered why you are specifically asked to submit your application online – well now you know.

How do you know what the designated parameters are?

Read the advertisement, the job application package and any other information you are given or sent very carefully. Go through the information with a notebook and pen and / or a highlighter pen. Write down or highlight the re-occurring words or phrases. You should pay particular attention to “Essential” and “Desirable” Selection Criteria. Applicants are usually selected to attend an interview if they are deemed to have met ALL of the “Essential” Selection Criteria and most (if not all) of the “Desirable” criteria as well.

Employers also don’t like to train if they can hire something that already has the right mix of skills and abilities they need.

Does your application prove that or not?

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Let's Connect:
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MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Genius - To be the best - do your best
* Motivate Me to find work: Submitting Your Applications
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 6th August 2010
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It doesn't take a genius to know you can be the best you can be.

To be the best, all you need to do is "do your best, all the time, every time"

The reason it makes you the best is because other people just can't be bothered.

And that's pure genius.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: Submitting your application
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When it comes to writing out your application, especially covering letters and statements addressing the selection criteria there are some important points to remember:

Follow the instructions, make sure you send / give them exactly what they want and ensure the application gets to the right person in time. Yours may be the best application, but if it arrives the day after closing date you have just wasted your time.

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

If you were to tell me about the people you came into contact with today, what would you tell me? Would you tell me about the good things or would you pick up on all the bad things you noticed and needed to repeat to someone?

Both the positive and the negative (or should that be nagative) are forms of gossip, so do me a favour from now on - gossip favourably, or in other words - If you have to choose between saying something positive, or saying something negative about someone else - always choose the first option.

Words are incredibly powerful, they have the power to build a person up or destroy them - and you hold that power.

At College on Tuesday one of my daughters fellow classmates decided she wanted to say something to every member of class - and every comment she made was positive. She had something nice to say about everyone. My daughter who had had a particularly tough shift after being partnered with the slowest member of class was commended on her patience and her smile.

What was the first thing she told me about?

You got it, the fact that this girl had taken the time to note the positives in everyone and to pass on those comments at the end of a long day was infectious. Instead of going on and on about the bad things that usually go on in college, this one young girl had changed the entire group, and my daughter passed on every positive comment - it was wonderful. So do yourself and everyone you come into contact with a big favour and gossip favourably from now on. And you know the best bit - you can do this in front of the person and not behind their backs.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Money
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Change all your light globes for energy saver ones – they can save you a fortune over the course of a year

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

* Today's daily dose: Plug, play and learn
* Motivate Me to find work: Personal presentation - the litmus test
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 11th August 2010
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If leaders are readers, then I feel the ones who are better than average also use audio programs - for when they are on the move.

I have a stack of CD's from some of the greats in the self-help / motivational / business industries which I have converted to MP3. This means I can listen when:

* I exercise and certainly when I am out walking
* I am in the car

As these are times when I certainly can't read whilst I am walking or driving the car, but I can listen. I've also got hundreds of interviews I've been given or sent and I use these in the same way as the programs I have purchased over the years.

Given that we can make all sorts of excuses when it comes to both exercise and personal development, this is a perfect way to combine these two essential (IMHO) activities. Which is what I call sensible multi-tasking.

How many times have you been tempted to say - but I don't have time to read the books, well now you don't have to, just plug in and play.

And a FYI - I also use this trick when I am doing admin work too - sometimes I do get distracted by what is being said so I also make sure there is a notebook and a pen by my side to jot down what I've just heard. But I can get inspired for my next set of action steps, planning and working out strategies - when I am doing those tasks that are sometimes uninspiring but do still need to be done.

There are some people who will say to me, but I can't afford to buy all the self-help and motivational books and programs on the market - you know what, neither could I. There have been huge swathes of my life when the best thing I had in my possession was my library card. I couldn't keep up with the number of books I wanted to read if I had to purchase them, so I borrowed them. I also "cheated" somewhat. I am a qualified librarian and have worked in the industry for over 25 years. I've been fortunate to have created several corporate libraries from nothing more than an idea from the CEO that he / she wanted to provide the resource for their people. That takes vision, it also takes guts when you consider funding for most libraries these days is hard come by.

The beauty of libraries are many, not least of which we will never have the money to buy everything we want to read and we will never outlive the number of books and programs that are being developed. But with the advent of the internet and Google digitising the world's library collections - will we ever have a need for the physical space. I feel the answer is YES. Many times I have browsed the shelves and found goodies tucked away a few books away from the one I was supposedly looking for. You can't do that in the digital realm.

But where the internet does come into its own of course is that we can visit virtually every library. But even more importantly are the websites that offer links to books that are no longer in print.

Gutenberg for instance - http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page or Just Free Books - http://www.justfreebooks.info/ or how about The Manuscriporium - http://www.manuscriptorium.com/site/eng/default_eng.asp and we should never forget about the Internet Archive - http://www.archive.org/ which also covers music and movies and a whole lot more.

We have the world's greatest information available to us, so don't make excuses about not having time to read, I just don't have time to read everything there is to read - and believe me when I say I read A LOT. And the best bit by far - we get to interact with the greatest leaders of our times. So get ahead and get reading.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: Personal presentation - the litmus test
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Now we have briefly touched on this topic on day 1 of the program, are you still taking as much care with your personal appearance as you did? Ready to do the litmus paper test again? Good, go into the bathroom and take a look at what you see - would you hire or re-hire the person you see before you based on what you see? Did I say
re-hire? Yes absolutely. I know of several instances where people I know have been called into the office and told they were going to have to re-apply for their own jobs. If that happened to you - TODAY - would you pass the first impressions test?

Still don't believe first impressions are important?

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

If you take away everyone's usual excuses of

* I don't time
* I don't have the energy or the best one
* I don't have enough money

Then everything becomes possible, which is quite exciting.

But how can you say that when there isn't any money in the bank, the kids are running you ragged and you don't feel like you have a spare five minutes to yourself let alone any time to work on your goals, well I'll let you into the biggest secret there is.....

Ready?

You will always find the time, energy and money to do what you really want to do.

Sometimes it takes a shift in focus, sometimes it takes a shift in planning and sometimes it means you take a good long and hard look at your budget and where you waste money to determine you can save for and achieve your goal. A friend's son decided he wanted a car, he had a job (he was washing dishes) - but decided that instead of spending his evenings and weekends going out partying with his mates - just because he was 18 and could legally drink, didn't mean he had to. Instead he stayed in, watched movies, his mates went to him and he was able to save enough money to buy his first car (and all the associated bits n pieces such as inusrance) within 4 months of setting his target.

It's amazing what you can achieve once you set yourself a target, and one that YOU WANT TO HIT

And you know I'm right because you have all experienced that moment at least once in your life, the trick is to recreate it.

To begin this process you need to remove the words "I don't have" from your vocabulary - starting now, and see a shift in what you can achieve. Go on I double dare you.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Weight Loss - Gardening
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According to a number of websites and books I’ve read, gardening is a great all round exercise for the body AND it burns mega calories too. An average 70kg person can burn over 300 calories by weeding the garden for an hour, mowing the lawn burns another 300 calories per hour. Don't believe me - http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-burned-weeding-a175

If you want to double the exercise you do AND burn a lot of calories at the same time, then gardening may be a good way to keep fit and lose weight.

In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: It's only scary the first time
* Motivate Me to find work: Looking for a job is your job if you are out of work
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 18th August 2010
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How well do you think your clients and customers know you?

Do they know you well enough to refer business to you?

A good friend and mentor of mine says that "people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like and trust" he should know he has written (or co-written) some of the best business books on the subject. Bob Burg not only wrote Endless Referrals, but co-authored the 2 biggest business books this century - The Go Giver and Go Givers Sell More. I can't emphasise this enough - if you haven't read them and you want to launch your own business into the stratosphere, you really are missing out if you don't.

Do your clients and customers know, like and trust you to do the right thing by them? Or are you only interested in how much they have to spend this quarter?

Now I am not saying that money isn't important, if you're in business, money is extremely important. But you can make millions dishonestly - just look at Bernie Madoff if you want a very large example of that in recent times. But if you want to help your clients and customers make money as well as yourself, then you are going to have to find ways to help them - and sometimes we can do that by referring other people to them.

Think about it, if we have benefitted from someone or something surely we would be willing to pass that information on to our friends, co-workers and acquaintances. To give you a very personal example, I telephoned a family friend tonight, just wanting to touch base. Not only was she full of flu, but she eventually started bemoaning the cost of air conditioning as she needed her unit replacing. As you know I had air conditioning installed a few weeks ago, so who do you think I recommended? Absolutely - not only did MY air con people give me the only genuine discount out of all the quotes going, they were spot on with every aspect of their customer service. Do they know I've referred someone to them - NOPE, will I do so again - ABSOLUTELY.

Can you say that about your own business?

What can you do to ensure you do get that kind of word of mouth referral?

Apart from being honest, polite, doing what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it and genuinely being interested in the people who you serve that is?

If you haven't spoken to your clients / customers in recent times may I suggest you start picking up the telephone and talking to them. And no, not with the intent to sell, but with a genuine curiosity to find out how they are. Believe me when I say this - you will be streets ahead of your competitors who only phone when they want something.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: Looking for a job is your job if you are out of work
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If you are in the process of looking for work, changing jobs or deciding where it is you want your career to go next, it is important to treat the job-hunting process as the most important thing you can do today. It should rank as number one on your “to do” list today and every day until such time as you achieve your goal.

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Let's Connect:
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* Today's daily dose: Don't let things slide
* Motivate Me to find work: When you just want a job
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 20th August 2010
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Let's face it, it can be so easy to let things slide.

We don't realize we've put a couple of pounds on - until we try and get in our jeans on a weekend and all of a sudden they're a bit tight. Then we remember we also forgot to exercise on a couple of days this week because we had other commitments.

We don't see the gradual mess and clutter that accumulates when we fail to put things away

Dust gathers on top of dust on our possessions as well as our minds.

Can you remember the last book you read? Or seminar you went on? What about art exhibition, play, concert or picnic with the family? Every one a chance to feed the mind and the soul.

Of course there are some major life changing events we can immediately recall. The birth of our children, the death of someone close to us, a car crash or accident that literally stopped us in our tracks - each one a chance to make momentous changes quickly. But we don't have those kinds of life changing events on a daily basis. What we do have though are small and subtle changes / decisions that we make on a daily basis that over time can and do make a HUGH impact on ourselves and what we achieve. That is why the 100 day challenge was so important. We are coming up to almost that time of year again...the last 100 days of the year. Are you going to get to the end of another year in almost exactly the same situation as you were in at the start of the year, or are you using the challenge to ensure you don't let things slide?

In an effort to assist you with the challenge I will be putting together a weekly email - specifically for the challenge. Not the Daily Dose of Motivational Ezine you already get, but ways to use the challenge more effectively to achieve your goals.

Now, before you mutter - but I don't have a copy - never fear, the emails will take that into consideration and the emails will still be of value to you.

So - watch this space and get ready to make the last 100 days of 2010 even more remarkable. Of course you really don't have to wait another month and a half to start, you can make a massive inroads into your goals in that time - if you are ready to change.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: When you just want a job
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When you just want a job it's a good idea to use a resume rather than a CV. A resume highlights your strengths, skills and abilities, but you can hide certain things from a prospective employer. No this is not lying or fabricating the truth, but a way to get around being over qualified for a position. I've had some amazing job titles over the years, but I know that if I just want a job to earn some money then telling a store manager I was an Information Scientist etc will make them wonder why I want to work outside my area of expertise and it would be very unlikely I would get to interview stage - let alone the job.

Something to think about in your job search.

So don't down play what you are good at, just think about the words you use.

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Let's Connect:
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Add your comments:
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* Today's daily dose: Make exercise appointments with yourself - then keep them
* Motivate Me to find work: When your skills don't quite match the selection criteria
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 23rd August 2010
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Now it may not be the first thing you do every day, but you do need to schedule exercise into your day and your week - and you do need to treat each exercise session as THE most important appointment you have - then keep your appointments.

Get out your diary or your copy of the challenge...what day(s) are you going to exercise? Make an appointment with yourself - and keep it - that's essential. Imagine you are paying a personal trainer and you pay whether you turn up or not, it would be a complete waste of money if you paid and didn't go now wouldn't it... and if you do have that kind of money to waste, please send it my way :-)

One of the tricks that I use is this. I take my work out gear with me when I go to work, because I know that if I go home before I say I am planning to go out and exercise 9 times out of 10 I won't do back out again. Granted I will be doing other things, but it will be incidental exercise as opposed to specific training. So I take my gym gear into the office with me, and I get changed before I leave work for the day. Now I have made one commitment to myself. Of course I could still drive home without doing it, but that would be a little silly, so I go.

Incidental exercise is great - this is a wonderful way to up the overall number of calories you burn during a day and includes everything from dusting and vacuuming to gardening and ironing. But a weights session or sit ups or a run / power walk it isn't.

Make sure you have plenty of variety to your program. If you go to the gym 3 times a week and have a day of rest between each session you can work the same muscles. But if you do more than that you do need to think about which areas / muscle groups you are going to be working on. It's no good having great shoulders and arms if your legs are flabby or stick thin... you'd look odd.

Try and throw in a long walk on a weekend or a couple of evenings a week, take the kids to the park and throw a ball or a frisbee around, take a dancing lesson or a swim, play a game of tennis or ride your bike to work.

Before your eyes roll back in your head and you mutter - but I don't have time ... you have exactly the right amount of time each day / week to do what you want to do. If that means giving up an hour of television a day - great. If it means you have to get up half an hour earlier to go for a walk - so what. Do you have a lunch break? Then use it. I walk every lunch time - regardless of the weather. It may not be far, it may not be fast, but I go outside and I get some fresh air into my lungs. Given that most of us work in places where they recycle the air through machines it's a good thing to do.

Given that most of us could do with utilizing the calories we are consuming in a better way - please consider making exercise a priority. Not only will you begin to look toned, but your clothes will fit you better and the health benefits are enormous.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: When your skills don't quite match the selection criteria
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Have you ever wanted a particular job? Don't know what course of study you need to take?

Simple, check the job ads and selection criteria for the jobs on offer today.

While some of these will be generic and would apply to any job - customer service, time management, good communication and interpersonal skills, there will be some that are job specific - and these will show you the kinds of courses / software / knowledge you will need to get the job of your dreams.

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Let's Connect:
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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Managing assignments and projects.
* Motivate Me to find work: Employment History - if you work on contract - say so...
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 25th August 2010
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What motivates some people to study and others to bunk off is often a mystery. So, the first thing we all need to remember is this - we have no control over anyone else, the only person we have any control over is us.

So, are you the kind of person who does what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it, or do you find all sorts of other things to do instead? It's also interesting, there are times when we procrastinate even though we know we have things we need to do - and who cares about the consequences! And other times we are on top of our workload and can do more. It happens, it's normal.

No matter what your age, or what stage you are at in your life, the problem is the same. It's just the circumstances that are different.

Ultimately it's up to you.

But there are ways to manage your assignments and projects:

Projects and assignment can seem daunting when you receive the information from your lecturer / teacher. Where do you start and how are you supposed to complete all that by the end of the year?

Of course it does depend on what the project is as to how long it is going to take to complete it. But for complex projects there are usually stages that can be completed as isolated assignments and tasks. Each of these completed assignments build up to complete the major project.

For instance, a student needs to gain a particular mark or percentage in order to pass a course of study. In order to do that, students must complete small assignments and projects throughout the semester. Individually these assignments and projects comprise only a small percentage of the final years mark. However, together, they make up the final mark. On their own, the small assignments may not seem like very much – together they can make the difference between a pass and a fail.

Understand what your final outcome should be by defining your overall project. Break down the project into assignments that can be completed within a very small and specified time frame. Complete each one and build upon your knowledge, skills and abilities to reach your project goal.

Small steps completed over time equals completion of major projects.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: Employment History - if you work on contract - say so...
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If you do not tell a prospective employer that you have worked on contract, it will simply look like you are job-hopping and cannot hold down a job for any length of time. However, by telling a prospective employer that you are a contractor means that you are willing to do whatever it takes to get the experience that you need to get the ideal position that you really want.

"Time is what we want most, but what, alas, we use worst."
William Penn

William Penn was born in 1644 and died back in 1718 yet it sounds like he is still alive today with that comment.

Will we ever learn to appreciate the time we have been given or will we still be content to waste time doing things that don't matter?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Money - food storage
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Do you really need a fridge/freezer, a bar fridge and a chest freezer – have you any idea how much money you have sitting in uneaten food / drinks in your house? Lets face it, the shops are open almost 24/7 we’re hardly going to run out of food shopping opportunities are we. But a quick question - Have you any idea how much you can save by not buying anything else until you’ve eaten everything in these storage units, and you’ll save even more if you turn them off. Rough guess is about $700 a year, that's a lot of money on a second refridgeration unit. And while you are at it, why not donate these to a local charity (thrift) store or family who needs a first one.

Line the ducks up

There is one thing I am convinced of and that is this:

We need to have a series of goals lined up so that when one has been completed the next one is already being worked on.

Why is this important?

Well I think there are several very good reasons. Not least of which is this: Can you imagine getting to the end of your one major goal, you celebrate the achievement and then - what?

Can you imagine what it would be like to have NO reason to get up in a morning, or have nothing to look forward to or work towards? You see if we don't have a goal - then all we are doing is coasting downhill towards our own and very personal "deadline".

I've always liked the sentiment that goes something like "I want to get to the end of my life, skidding in sideways - bowl of strawberries in one hand, a bottle of champagne in the other screaming - woo hoo what a ride" that's what goal setting and goal achievement is to me; a non-stop adventure which I have to explore and participate in.

As you know I completed the Perth City to Surf on Sunday. The time wasn't great, but we weren't out to break records. I did want to achieve a goal though but wasn't able to beat my personal best for 12k's - because I was walking with 2 other people. I had to walk at their pace because they weren't willing to walk to mine. But we had a great time and we raised some money for the Activ Foundation as well. But over the past couple of months of training for the hills that are part of the course, I also completed several other challenges (goals) I had set for myself. Climb Jacobs Ladder 5 times up and down (10 x 242 steps). Complete the Kokoda Track steps - also five times in one go, along with a myriad of other challenges. And whilst the City to Surf is a great achievement, I must confess that the City to Surf wasn't the BIG goal - no that is also an interim goal. The BIG goal is to reduce my body fat to about 25% - and I still have a way to go. Now I know that doesn't sound like a very interesting goal to most people, but it's what I will have to do and become to achieve that BIG goal that is the most important part.

So instead of stopping the training I have in fact changed the training completely. I don't need to work on my distance and speed for a while, now I am concentrating on muscle development. And who knows you may see me hiking the Kalbarri Gorges in a couple of weeks!! However in a couple of months I will change my training again so I can start the training so I can run the 12k's next year - I'll meet the guys at the finish line next time :-)

So why not think how you can incorporate smaller goals into your BIGGER goals and action plans and I'll see you at the end - I'll even supply the champers :-)

Today's daily dose for the 3rd September 2010: Motivation is about focus
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Could you describe your goals to me in one sentence?

It's like your elevator pitch, if you had the chance of the length of time it takes you to reach your destination - could you describe what you do in just a few moments? Good goal setting is like that elevator pitch. When you can be THAT specific you are going to achieve your goals. Why? Because you have the right focus.

Have you ever tried to construct an elevator pitch? Have you always thought how stilted and awful it sounds? Is yours too long?

Well there is a great resource, courtesy of the Harvard Business School that takes you through the process of crafting your own elevator pitch. Believe me it's fantastic (and you know I don't say that about too many things).

If you would like to learn how to craft your elevator pitch go to http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/pitch/index.html

You'll be glad you did.

Let me know how you get on.

In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Aim for success
* Motivate Me to exercise: 1. Personal bests

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Today's daily dose: 4th September 2010
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"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life."
Dr David Burns

I love this quote and the sentiment behind it, and it dovetails nicely into the first part of our month long Motivational Tips: Motivate Me to Exercise: 1 - Personal Bests

By deciding today that you are going to be just that little bit better than yesterday be it in one area of your life, or across all areas of your life (it's up to you) you are proving you are a success. By constantly challenging yourself and what you are capable of means you are a success. Granted there will be times when you feel like nothing is going right, when it seems like you are walking through treacle uphill - but you know what, you are a success because everyone else wouldn't be bothered to even try and battle through.

I'm sure you know people like that, I know I do - and it frustrates me. I know they are capable of so much more, but their minds are stuck in the cycle of "what happens if I fail?" or "I can't do that because ..." and you know what - they are absolutely correct - they can't because they say they can't. They are not willing to be wrong, they are not willing to fail, they are not willing to push themselves. And then they wonder why nothing changes for them.

I know you are not like those "other" people, but I just wanted to use today as a reminder to you - that every day you work on your goals be it for five minutes or 5 hours - you are a success. But don't be surprised when your "friends" and colleagues start complaining to you about why you have all the luck.

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Motivate Me to Exercise: 1. Personal bests
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When it comes to exercise, if we want to improve we need to improve on our own personal best. Take education as a good example of what we mean. Say for example you are in Year 10 of High School, but instead of doing Year 10 work the teacher gave you Year 8 stuff. Not only have you done the work before you will be bored rigid., and so it is with exercise. If you don't change your training, if you don't push yourself to constantly improve, you will maintain what you have at best, or worse go backwards. Now you may be happy with where you are, but I will challenge you and say that there is always room for improvement.... in some way. How can you improve your personal best?

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Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine
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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: On a scale of 1 - 10
* Motivate Me to exercise: Train with others
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine

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Today's daily dose: 7th September 2010
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"We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve."
Maxwell Maltz

Goals should be exciting, they should pull us out of bed in a morning and refuse to let us go to bed at night.

So - on a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your goals?

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Motivate Me to Exercise: Train with others
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Do you struggle with motivating yourself to exercise? Don't worry you are not alone, but there are ways to get around the problem.

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Putting the balance back into the work / life bit
* Motivate Me to exercise: 3. Train where others train - their stories can inspire you to achieve more
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 9th September 2010
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Just to let you know, I am taking some time off - yes I am going on holiday. Why?

Well - because I can - AND ...

Well the 13th September is my birthday and my gift to you - is time off from me and the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine. Now don't panic there will be the odd message coming to you (assuming the internet connection works in the Kalbarri gorges) but they will be more sporadic than I would normally like. But the beauty of giving you time off from my constant nagging (err I mean motivation) is you get to put into practice all those hints, tips and ideas I have been bombarding you with.

As a second note: On the 20th September 2010 I will be sending out the first of the weekly 100 day challenge emails. Yes we are just over 1 week away from the last 100 days of the year - and the emails will be sent to challenge you to use the last 100 days of the year to steam ahead with achieving your goals, but perhaps more importantly - setting the patterns of behavior you will need to succeed with your personal challenges.

I wish you a weekend of completed goals and many dreams come true, and I will speak to you - soon (ish) I hope

Elle

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Motivate Me to Exercise: 3. Train where others train - their stories can inspire you to achieve more
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If you train where others train you can be inspired to push yourself just that little bit harder than if you trained on your own. Now this can work hand in hand with the last note - train with others, but can equally work on its own - as you know I use both "techniques" to motivate me to exercise. Where do people exercise where you are? There are many different training areas around me and I have mentioned many of them over the last few months. I can find people running the coastal path, doing strength training on the beach, running hills and climbing the hundreds of steps of Jacob's Ladder. But I am always curious to know "what are you training for" and the stories are truly amazing. Get inspired by others to work just that little bit longer. Once you commit to bettering your own personal bests - you will achieve amazing things yourself - of that I know.

We are a mirror. What we like in others is an indication of who we are and where we are now. We emulate that which we like.

But that's not to say we should stop trying to be better than what we currently "see" not at all, merely a breathing space between where we are and where we know we want to be.

But to do that we do need to be willing to open our eyes to the possibility that we are not all there is, that there is a chance to grow even more, to become more than we currently are.

Are you willing to do that?

Most people don't think they are. You see, the problem we have is allowing ourselves to believe we can be more than we currently are, that we can be more than we hoped or dreamed, because we do have a nasty habit of telling ourselves we are not worthy.

You are worthy of so much more, just look beyond the confines of your own personal mirrors.

In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: A personal New Year's Eve
* Motivational Me to Exercise: 4. Train for a reason

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Today's daily dose: 16th September 2010
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The eve of the 13th September is always an interesting day for me. It is my "New Year's Eve". I don't use the normal calendar as my annual starting point for goal setting, or those "New Year's Resolutions" everyone sets on January 1st and forget about on the 14th, I use the date that is special to me - my birth date.

What I like to do is work out what has worked for me over the past 12 months and where I need to tighten up and do things differently. This is where I take a good and hard look at my list of achievements, and my goals and see if the 2 coincide in any way shape or form, and then I decide what it is I want to see on my goal achievement list on the eve of my birthday the following year.

How can I remember?

Well I never trust my memory that is why I use a journal. But not just any old journal technique. What I try and do every day is to write down the positives, all those things that I have managed to do. I make a note of when I send the Daily Dose - did I hit the mark or was the topic off somehow? Did I meet my personal goals for that day? Did I work on my long term goals and projects? What did I do? And yes I make a note of the blunders too. It's important to notice when you fail, so you don't repeat the mistakes.

Every day the book gets filled in.

And then I turn the book over and I write down all my current set of goals. There are the massive goals of course, but there are the little ones listed too. Finish the City to Surf, Climb Jacobs Ladder 5 times up and down, Complete my training program and my book (writing not reading). These individual "want" lists are more specific in my opinion than goals and they can be as small as "I want to get .... birthday present today". If that sort of thing has been burrowing through your mind then it is important to deal with it so you can focus on what you say is really important to you, ie., your BIG goals, whatever that means to you.

Now I know that not everyone reading this will have had a birthday recently and you may already be well into your own personal new year. But it is a good idea (IMO) to learn to reflect and to plan for the next phases and you should do so on a semi regular basis. I not only use my annual cycle of reflection and planning, but a daily, weekly and monthly schedule (with a massive kick up the backside after 3, 6 and 9 months) too - the daily ones are easier to work out of course when you know what your longer term goals are. And we have spoken about those kinds of things many times. Why should I need a kick up the backside? Well as you know it is easy to get faked into thinking busy is the same as productive - it's not. So I too pull myself into line and work out what I need to do to push my goal achievement just that little bit harder / faster.

Now this technique may not work for you, but if the way you've been working hasn't either - can you please give it a go and see if you can't kickstart your own personal new year's revolutions.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Me to Exercise: 4. Train for a reason
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As we mentioned in the last edition of Motivate Me to Exercise - on Training Where Others Train. The next best motivational tip I can give you for exercising on a consistent basis is to train for a reason.

Training for a reason means you get up and you get going no matter how you are feeling, what the weather is doing or what else you have to do today. Training is the one and only thing that should sit in the No1 spot on your to-do list when you are training for a reason.

What do I mean?

Well can you imagine getting up one morning and deciding you are going to run a marathon that day. Now unless you are Eddie Izzard who did not only that but another 40 odd marathon's in 40 odd-days you will need to train and you will need to build up your strength, stamina and you will need to build up both speed and distance. And the same is true for most kinds of sports. Rarely are we blessed with an innate ability to be the No1 tennis or other kind of player. We need to practice and we need to train for a reason. The key of course is to find your training "reason".

As you know I bored you rigid with my training program when I was in the lead up to do the Perth City to Surf. I thought it would be harder than that, I was told the hills were killers - they may have been for the runners you understand, but for us "walkers" well not for me at any rate. In the end I didn't break any records, personal or otherwise because I ended up walking with 2 other people, one of which was my walking partner of course, the other was a work colleague of hers - who was a bit older than us, and I would say not quite as fit... Now, most people gave up training after the race had ended - including my walking partner... lazy muppet. But knowing I was going to be hiking in the Kalbarri gorges a few weeks later, meant I wasn't prepared to lose my ability to run up and down hills and not collapse in a heap at the top, so I carried on. We got back from that trip yesterday. As you know it was my birthday on Monday and therefore I am now into the planning of my "new" year, I use my birth day to decide my plans and goals for the next 12 months - well it is my new year after all. So I shall be finding another reason to "train" other than just for general health, fitness and a chance to look even better in clothes than I do already.

So what are your reasons to train? Once you find that out, you will never have motivational problems with exercise again.

"Some people walk in the rain...others just get wet" I'm not sure who coined that phrase but it's very appropriate for our current weather conditions. Cloud bursts have become the norm and you would think most people were made of either sugar or salt the way they are carrying on.

It's water for goodness sake....you get wetter having a shower. Granted the water is a darned sight warmer and you don't usually get into the shower with your clothes on, but that's not the point. Most people assume they can't do things when it's wet, or there is snow on the ground or it's too hot.... or is that just the Perth, Western Australian people?

We can allow outside influences to affect our decisions, or we can simply work with them.

When I was in the Girl Guides - way back when, we went to an International Scout and Guide camp, young people travelled from all over the globe to congregate - about 4 miles from my house..... Typical. But like all camping in the UK (I migrated to Australia 14 years ago) in the summer, you could guarantee one thing - it rained. One night it rained so badly we got washed out of our tent. The following day we were delivered an Army surplus one which housed about 20 of us in the end... which we called "Saggy Annie) Interestingly enough - we "brits" had one side and the Irish girls had the other. But that's not the point. We still enjoyed the holiday with our overseas friends, we were invited over to the German Scout camp and enjoyed cocoa and Bratwurst, and the 10-pin bowling was a hoot when we all "worked out" how to get on the same bus and the same team .... it was even funnier when I managed to drop the bowling ball on my foot..... But it carried on raining, days and days of wet weather. Did we let the weather put us off our fun? Absolutely not, we ran around camp (a farmers field in Breedon on the Hill (1980) ) wearing cagoules (rain macs) t-shirts, shorts and gum boots.

I'm not sure if it was because we lived in England where it rained most of the time anyway (or just seemed to ) - that I just get on and do stuff regardless of what the weather is doing, or what it is. I just know that I cannot allow the "weather" to affect my personal "weather". OK I do get a little cranky when it gets over 40 degrees for more than a couple of days, my brain melts and I yearn for snow capped mountains, but if I want to keep on working towards my goals then I have to just get on and do some things, regardless of whether I am going to get wet or not, or hot or cold.

Do you allow outside influences to affect you and the decisions you make about your goals?

Why or why not?

With many thoughts

This is a task I never delegate and I actually like the feeling of doing myself. Every now and then I will clean cupboards and drawers. Today is the kitchen's turn.

I am a great believer in getting rid of clutter -

It's a Friday night, my son is working and my daughter is sleeping over at a girlfriends place, so for a couple of hours before I need to go pick up my boy I am cleaning the clutter. Tonight it is the turn of the kitchen, a place where we spend a lot of our time and perhaps the most neglected when it comes to dumping things.

Why do I tell you this - well the answer is simple.

If you spend too much time hunting for anything it means you have a good reason to procrastinate. You can't do something because you can't find it.

I bet you have no idea how much junk you actually have in your cupboards - kitchen or otherwise.

If you feel up to it - and please try this at least once as it's great therapy. Take one cupboard and take everything out and put it on the floor. Wipe down the surfaces. But before you put everything back - ask yourself - when was the last time you EVER used that particular item? Do you really need to keep it? No - then get a bag and if it isn't junk - give it to a thrift store. If it's junk - then toss it.

Or if it is your desk or working area - then do the same thing.

If you still have trouble understanding the importance of de-cluttering your living arrangements - think of it this way. If you were moving to a new house tomorrow - do you really want to be carting junk with you?

So a lesson in watch what you are doing.

In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Spinning straw into gold
* Motivate Me to exercise: Hydrate
* 100 Day Challenge: Public Holidays
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 27th September 2010: Spinning straw into gold
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When you do more you always find time to do more.

Sometimes we get our biggest gains when we are busy, or as someone once said "on a roll".

Why?

I think it comes down to those kinds of days when everything works, you could spin straw into gold and find time to go and cut some more straw. We gain inspiration and strength from achievement, and those achievements don't even need to be massive for us to feel that we could go on forever. Does that make sense? I hope so because I have a confession to make.

I've been procrastinating.

Yes me - it happens.

I don't like gardening, in fact if truth be told I loathe and detest it. I like the end result of a nice garden, but I hate the process of grubbing through the muck dragging weeds / grass from the earth and returning a few days later to find the darn things are back again. My biggest problem has been the front garden bed. This bed was OK, until a storm a couple of years ago ripped out a couple of massive trees and it has never looked the same since. I've tried everything to clear it of grass and nothing has worked. My neighbors offered to get the bobcat in for me when they were re-doing their front garden, but there are too many pipes and other nasties to even think about that... and I could guarantee that when I did start I would end up breaking something. Well after months of looking at the mess I decided I'd had enough and started the process of clearing it again. Except this time I would weed mat and mulch as I went along - something I didn't do last time. But I also sprayed the ground with weedkiller - if you understand couch grass you will know it uses the runner system to propogate and it's a pain to get rid of (another reason why I hate gardening). And to make matters worse, the last 2 metres of bed contained a low growing bush that needed to come out because of the rubbish growing through it ... When I started the process a week ago I cursed and grumbled, and sure enough went through the pipe. More cussing ensued. This week I could see just how little was left to do and nothing was going to stop me from finishing the process. I even managed to dig out the bush - go me - and I am pleased to say that after 15 hours the garden bed is now finished and I can move on to more important matters.

Believe me when i say this - you can find inspiration from anywhere. But that stupid, single decision to clear that garden bed has given me the strength to do so much more. Today I am on a roll and looking for more straw to spin into gold.

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Motivate Me to Exercise: Hydrate
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Water is perhaps the most important thing to remember when you are training. Believe it or not, drinking too much water doesn't leave you bloated, rather it stops the bloating from happening. It also helps move things along in the intenstine department - if you get my meaning, so drink water and lots of it - if only for that reason. But when it comes to exercise, especially if like me, you sweat a lot you should consider upping your normal water intake to offset the amount you are losing through your pores.

If you find yourself running out of steam during your exercise session it may be that you are dehydrated, believe me it makes a massive difference to your strength, stamina and duration of your exercise routine if you are.

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100 Day Challenge: Public Holidays
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As I mentioned in yesterday's 100 day challenge blog post, today is one of Queen Elizabeth's many birthday's. Happy birthday your majesty. But it means that we get a day off "work" whatever that means and a chance to do a lot of work on our goals and of course challenges.

My to-do list for today:

* Exercise / Weight Loss: Personal training day today with Hils at Efit121 (http://www.efit121.com.au) - always good for a laugh and a lot of workout in half an hour. I am much stronger now compared to when I started with Hils. Today I managed to do one exercise quite easily that I couldn't even manage a single one of when I first started. I can now deadlift 60 kilos and my back which has always hurt (I usually suffer from sciatic pain caused by a degenerative disc in my lower back) aches pleasantly and I no longer get the shooting pain down my leg which is fantastic. The other thing I noticed is that I don't get as many migraine's - again the muscles are protecting the joints and my neck which I damaged and nearly broke in my early 20's can now stand the extra weights too ... so more than a few bonuses from doing regular exercise.
* Incidental exercise - gardening today was an hour of lawn (well weed) mowing.
* Ad-hoc spending - today is a public holiday and the weekend rules apply, so I enjoyed my cup of coffee today :-)
* Discarding 100 things gallery - http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/ - image has been posted
* 100 day challenge - blog posts - still need to write today's ... but you can find all the rest at - http://www.motivateme.info/100-day-challenge/
* Write and send the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine - writing underway as you can attest to ...

Back to work tomorrow, so lots of house hold stuff happening including the making of gorgeous slow cooked lamb shanks for dinner.

How are you going with your challenges?

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* Today's daily dose: Bragging just a little bit
* Motivate Me to exercise: Don't make excuses
* 100 Day Challenge: The Daily Posts
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
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Today's daily dose: 29th September 2010 - Bragging just a little
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My son always seems to have some kind of paper, pens, paints, pencils, texta's and anything else he use to draw on and with. His school books are covered in drawings and I can guarantee that every single piece of paper on the other desk will have his art work liberally spread about on it. I've bought him hundreds of sketch pads over the years and they are crammed with his work.

My son is an artist and he seems to spend every single minute of every single day drawing.

The school where my son is a student was part of a group of schools chosen by the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia and Transperth to design some posters for the 2010 Urban Art Project. We have been told these posters would be used by Transperth and the PTA to prove that not all street art is graffiti. We were also told that the top kids from each of the 5 schools would be part of the design team to paint (pimp) a 200 metre wall at the recently built Thornlie train station during the first week of the schook holidays.

Once the designs were drawn, the top kids from each school were given a canvas and taught how to use spray paints - properly, by the professional street artists.

What happened then was interesting. My son and 4 of his mates then used their pocket money and bought themselves some more canvases and paints with all the correct nozzles and in their own time created their own works of art. Believe me when I say it wasn't easy getting the finished canvas into the back of my Fiesta. But we did.

And then we heard nothing with regards to the main competition - for weeks, and I'm sure my son got a little miffed when I kept asking if he had heard anything.

A couple of weeks ago I got home to find a certificate on the counter - congratulations on being part of the 2010 urban street art competition... I picked my son up from his work several hours later to be told that not only had he been picked to paint the train station along with several of his friends, but that his canvas had taken 2nd place.

We are well into the first week of the holidays and I figured there wouldn't be any painting done by the kids, even though Eden had seen it being worked on (he's a regular train user). When I got home today I found a letter advising us that Eden and his friends will be onsite for the next 2 days to help paint the mural with the professionals. Thank goodness the mail wasn't delayed. He doesn't know yet, he's at work, so it will come as a nice surprise to him when I pick him up.

He has a camera to go with him so hopefully we'll get some shots of work in progress.

What can I say, as a parent I am immensely proud of my son's achievement. But I am also as pleased with the motivation he shows and his friends have shown to hone their craft - every single day. Can we honestly say the same thing about our own goals? Do we work on them every single day?

Given the right kinds of incentive, kids can out motivate us adults any day of the week. And how brilliant is that.

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Motivate Me to Exercise: Don't make excuses
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I really didn't want to go to the gym tonight. I am beyond tired and still sore from the weekend. Not just the gardening you understand, but the strain on the right arm - yes at my age, injury is part and parcel of trying to keep fit.

I changed my mind twice on the drive home, but in the end I decided to do it anyway. I made a point of mentioning the pulled muscle / tendon to the trainer so he was able to give me a different kind of arm / shoulder exercise, and it wasn't too bad. Now I am sitting here typing this and I can feel it - but I shall ice it later and once this has reached you I will be turning off the computers and resting it anyway.

I am also basking in the after glo that is a serotonin release that always comes post exercise "the runners high" - well let's face it, there has to be some kind of payback for working out. I could have made all sorts of excuses as to why I couldn't or shouldn't have trained tonight - but not tonight - sometimes you need to talk yourself into doing things, and I'm glad I did.

Now you could say is that so you can say "see if I can do so and so then you can do it too?"

Yes and no.

You are all old enough to make up your own minds about whether you should or should not do something. I may be beyond tired, but I also know that the exercise is too important to miss, even when injured / sore. Why? Well way back when, in the dim and distant past, I fell down a flight of stairs, head first and nearly broke my neck. The exercise helps keep the migraines at bay that come when I don't exercise. Given that I can feel the muscles crunch is always a good sign that my neck will cause me more problems if I don't than if I do. Which is why I went.

So for me, if I make excuses I simply make more problems for myself.

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100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Yesterday was a stepping stone to today
* 100 Day Challenge: The Daily Posts
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
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Today's daily dose: 4th October - Yesterday was a stepping stone to today
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Or as Pink Floyd said "all in all it's just another brick in the wall"

How is it that some people look at life as something to be endured rather than enjoyed? While others embrace everything and the change that naturally happens when you leap towards a new day.

It may be as simple as human nature of course, but deep down I think there is more at stake.

You can look at a downturn in the economy as a negative, or you can look at it and ask, why are people no longer buying my product or service? But more importantly what can I do today that means tomorrow when the news will be better, that I am at the forefront of everyone's mind?

Marketing of yourself and your business should always be a high priority of course, but with Information Overload, it is important to get the right message out at the right time. BUT you should also make sure you are not begging people to buy your "stuff".

A case in point, I've signed up for lots of newsletters and ezines over the years, but today I had to take the drastic step and cull most of the recent signings.

Why?

Well I hate being "sold" to, and virtually every ezine from this group of people was - buy this, buy that, and if you do it today you get a ...

Annoying to say the least.

So, how do you get the right mix?

Well I'm not an expert, but something in the region of once in a blue moon is ok to do a direct sell with an ezine, the rest should be "what you said you would give your readers" these didn't, so every one was unsubscribed. Similarly, if you use twitter and / or facebook as a way to meet your clients, again - less of the direct sell and be willing to share information.

Why do you think cold calling doesn't work? Because everyone can smell a desperate please buy from me a mile off. It just amuses me that people think they can use the social networks in the same way as they once did Direct Mail and the telephone. Let me say this once - NO you can't. What you do have to do is be honest, be open, be willing to share information and be willing to pass on the name of other people / companies if they are in a better position to help "your" client than you are. It may sound like a recipe for disaster, but believe me and I'm going to paraphrase Zig Ziglar here "you can get everything you want, if you help as many people as you can get what they want".

So your task is to find out what your clients want, and then find a way to give it to them. And no I don't mean a) bugging them every five minutes or b) bombarding their inboxes with crap either, but by being genuinely interested in their problem. After all that is why you are in business isn't it - to solve someone else's problems.

As always, with many thoughts

Elle

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100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
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Discarding 100 items in 100 days : So far so good and my kids are now joining in. My son is especially intrigued with the process and cleaned his room last night and added a clock to the mix... that's not today's item though - today's discard item actually comprises 2 items that just didn't "work". Ladies you will understand this one far better than the blokes out there. And no it's not being sexist, just that for a handbag to "work" it has to be able to do certain things - these 2 failed... http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/

And the daily posts are available at: http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/

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To unsubscribe: Either hit the reply button and add unsubscribe to the beginning of the subject line. Please note: you do need to unsubscribe using the same e-mail address you subscribed with for this to take effect. Or if for some reason you get a bounce back - go to the contact me page on the site and let me know via the site. For some reason (and no-one seems to know why) sometimes my e-mail address doesn't work, and I apologize for the inconvenience. It appears to be an intermittent technological problem that is out of my hands at this time.

Thank you for taking the time to read these daily musings, we hope to see you again in the not too distant future.

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All rights reserved worldwide. No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share, nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: The seven wonders of the world
* 100 Day Challenge: The Daily Posts - but where did I fail?
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
--------------------------
Today's daily dose: 6th October - The seven wonders of the world
---------------------------
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present "seven wonders of the world". There were some disagreements but the following got the most votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. The Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. The Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. The Great Wall of China

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student hadn't finished her paper. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied "Yes a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."

The teacher said "Well tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."

The girl hesitated then read "I think the seven wonders of the world are:

1. To see
2. To hear
3. To touch
4. To taste
5. To feel
6. To laugh
7. To love

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple are ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous!

A gentle reminder to all of us.

As always, with many thoughts

Elle

-------------------------------------
100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
-------------------------------------

Discarding 100 items in 100 days : Forgot to post yesterday's pic, and I didn't have my camera with me to re-transfer the files (had to wait til I got home) - 2 up today - http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/

But the posts are all there - and you know the scary part - we are now at Day 15: http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/

---------------------------
Let's Connect:
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Add your comments: http://www.motivateme.info/daily-dose-ezine/
http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

It was foggy this morning when I went for my walk, I could barely see the end of the road, so it was a good job I knew the way, which made me think .....

To see the future clearly, not only do you need to see it, you need to have vision.

Without vision you will wander down blind alleys because you don't know where you are going and you haven't thought through your options.

Whilst you can as Jack Canfield says drive from New York to LA in the middle of the night and get there just by seeing the next 100m or so, you do need to know - not just where you are going - but understand the directions as well - otherwise you'll end up in Cleveland. You may have had your eyes open, but you didn't have "vision" you didn't really "see" what was going on around you.

Take any of your goals, and today - break it down - what can you do now - today to get you through the "next 100 meters"

If you don't know that first step believe me you will have trouble reaching your goal.

What can that one step be?

Each step may only be short, but as we all know - every minute decision added together makes a massive difference.

You've seen the email, you've read the offer and your BS meter has kicked in. No, can't be true, can't be real, won't work for me, got to be a scam.

The truth is, some offers are genuine and some of them work - some of the time. Unfortunately, some people have no compunction about selling you the world for 3 easy payments of .... but you have to do EXACTLY what they say or it won't work - hence why it probably won't work and hence why you probably won't get the same kind of results. The self-help and weight loss industry likes people like us.

But it annoys me. It annoys me that people in the industry will use cross promotion to sell things they don't believe in and don't use themselves just to get the affiliate dollars. But maybe I'm the stupid one, after all they're the ones who say they're making money - oops did I say that?

So how are "they" different from the Daily Dose - well in lots of ways actually.

I will occasionally tell you what I'm reading, but that's to prove to you I am still on the learning curve, just like you. I will occasionally tell you something if it relates to the challenge - as most of you have a copy of that (we gave it away in 2009 if you remember) I don't have a problem with reminding you of its importance. And I will tell you if I need you to think about things differently, or do some task - as we all know - action is essential if we want to move forwards AND overcome the procrastination habit.

So today's message is a two-fold one:

1. Follow your heart, go for your dreams - but always work with your own integrity gene.
2. You don't need any more information, you probably have enough books, programs, courses - you don't need to buy just one more so you can get started. You have enough now to make a start. Any more is just a waste of money - don't believe me, look at your bookcases and your downloaded files. Did you read / listen to them all? Did you follow through with the exercises / suggestions / action ideas? Have you managed to reach the promised outcome?

So - what I would like you to do

1. Choose an area you know you need to work on and commit for the next 100 days to work on it - yes get out your copy of the challenge - you should have it hidden somewhere on your computer - now is the time to use it. If you don't have it, you don't NEED to get a copy (did I just say that !!!) - just commit to your chosen area and make a note in your diary of what you have done each day.
- It may be you choose to read a chapter of a book each day
- Start to exercise - every day regardless of whatever else you need to do or the weather
- Put money aside for your future
- Commit to giving up cigarettes
- Start work on your own business
- Make a commitment to write useful and interesting articles to send to your clients

or whatever your chosen goal is

2. Don't stop if things get too hard or if life gets in the way. If you know what you want, you should be able to navigate around any kind of road block you come up against. And one thing I know for certain is this - if you really decide to do something then things do tend to conspire to help you reach your goal - and you know I'm right.

In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: Out on the humpback highway
* 100 Day Challenge: Still chucking stuff away
-------------------------------------
My mother in law is over for a visit...well when I say mother in law, I mean ex- but it gets far too complicated. We get on well believe it or not, so when she said she was heading over to Perth for a holiday I made a decision to take a couple of days out of my rather insane schedule to spend some time with her, after all, none of us are getting any younger. And before you say anything - traveling always makes her sick, but she gets on the plane anyway. Which is why, rather than re-do the same sights we've always done, I decided I would do something a lot different - I just hoped she was game enough to give it a go.

I have been writing my bucket list for a couple of years now, all those things I said I wanted to do - at some point in the future - and on the list was "whale watching". We are very fortunate to live in Western Australia and right next to the Indian Ocean which is lovingly referred to as the humpback highway. Whales travel the coast twice a year. On the way up the coast to the Kimberly after feeding in Antarctica they swim several hundred kilometers out to sea. But after the females give birth and spend time resting and playing around (if you get my meaning) they travel back down the coast and the food in the Antarctic - but with the young in tow, they hug a 30 kilometer contour line down the coast, which brings them close enough for people to see them... maybe. The first time we tried to get tickets to the whale watching cruise, the boat was fully booked (I'd forgotten the bit about it being school holidays). Not to be out smarted I booked online, and yesterday we traveled down to the port city of Fremantle and caught the boat. It turns out Margaret was scared, she wasn't sure if she would get sea sick, but the thought of seeing whales did it for her and nothing was going to stop her.

20 minutes out to sea the captain saw a whale breaching - and he slowed down to get a bearing on where the animal might be. Nothing. The whale decided it wasn't going to show again. To say the atmosphere on the boat was down was a complete understatement. 40 minutes and several more laps around the island of Rottnest, I had all but given up hope, but I didn't want to say anything, but I could tell Margaret was getting disappointed. The boat struggled through the massive swell, the wind was quite strong and barf bags were given out (thankfully we didn't need them). but one gentleman muttered he was severely regretting the eggs he had eaten for breakfast. And then it came, whales at 3 o'clock. The captain slowed the boat (there are strict regulations regarding how close a boat can get to the animals - but if they come to you ... hey a different story). We had 2 people on board from the whale research institution, and they were able to give us some amazing information. I had both a normal camera (point n shoot) and a video camera with me. My mother in law, also had her camera, but to be honest to capture the perfect image was going to be impossible using the camera, so after a while I abandoned it, let the video camera run and just stood and watched the spectacle.

What we saw was quite amazing, one individual had lost its tail (fluke) and another large male had been wrapped in ropes from fishing lines and was deeply scarred. The researchers took photographs, these camera images would be added to the database to identify and "name" the animals. Despite there being, supposedly several thousand animals, with several meters high swell, you have to realize just how lucky you are to see anything out there. To say I feel blessed to have been able to spend some time to see them is an understatement.

As you know I work a lot of hours, and taking time out yesterday to see the whales meant that today was always going to be insane. But to me, doing these kinds of crazy things helps put everything else back into perspective. It does help me put the balance back into the work / life thing - especially when you do get the perfect picture. Believe it or not, the rest of the pictures I took are absolute rubbish - though the video is amazing. With a point and shoot camera you have to be incredibly lucky - and yes I was.

-------------------------------------
100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
-------------------------------------
Some of my son's friends don't believe him when he shows them my website and says "my mum does this" well in answer to his critics who say - no she doesn't - today's discard items are his - nuts, bolts and plates he's littered the house with over the years of skateboarding. I'd put a plastic bag of bits into the drawer and when I was going through it (the drawer that is) he decided it wasn't necessary to keep them after all. But had I thrown them away - you could almost guarantee he would have needed them. Anyway today's discarding 100 things in 100 days continues http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/

And the daily posts are in : http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/

---------------------------
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Add your comments: http://www.motivateme.info/daily-dose-ezine/
http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

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Thank you for taking the time to read these daily musings, we hope to see you again in the not too distant future.

All contents Copyright (c) 2005/2010 Motivateme.info except where indicated otherwise.

All rights reserved worldwide. No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share, nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine
---------------------------
In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: even the fly has its uses
* 100 Day Challenge: Tech issues
-------------------------------------
Today's daily dose: 19th October 2010
-------------------------------------

"Praise and recognize others for the good they do and tolerate the characteristics that make each of us less than perfect."
Billy Cox

Even the fly has its uses. They can be used as a source of protein when you inadvertently swallow them. They can be used as a method of exercise when you have to constantly shoo them away from your face and food, and if you use a swatter, well then we are talking serious upper body and arm exercises too.

You may think I am being facetious, but I'm not, flies really do have their uses and not just for the reasons I've listed above. When you do stop and think about what the flora and the fauna that inhabit this planet each has its uses and reason for being. To us we may not be aware of what those uses and reasons for being are, but to each species - they know and they do everything, every single day to ensure they adhere to that goal.

But what about us, supposedly the most intelligent species on the planet, can we say the same?

As always, something to think about

Elle

-------------------------------------
100 Day Challenge: Tech issues
-------------------------------------

Technology is great - when it works, we all know that. What I've found though as I've struggled through most of 2010 with my recalcitrant computers is this - you can never be too organized. My problems started when my main laptop decided to blue screen. It went to the chop shop twice and seemed to be OK, but then it started doing something completely ridiculous - I couldn't move files. So - we bit the bullet and bought Windows 7 and bye bye Vista. Thank goodness I had a netbook, and my partner gave me a spare laptop ... which is rather like having a spare car on the drive just in case the one you usually drive doesn't want to work every other day.

Problem solved. I could give back the spare computer I had borrowed from my partner, re-load the mail send program onto the laptop and voila... Minor problems, I had downloaded some pics onto the hard drive of the borrowed computer for the discard 100 things gallery - so will need to borrow that computer again for about 5 minutes to send them to myself.

So, the re-load was working beautifully, the laptop was doing everything it was expected to do, and then the wireless router decided it wasn't going to play anymore. Well at the time we didn't know it was the wireless router. Trial and error finally picked it up. So a couple of apologies

As I always tell my kids, there is always a lesson or two to be learned from everything, especially the bad. The trick is to learn from them so you don't have to repeat the lessons.

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To unsubscribe: Either hit the reply button and add unsubscribe to the beginning of the subject line. Please note: you do need to unsubscribe using the same e-mail address you subscribed with for this to take effect. Or if for some reason you get a bounce back - go to the contact me page on the site and let me know via the site. For some reason (and no-one seems to know why) sometimes my e-mail address doesn't work, and I apologize for the inconvenience. It appears to be an intermittent technological problem that is out of my hands at this time.

Thank you for taking the time to read these daily musings, we hope to see you again in the not too distant future.

All contents Copyright (c) 2005/2010 Motivateme.info except where indicated otherwise.

All rights reserved worldwide. No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share, nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

Yesterday we provided some simple strategies on ways to overcome the procrastination habit. If you didn't find those suggestions helpful, I hope the next batch of suggestions will resonate for you and allow you to overcome the procrastination habit.

The 100 Day Challenge Program
Days 70 - 61

Dig Deep Into Thy Reserves:
Now is the time to persevere

Is now available - read more

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine
---------------------------
In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: Is it just a case of saying yes?
* 100 Day Challenge: Finally caught up...
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
-------------------------------------
Today's daily dose: 25th October 2010
-------------------------------------
Living in Australia, with most of my family and "old" friends back home in England, there comes a time when we play host and tour guide. That happened recently when my mother in law came for a visit - well ex- MIL but we get on really well. And then of course my mind went into overdrive - what could we do during her holiday to make it a memorable one? My problem wasn't what to do, but what did we have time to do - answer = not everything, but my goodness we were going to have a great time trying.

Our first foray into the tourist world took us on a river cruise up the swan river from Fremantle to Perth City. A day on the water, someone else doing the driving, all we had to do was sit and watch, get off, find somewhere for lunch and make sure we were back to the terminal in time to catch the boat back. It was a glorious day, it wasn't what I had hoped to do that day - but the other cruise was full.

Our second foray I wasn't going to be beaten. As soon as I got home, I went online and booked the tickets - we were going whale watching. My MIL was a little apprehensive, she's not used to doing weird stuff, but was game enough to give it a go. As we were driving down to catch the cruise boat, I poked her on the leg and said "we're going whale watching" she cracked up ... kids the pair of us.

My working schedule over the last couple of weeks has been pretty horrid, but her last day / evening was fast approaching, so I gave up the night and bundled her and my daughter into the car - there were a couple of things I wanted her to see. I drove back into Perth City, but this time headed up the Mt Eliza escarpment and into Kings Park. A wonderful place someone had the foresight to set aside as a public space and where we could look across and down into the city. It was dark and was very windy by the time we got there, but that hadn't deterred anyone, the place was packed. There were people exercising, boot camp, personal trainers using the wide open spaces to put the people who needed that kind of motivation through their paces. And then there were others who had taken their dinner, some had bottles of wine, others take away, and all were sitting on the grass in the middle of a normal week just doing something different. And then there were people like us, just out for a walk and to look at the view. And it is an amazing view - something you have to experience to understand. The lights went on forever, the stars and the moon cast an otherworldly glow over the entire proceedings - and we just stood - taking it all in, absorbing it, committing it to our memory banks.

We didn't stay long, the wind was too fierce and I didn't want my MIL's cough / cold to get worse, so we headed out of the Park, but not straight down into the city - and the way we had gone up, but through the darkened bushland and out via one of the park's other entrances. Why? Well you also get an amazing view from Mounts Bay Road, which runs between the escarpment and the River, so we wandered back into the city and to the next part of the evening - drinks at the Duxton. My MIL would never have gone there on her own. Perception that she wasn't dressed well enough, or that she wouldn't be allowed in. Knowing the place well, and it of course being a hotel, they are used to people being dressed in everything from the trackpants and jeans of the traveller to the business suits of people like me who had yet to go home.

The staff were amazing as always - if you want the best iced coffee in the entire world, I would have to recommend the Duxton in Perth on a Wednesday night. As the bar manager said, the person who was making the drinks always put a lot of love and care into whatever he made, and you know what - she was absolutely right, it was superb.

One night and 2 amazing experiences - and what had it cost me? A bit of time and petrol, a bit of thought and a couple of dollars for a cup of tea - the effect though was priceless and I know my MIL appreciated every single moment of it.

In taking a couple of days out of my schedule I had also managed to cross off a couple of things off my "bucket" list - those - do before you die kind of moments - one of which was the whale watching of course. Had I decided to wait until my schedule had cleared to take the days off, the whales would have left our shores for another year. So there are times when you just have to say "yes" to the opportunities when they are presented to you - and we did. I have a picture of the whale's tail fluke sitting in a frame on my desk - a perfect reminder of a brilliant day.

A couple of things I would like you to think about this week -

    * Don't wait for the perfect opportunity - make your own
    * Make one night this week an occassion. Set the table, light the candles - get takeaway or cook beans on toast - what you eat isn't as important as the reason for doing it.
    * Do what the families and the couples were doing - take "dinner" and go and sit on whatever is your Mt Eliza escarpment and enjoy your food with a view.
    * Take a good look at where you live - choose somewhere in close proximity - and go and explore it. Pretend you have a visitor with you if you have to, but take time out and enjoy whatever you have been blessed with where you are. And if you say "I don't have time" - well neither did I, but I did think about item no 1 on this list. Remember, it doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be expensive, but you are creating space and the memories that will fill you with smiles when you stop to remember them. I remember watching The Lake House, 2 people separated by time, living in the same place, but they went for a walk around where they lived and spent time - together, apart - enjoying the views. If you haven't seen it, forget the cheese that is the movie, just appreciate that single moment - given what we have been talking about, you will understand what I mean.
    * And put a little bit of love and care into everything you do this week, you would be surprised at the difference it makes.

Ok, that's it for today, a long post, but sometimes a necessary one. I can't always motivate you by poking you on the leg telling you to do something, but I can hope to show you what can be achieved if you stop and think about life in just a slightly different way.

Here's to your adventures this week.

Enjoy.

Elle

-------------------------------------
100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
-------------------------------------
Finally caught up. Believe it or not there are now 34 items in the discarding 100 things in 100 days - that means it is over a month since we started the challenge. How are you doing? http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/
And the daily posts are finally in too after server meltdowns : http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/
---------------------------
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Share this e-zine:
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reason you get a bounce back - go to the contact me page on the site and let
me know via the site. For some reason (and no-one seems to know why) sometimes
my e-mail address doesn't work, and I apologize for the inconvenience. It appears
to be an intermittent technological problem that is out of my hands at this
time.
Thank you for taking the time to read these daily musings, we hope to see you
again in the not too distant future.
All contents Copyright (c) 2005/2010 Motivateme.info except where indicated
otherwise.
All rights reserved worldwide. No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share,
nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine
---------------------------
In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: Doing it for others
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
--------------------------
Today's daily dose: 31st October 2010
---------------------------
Today was the day of the BIG Walk - a 6km, 11km or 15km walk for charity to raise funds for kids with cancer at PMH

The event raised (in total) well over $50,000 and is a fantastic result - thank you.

I've attached some pics from this morning - http://www.motivateme.info/gallery/the-big-walk-311010/

My time for the 15k's was 2hrs and 13 mins. To give you a time stamp - my girlfriend and I walked the Perth City to Surf which is 12k's in 2hrs 18 mins ... the difference when you walk to your own pace, although I must remember to take my walkman next time, people were complaining about the singing ;-)

I was walking on my own - well amongst the crowd at least - and dodged round some slower walkers when I heard "don't lose the witch" so I yelled "OY - cheeky" turns out a group of ladies had tried to match my pace through the duration of the walk ... I said, well I'm out to break a personal record, so I hope you are up for it. And then I explained about you and the challenge, and she said "well you are certainly motivating us" ... it was interesting though, a couple of k's further on, I overheard one lady tell someone else about why I do these kinds of things - our fame is spreading :-)

Anyway, just a quick thank you to everyone who sponsored me, both myself and the kids at PMH are very grateful.

Elle
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To unsubscribe: Either hit the reply button and add unsubscribe to the beginning of the subject line. Please note: you do need to unsubscribe using the same e-mail address you subscribed with for this to take effect. Or if for some reason you get a bounce back - go to the contact me page on the site and let me know via the site. For some reason (and no-one seems to know why) sometimes my e-mail address doesn't work, and I apologize for the inconvenience. It appears to be an intermittent technological problem that is out of my hands at this time.
Thank you for taking the time to read these daily musings, we hope to see you again in the not too distant future.
All contents Copyright (c) 2005/2010 Motivateme.info except where indicated otherwise.
All rights reserved worldwide. No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share, nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose
of Motivational Medicine
---------------------------
In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: Do you miss the bargains because you fail to follow through?
* 100 Day Challenge: The Daily Posts and the gallery
--------------------------
Today's daily dose: 7th November 2010
---------------------------
"What is absolutely indispensable is strict follow-through, effort, and stick-to-itiveness. Don't be frightened if things seem difficult in the beginning. That's only the initial impression. The important thing is not to retreat; you have to master yourself. This ability to conquer oneself is no doubt the most precious of all the things sports bestow on us."
Olga Korbut

It's not just sports people that rely on absolute dedication and follow through, but everyone in a "normal" every day life should too. A girlfriend of mine is the absolute worst in follow through, she looks and looks and looks - but rarely does she make a decision - even when faced with the absolute, must have bargain, she would walk away - and then complain she should have bought it because it's everything she said she wanted and at a great price too. To be honest I hate shopping with her because I am the opposite - if there is something I want and I feel it is exactly what I am looking for and it "fits" - be that the house, myself or the person I am buying it for - then I will buy it. I rarely worry about the decision - AFTER the purchase. She on the other hand needs validation - before, during and after purchase ... it drives me nuts.

Of course this principal does not just apply to every day life of course, but to our school / college / university / business life as well.

Failure to follow through means we simply cannot move forwards.

How many times have you failed to follow through? This week, I need you to follow through with your decision making. Go with your gut instinct and see how much more you can achieve as a result.

As always, many thoughts

Elle

------------------------------

-------
100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
-------------------------------------
And the daily posts are in : http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/

As are the pics AND there are more on the camera after the weekend's shed clearing exercise :-)
---------------------------
Let's Connect:
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Add your comments: http://www.motivateme.info/daily-dose-ezine/
http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb
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We would like to thank you in advance for forwarding this issue onto family,
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going into the canned meat product folder can you please add my e-mail address
to your safe senders list. Thank you.
To unsubscribe: Either hit the reply button and add unsubscribe to the beginning
of the subject line. Please note: you do need to unsubscribe using the same
e-mail address you subscribed with for this to take effect. Or if for some
reason you get a bounce back - go to the contact me page on the site and let
me know via the site. For some reason (and no-one seems to know why) sometimes
my e-mail address doesn't work, and I apologize for the inconvenience. It appears
to be an intermittent technological problem that is out of my hands at this
time.
Thank you for taking the time to read these daily musings, we hope to see you
again in the not too distant future.
All contents Copyright (c) 2005/2010 Motivateme.info except where indicated
otherwise.
All rights reserved worldwide. No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share,
nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine
---------------------------
In This Issue:
---------------------------
* Today's daily dose: Are you an octopus on roller skates
* 100 day challenge: A busy weekend
--------------------------
Today's daily dose: 8th November 2010
---------------------------
"Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways. "
Writer, H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

This sums up quite nicely where we are if:

We don't know which of our goals are our MAJOR goals - where should we focus our talents and energies? While we should be working on more than one goal at a time - think 1 short-term goal, 1 medium-term goal and 1 long-term goal, any more than that and we are probably trying to do too much - unless you can link them as I have done. BUT there is a caveat. I am a great believer in multi-tasking where possible, but not to the detriment of my main focus or goal. If we do try and pull in too many directions at the same time we go nowhere or worse still - end up spinning our wheels - please excuse the pun.

What do I mean by short-term, medium term and long-term goals

Well I will give you a personal example.

My long term goal is to re-decorate my entire house. It's been a few years and it's looking a bit tired with teenage kids, friends and fur kids roaming the place. So my medium term goal is to complete one room before moving on to the next. Now I'm sure you've all seen the makeover shows - where they bring in a team of people and they can do the entire job in 5 minutes. Well I do all my own re-decorating. I quite enjoy the therapy of painting and it's great exercise too. But it does mean it is going to take me some time to work my way through the interior. And then if and when I get bored, there's the outside to consider. Although I may commission someone to do the high bits - given that I do suffer from vertigo.

So the short-term goals are as you can imagine:

    * Strip the rooms of the contents
    * Remove carpets
    * Choose paint colours and buy them and associated paraphernalia
    * Paint ceiling
    * Wash and patch walls
    * Rub down and paint.
    * Organise new carpet - choose, pay for and get it laid
    * Organise new furniture - ahead on the game on this one - bed has been ordered and will be delivered on Friday along with a new one for my daughter - who didn't get one when her room was repainted.

And so on. Each room will have it's own set of challenges and issues, but the rule is - one room and then move on.

Now I have to balance all of the above with earning enough money to pay for it all, which is where my second major goal comes in to play. No ad-hoc personal spending. Remember my personal 100 day challenge of restricting my ad-hoc spending... no new clothes, shoes, coffee, lunches etc - and restricting my purchases to whatever I can get out of a supermarket. It's been an interesting challenge and I have failed once or twice - I needed a new journal and our supermarkets don't sell quality stationery - so I went to somewhere that did. But by not buying coffee and the odd lunch over the last 50 days means I have money for bigger ticket items such as paint and paint supplies. It's also helping the weight loss too, not the buying of paint, but the not buying of coffee's - ooh you know what I mean. And of course my third linked goal of losing 10 kilos in the 100 days is also on track :-) and I know the extra exercise of painting and cleaning will help too. My other challenge in my 100 day challenge as you know is to discard 100 things in 100 days - or more accurately 100 groups of things. Removing everything from a room really does focus your attention on what you want to put back into it once the room has been re-decorated. So there are lots of things to donate and discard, so it's a good job it is bin day tomorrow :-)

As I mentioned to you yesterday, we do need to stick to it ... and we do need to follow through if we want to move forwards. I hope you have given yesterday's message some thought, or are you like that octopus on roller skates?

Kind Regards

Elle

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100 day challenge:
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I am just updating the weekend information. I spent part of Saturday turfing through the shed to find my painting paraphernalia which has given me LOTS of new things for the discarding 100 things gallery - as I knew it would. Was I procrastinating in getting in there - yes probably and when I show you the picture you will understand why. Ah the things we keep just in case.

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Do you have enough insurance? And no I don't just mean with an insurance company who will replace your belongings should they get lost, damaged or stolen. But if "disaster" were to strike, would you be able to recover? How quickly? Overcoming the procrastination habit, means looking at every aspect of your life.... and taking the steps to work through each area. However, there are some areas we perhaps don't consider - but should as they are vital.

Take care of the backups - don't neglect them. For example: If you had to vacate your premises would you know where all of your vital documents were? A large number of businesses who happened to be located in the twin towers went under after the attack of 9/11 because they didn't have a disaster plan in place - do you have one? Does you run a business from home, do you rely on one computer to do all the work? Then you too need to ensure you have a disaster plan in place and ready to go should it break down. We can all be guilty of not putting things away, not doing the filing and failing to do the backups, but when disaster strikes you do tend to have a completely different perspective on things. At MotivateMe! we were almost there, we do have some paper based records (although most of these are scanned), but most of our work resides in the cloud, and what doesn't sits on 2 external hard drives in 2 very different locations. Every Saturday I have a routine whereby I backup my database of readers of the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine and store it on one of the external hard drives. The only thing I didn't have was a copy of the send mail program which was a nuisance when the laptop I use to do most of my work decided it had had enough and started "blue-screening" repeatedly and had the "click of death". The laptop is now away being resuscitated and thanks to my partner, I now have another copy of the send mail program residing on my netbook, all I had to do was copy the address file into the new program and add all the new subscribers. When I think of the pain I went through after the first "computer disaster" there was no way I was re-building an entire newsletter list from scratch again.

So - learn from your mistakes, that way you don't have to repeat them.

Always ask - what you can do differently? I have a few extra things to do courtesy of my hardware meltdown this week - this is not a hand wringing time, but a decision - if it were to happen again, how can I minimize the losses and downtime? Sometimes you do have to go through the pain of a disaster to know you can't continue burying your head in the sand and hope things will always work out OK. And this applies to everything, not just technology - eating properly today means you are less likely to suffer chronic disease in the future because of your poor daily diet choices. The same goes for exercise, giving up or limiting the "really" bad things (cigarettes, drugs, caffeine, alcohol or any of your other "habits" you don't think you have). Having a reserve of money which means you can buy / replace those things that break down or die.Or think of it in this way - what would you say to your partner / spouse / kids / parents etc if you knew it was the last time you would ever see them? This rather puts last night's argument into perspective doesn't it!

Remember it is a good idea to do all that you can today because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Some might say it's just their job, others might say it's just customer service, but I have to say I believe it's called "adding value".

This morning, after a rather rude awakening by a clock I didn't know had an alarm on it (sorry honey) and subsequently attempting to go back to sleep for an hour, I headed into the city. I love the city in the very early morning. Not only do you have your choice of parking spot, you get to see wonderful examples of both good and bad customer service. As usual I was way too early for the meeting I had partly organised (others had had a hand in the today's meeting you understand). Anyway,. that's just me - always like to be the first through the door to meet and greet the people who are coming to see us, and it means I can get organised and set up.

But because I really was too early even for me, I stopped off at a tiny little bakery I didn't know existed to have a coffee. The smell of the baked cakes and pastries straight out of the oven at 6.30 was phenomenal - and no, I didn't buy anything but the coffee - and for those in Perth - Terrace Bakery (opposite DOME) had coffee for $3 and it was hot, fresh and not bad at all. But the smile on the face of the gentleman serving me, as well as the polite, "If you take a seat I'll bring it over to you" made the experience even better for me.

But that wasn't the reason behind the message today.

The hotel where we were holding our function this morning was a place just along the road from the 5 stars, and a couple of stars down, but you would never know. The welcome board was prominent, the room clean and easy to find and when I walked into the room, a colleague who also likes to arrive before the guests was there along with a member of the functions staff. Normally those kinds of people are here, there and everywhere - not him. He stayed with us all morning, replenishing supplies without asking, quietly "doing his job". But not only that, the functions manager who you don't normally see, was there too and introduced herself and the trainee who would also be helping to look after us. I have to say, the food was superb and the coffee hot and plentiful - and if there are 2 things breakfast seminar attendees like it's good, hot food and lots of coffee. They weren't disappointed and neither were we.

It was the little things that made the biggest difference to us.

    * The attention to detail
    * The attentiveness
    * The genuine smiles at 6.30am
    * The fact that we weren't rushed or felt the need to hurry

And a hundred other things that said - when we next run a breakfast seminar I know who I'm going to call.

I was also fortunate to see and speak to one of the readers of the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine - no it wasn't a Motivate Me seminar, but an industry one of which we are both part of. I loved her comment "those annoying messages you send out" - they're working then!! and the comment "It's great to see things don't always go smoothly for you" ... of course they don't and that's why I like to write from a very personal perspective rather than the high-fallutin motivational messages other organisations tend to send out. There is value in the high-fallutin don't get me wrong, it's just I like you to know that I do stuff up and things get stuffed up on occasion - it's not that it happens, it's how you and I cope with the stuff ups - that's important, along with the motivation to keep going even when you don't want to.

Now you know I am going to give you some homework don't you.

Could you honestly say of the work you did today / this week that you went above and beyond people's expectations? The hotel and function staff did today, and I hope so did we (the organisers of the event);
Can you make some small but significant changes to the way that you work so you do go above and beyond even your own high expectations?

I hope so, because to me it's those little things that can mean the most

All the best to you and your wonderful day

Elle

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"No matter what others think you should do or become, you must always follow your passion, and your passion only"
p21 The Angel Inside by Chris Widener

I love the story that is "the Angel Inside" of why and how il Gigante was created and by whom, and why this story is so relevant to everyone today.

In the parable, Michelangelo went against his father's wishes. His father wanted him to become a merchant, but Michelangelo wanted to follow his passion - and be an artist. I think you would agree Michelangelo was correct in doing so. So my questions to you:

But what do I mean by living your life "without wax"

It is often stated that the word sincere is derived from the Latin sine = without, cera = wax. According to one popular explanation, dishonest sculptors in Rome or Greece would cover flaws in their work with wax to deceive the viewer; therefore, a sculpture "without wax" would mean honesty in its perfection.

If you apply that principle to your own life, are you being sincere or are you hiding under a layer of wax?

As we are nearing the end of yet another year, now perhaps is a good a time as any to determine if you are living honestly or whether you need to make some changes.

"Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich"
Wallace D Wattles

If there is one thing I am sure about, I hated being poor, although we were luckier as a family than most. My mother was an amazing seamstress and knitter so we always had good quality clothes. My family grew most of their own fruit and vegetables, so we never went hungry, even through mass layoffs and strikes were the norm during my childhood. My father never went down the pits, although his father and his brothers and nephews did, so the miners strike hit them hard, all of a sudden they went from earning lots of money and spending it to earning little or nothing. My aunt said "we can't afford steak anymore" ... my mother turned around and said " ....... we've never been able to afford steak", which rather took the wind out of her sales. It took my parents an entire year to save for the family holiday, but we went away - every year. Nothing was bought on credit - if they wanted something - they did some overtime and saved the money.

Today we live in a world of instant gratification and credit cards, anything can be bought for three easy payments and no interest for ...

My neighbours have no less than half a dozen flat screen TV's and a camper trailer that has never been used. And I know they've re-mortgaged several times to pay off the debts they've accumulated. But the truth is they are pretending to be rich, but are in fact living a poverty existence. I tell you this because you probably live next to someone just like them, in fact you may be just like them.

You may argue that "you" are not living a poverty existence - but I would have to challenge you just a little.

Money does give you choices. But are you living from week to week? What happens when the bubble bursts? Would you be able to survive long enough to pay your bills before you landed another job? That's the kind of poverty mentality I am talking about. Then there is another kind, where you buy the cheapest thing on the menu, never offer to pay for a "round" of coffee's and hoard your money like a miser - saying I'll do that next week, and of course, the next week you are still saying you'll do whatever it was you said you were going to do.

Now I am not rich by any means, and I do still have a mortgage - but I do consider I have if not a millionaire mindest at least it's a tens of thousands-aire one (although I do have quite a way to go) - BUT my daily actions follow my thinking. If I want to be "rich" then I am going to have to be careful about what I spend my money on. But neither do I want to compromise the lifestyle I do lead.

Which sounds like a misnomer - but let me explain how you can live a rich life.

The one secret of success to living a rich life is this:

Spend less than you earn.

That's what the rich do. When they receive money, they know what their budget needs so they put away what they know they can save into a special account, and then they use what is left for day-to-day living. Most people do it the other way round. They spend first and then save what's left... and we all know what's left don't we.

Truth is we should take 10% of everything we earn and put it somewhere safe, don't think you can save 10% yet? Well if you have never saved 10% it will be hard at first. But you need to have the mindset that says I save money. How do you save money - by not spending it of course.

Start with those little purchases, the cups of coffee and the bought lunches. For one week carry on as normal but make a note of what you are spending. At the end of the week, add it all up - what % would that equate to out of the 10%? Do you smoke? How much do you drink? Do you have a magazine subscription you don't have time to read? Each decision adds up to the 10% and before you know it you will have saved several thousand dollars and once you start to see it grow you won't want to spend it. Did you know it takes an average of 20 years to become a millionaire? And you too can join the ranks, and I don't care if you are earning a thousand dollars a week or a couple of hundred, start early enough and you can do it. You can do it by saving 10% of what you earn and adding compound interest and time to the equation. Obviously if you have a damn good idea then the process does shorten, but here's the thing. If you have always spent up to and over what you earn, what happens when you have more money - I'd say you'd be like my neighbours who have all the gadgets and toys and then waste even more money buying new ones. Of all the people who become instant millionaires thanks to the roll of the numbers on the lottery, how long do you think it would take before they were back to where they started. Believe it or not, the average is about 3 years. Sure they may have had a great time, but if they had had the millionaire mindset they could have enjoyed their windfall for the rest of their lives.

As you know I've been working on what I call "ad-hoc" spending purchases for the challenge. Those odd cups of coffee here and there, and no purchases unless they come from a supermarket. Now I am the first to admit I have failed a few times - but by tightening up my ad-hoc spending I have created monetary space to start the process of re-decorating my house without touching any of my capital. And I shall continue with this way of living my life beyond this round of the challenge - because I now know how to live a rich life. It's quite exciting seeing the changes. Yes there are still things I need to do, I am a work in progress just like you. But my thinking goes - I don't want to touch my savings, I like seeing those numbers.

New Year's Resolutions are great in theory. In practice though what tended to work during holiday times usually fall by the wayside on the first day back at work following the holiday season.

And the reason is simple

ROUTINE

other wise known as habits.

If you have not managed to imprint the changes you want / need to make on your sub-conscious BEFORE you go back to work, routine will get in the way and before you know it, Easter will be here and - New Year's Resolutions? What New Year's Resolutions......

So how do you ensure your New Year's Resolutions don't fall by the wayside?

Well the only way I know that is guaranteed to work, is to diarise everything that is out of the ordinary. Make appointments with yourself to do whatever it is - and then keep your appointments. Make sure you find time to do the:

* grocery shopping so you can't be tempted to pick up fast food on the way home
* gym - pack your bag the night before and put it into the car
* walk before breakfast - set your alarm clock and then when it goes off - get up, get dressed and get going

Or whatever is on your list.

You need to find time to create the new habits. Unfortunately a few days at the end of each year / start of the new year - when we are away from our normal routines is not a long enough timespan. So you do need to find time in amongst the routine to create the new habits. Does your working schedule allow you to do that? What changes do you need to make?

The other thing I will say about succeeding in making the necessary changes to your lives is this:

Perhaps the best way to make sure your changes are implemented is to be happy about what you are trying to do. But there is a much better reason than just having a positive mental attitude towards yourself and that is

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort"
Herm Albright

Especially when they can see you succeeding - and they have failed - yet again.

"See a need, fill a need"
Mr Big Weld - Robots

Do you give presents at birthday's and Christmas time? Do you give "stuff" or are you a little more creative than that?

I prefer to give experiences rather than just gifts. My daughter's 18th birthday which is right after Christmas, received a night on the town in one of the swanky hotels, and she and five of her mates got to arrive in style - in a hummer limo. 4 girls came back and she and her best friend enjoyed the hotel and the cocktails.

I've also given things like family movie passes to a family who I knew needed to spend some time together, a flying lesson to someone who had always wanted to learn but couldn't quite afford to start (hey 1 lesson is better than nothing), and booked 6 friends into an afternoon session for High Tea. In my early years I also knitted a jumper for my closest friends - I think I knitted a dozen over the course of one year - talk about planning ahead!! and yes I do mean hand knitted - one jumper used to take me about 4 weeks to do, so you can I needed to plan ahead on that one. That last group falls in to my second kind of preferred gifts - the gift of "me". But we'll get to that in just a moment.

Why do I prefer to give experiences? Well because in most cases - we all have way too much stuff to need any more.

So what am I planning for this year?

Well as Mr Big Weld said - "see a need, fill a need" I thought - OK, my time is worth a lot of money, but I am willing to give some of that time if I can help someone out over the Christmas and New Year period...especially when I also have another passion and I can combine the 2 to help someone... So - this year I am offering to paint one room of my girlfirend's house. She keeps saying she will do it next year - she's been in the place 9 months already - how much longer do you need before you decide you can't live with someone else's decor? (Believe me when I say that room is so ... I would have painted it before the furniture van arrived - but that's just me!!)

Will she go along with the plan? Eventually! She hates me sometimes because I do have a nasty habit of making her do stuff she doesn't necessarily want to do, but I know she does NEED to do.

Anyway, I put the idea to her yesterday - and she is considering it... what there is to consider is beyond me, but she takes procrastination to a whole new level...

What are you good at? Can you give the gift of yourself and your talents to someone who needs it this Christmas?

With many thoughts

Elle

"They" say life is one big learning curve, well I prefer to think of it as a roller coaster.

First you decide you are going to participate
You strap yourself in and wait for some unseen force to propel you forwards
In the beginning it is slow going, you work hard to get to the top of the first obstacle - and then hey
Free wheeling down the other side.
And if you're lucky you can gain enough momentum to keep going up the next slope

And you know when most people stop?

That's right - before they even buy a ticket. Of those who do pay their money and climb aboard - most will give up on the first obstacle. They'd sooner get off and clamber back to where they were. The few who remain on board are the "lucky" ones of course. They get glimpses of the great things they can do and achieve, they know they have a way to go and many more hills to climb - but once on board, nothing is going to stop them reaching their destination.

On the roller coaster of life, have you bought your ticket yet?

"If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished"

I don't know who wrote that particular quote, ironically I saw it chalked on a board outside a now defunct coffee shop in King St, Perth Western Australia, I even have a photograph somewhere!

But it's true though isn't it - we assume we are going to have to "try, try, try again" before we achieve our goals, we are almost always gearing ourselves up for failure. Well then can you imagine what our success rate be if we assumed we could and would succeed the first time around, no matter what we set our minds to?

Sounds a lot like the 100 day challenge doesn't it.

Never assume you are going to have to try, try, try again and again and again to get to where you want to go.

With many thoughts

Elle

"An hour of hard practice is worth five hours of foot dragging"
Pancho Seguro

Of course this doesn't just apply to exercise, but to every aspect of our lives.

When we are determined to get something completed because we have a can't get out of deadline - we do whatever we need to do to get the job done. No deadline, we can take as long as we like - and we usually do.

But first let's go back to the sports analogy - when you exercise do you get to the end of your workout and not feel like you've achieved very much? I've done many exercise classes where I know my effort has not been 100% - and it does make me wonder why I bothered when I knew my mind wasn't involved in the process. I've not worked the right muscles because my posture wasn't correct and I just wasn't thinking about what I was supposed to be doing, I was just going through the motions.

They sound like a bunch of cliches don't they - but they're not. If you are mindful of the exercise that you do, you can make a conscious decision to fire and release each muscle group. Deliberate exercise is important if you want to get results. Believe it or not though you don't have to go the gym to try this, because you don't need weights to work your muscles. Which is something I want you to try right now.

If I said to you extend your right arm out (as if you are indicating to turn right) keep your palm upwards and then bend the arm at the elbow, I can almost guarantee you will barely feel the muscles moving. Now do that again, but this time clench your fist and tense your forearm, lock the elbow into the side of the body and bend the arm. Because you are now thinking about it, you are deliberately making the muscles work - especially the biceps. If you are still not getting the effect - try imagining you are holding a 2 kilo weight or get a tin of baked beans and hold that. Keep the elbow locked into the side of your body and you can get an amazing workout of the biceps - without using weights at all. And the reason is because you are engaging your mind as well as your body. The result is a much better workout, in a much shorter space of time.

Now going back to my previous comment about working at your full capacity for every working minute - how do you do it?

Well think about it in this way

If you had to charge your time based on how much work you do each minute, how much would you have earned today? No, I don't want to know your official hourly rate divided by 60, but an honest appraisal of the work you did during those 60 minutes.

$60 an hour = yes $1 a minute
If you want to double or triple your hourly rate then make sure you are working at the right rate per minute to earn that money.

You may argue that you are salaried and it doesn't matter really how much you earn a minute - well humour me for a moment and pretend you are self-employed and those same dollars also have to pay your overheads (tax, super, electricity, phone calls etc etc) it does tend to give you a much better perspective on your work ethic when you have to account for your time to a client - because they will be paying your bill - will they be happy with the work you have done and the money you are charging them?

As always something to think about as we head into the weekend.

The more you want to earn, the more productive those minutes have to be.

I am lending an organisation some support through a transition phase and it has been a very interesting experience I have to say - not least of which I get to share my experience and expertise and I get to learn a lot from other people as well.

One lady I sit close to on a day to day basis has been responsible for most of the training during the system rollout. There was nothing wrong with the training, I sat in on it, what was a problem was the simple fact that the new system was delayed by several months (not her fault). And that's a long time to go between training and use. There were many training follow ups, everything was documented - and because of the diversity of office locations, video training was also provided via the corporate intranet. Given the phone calls I have heard, not everyone took advantage.

Of course with most system rollouts there have been hiccups - the new software it turns out isn't quite compatible with some of the other installed programs, and there have been some grumbles as things don't work quite as well in the new environment as the old one.

And amongst all of it is a young woman who spends all day answering questions from people who can't "remember" their training. The thing is, if she can't resolve the person's issue over the telephone she visits them in their office to show them - again. She has done some mileage since the system was installed let me tell you.

I had chance to meet with her supervisor today - and I mentioned to her how impressed I was with this lady's attitude and temperament. Now it may just be that she is naturally patient, I really don't know. But her supervisor was grateful for the feedback. (HINT: You never know who you are influencing - something to remember as you go about your day-to-day activities - but more of that in a moment).

Have you seen the show "undercover boss"? It's quite fascinating, a senior executive takes a week "off" to learn how their business is actually being run ... by people who are usually at the lower end of the pay scale within the company - and the programs I have seen, these same people also tend to be on the front line of customer service. They have the power to make or break an organisation - and what is surprising to me is that the senior exec's don't appear to know this!! They sit in board meetings making decisions, but have no real idea how those ideas are going to be felt within the rank and file of their employees. The program I saw last night saw them post a 10% pay cut to the "workers" (I doubt whether the seniors took the same cut - but that's my conjecture)... and the devastating effect that had had on some of those unable to cope BEFORE the pay cuts.

Have you stepped into the shoes of a co-worker? Have you done their job for any length of time? Could you do their job for any length of time? Could you have the patience of a saint while you
a) learn the job or
b) answer questions and queries relating to the job you are being asked to do?

There are several things I would like you to think about:

1. No matter where you are on the pay scale - someone is looking up to you.
2. You may consider your job to be the lowest of the low, but that doesn't mean your attitude has to be negative. You can be the best at what you do - I believe it comes down to attitude first and foremost and skills and training second and third.
3. If you see a new person, or are responsible for a new person within your organisation
- ensure they have the right tools to be able to do their job - if the systems aren't in place it is costing the organisation money and the new person - frustration.
- ensure you pass on all the right kind of Occupational Health & Safety messages - 1st day is the day when a significant proportion of accidents happen.
- get some end of the first day feedback - what were the frustrations / concerns. What worked, what didn't?
4. And for goodness sake if you are one of the senior members of an organisation - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE find time to know how your organisation works and who is doing what.

With VERY many thoughts

Elle

I have a confession to make. I am a dual citizen of England and Australia and I DON'T watch the cricket. To be honest the Ashes series has all but passed me by... sorta kinda knew it was on, but couldn't tell you who was winning, where they were playing or who was in the teams these days. I know - there will be gasps of horror I'm sure...

So you can imagine my amusement when we went to our "local" and encountered the BARMY ARMY. Oh my goodness, groping room only.

There are several things though that crossed our minds as we inched our way out of the crowds to find somewhere just a little less noisy for a drink before dinner.

The motivation.

The biggest thing for me is the motivation by the supporters. Can you imagine how much it would cost them to fly to Australia, and then fly around Australia so they could see every game. Add in the cost for tickets, accommodation, food and as I mentioned in the subject line of this post - alcohol and probably lots of it. It's not that they were rowdy - just lots of them and lots of people in a confined space means lots of noise.

So - the planning, the preparation, ensuring they had enough money and holiday time saved - just so they could watch "cricket"

Phenomenal.

We could learn a thing or two from the Barmy Army. And thinking about I suppose that is where the term "fan" comes from, yes "FANATIC"

I have several things I am fanatical about - well as a Virgo what do you expect!!!

What are you fanatical about? What would you go out of your "normal" way to do - and nothing and I do mean nothing is going to get in the way of doing it?

2 things please

Tis the season

* To be with family and friends
* To share a meal or two
* To give without the real expectation of receiving anything other than thanks in return
* To give thanks for everything you do receive and to be grateful for everyone in your life

One of the habits I have cultivated over the years is that of gratitude. Being thankful and saying thank you for everything. Not everyone will hear it from me personally, I don't know the people who grew the coffee beans that made my morning coffee a possibility, but I can say a "thank you" to them. Try it - you'd be amazed at how many things you have to be grateful for.

The other beautiful thing about saying thank you is the feeling of incredible peace it gives you. And isn't that one of the things we are hoping for each Christmas - Peace and goodwill to all "men"?

So as we get ourselves ready for this evening and whatever it may bring, whether you believe in the tradition or not. I would like to say a very big thank you for being part of my life. For being incredibly supportive of the message I am trying to pass on and for each and every success you have had and have shared with me... thank you.

I'll speak to you again in a couple of days, but in the meantime

Be safe and look after each other because I can't be there to watch over you all.

Elle

In 2011 focus on the person you want to be, not the person you were

Every once in a while I ask you to "train the trainer" and set me some homework. Don't worry it's nothing too onerous on your part. All I need you to do is this:

Tell me name and title of one book that has touched you in some way during 2010.

If you post it here -

that way your fellow readers get to see your recommendation as well as me - so, those books that have inspired you, guided you, made you question, made you think, made you act, helped you to overcome the procrastination habit, motivated you - those are the books I need to read during this next year, and if I need to read them, well some of your fellow readers might like to read them too.

So - if I had to narrow mine down to one book it would be this:

The Go Giver - by Bob Burg and John David Mann - you've heard me mention it many times, but my main reason is this - we may think we are in the "sales" business, but we are not in sales, we are in the business of giving.

Tell me your favourite. No prizes, just a chance to share and pool our knowledge as we gather our thoughts for the new year.

Thanks and regards

Elle

p.s. BTW I've read the karma sutra :-) so please be nice

January 1st. The day we normally set a list of New Year's Resolutions... well I would like to offer you a chance to do something a little different - a way to acknowledge and do something about all those things you don't want to focus on in 2011.

You may want to stop focusing on negative thoughts, your fat thighs, your ex boyfriend or ... well you tell me what you want to say "good riddance" to.

What do you want to say good riddance to in 2011?

This is important because it shifts your thinking away from a probable negative outcome of

"Can't" and the other equally negative "Shan't"

I shan't be able to cope, I shan't be able to handle this ...

To a more positive outlook that says, maybe I can and maybe I should ...

When you start using this very simple technique, you begin to fill in the answers of how you could do this, how you could cope and how you can handle it - almost automatically. You can also use it in many other ways:

One thing I know for sure is this. The I can't cope, I can't handle this, stems I believe from fear. Fear of moving away from our zone of comfort into unfamiliar territory. But in order to grow and to change, we need to do just that. All well and good she says - but is it possible?

For example, you've been asked to make a presentation to your fellow employees, you've never stood in front of a group pf people before and the thought of doing so dries up your mouth, your stomach churns and you dread falling flat on your face or forgetting your words... but what would happen if you had already given 20 or 30 presentations - one more isn't going to faze you in the slightest is it. And the difference?

Confidence and practice.

There will always be an element of fear in our lives, especially when we are learning or trying something new for the first time, or even the first 10 times. But with practice and with patience for yourself and your rather unruly emotions, you will succeed. You will move from a place of "I can't cope" to a "you know what ... I can cope with this". And as you succeed with each little thing, your self-esteem can only grow, which makes it easier for you to move onwards and upwards.

So

What would happen if in 2011 we could all learn that we can cope, we can achieve great things and we can handle whatever comes our way.

With many thoughts

Elle

I've been amused by the retail "giants" in Western Australia recent complaints about people buying goods online. "They" say it's not fair because online shoppers don't have to pay GST... on goods bought from outside of the country (Australia has a Goods and Services Tax much like the VAT - Value Added Tax of elsewhere) and the Government should level the playing field.

Why am I amused.

For every news article I have read, I have to admit reading the hundreds of comments from irate shoppers who feel they have been ripped off by these same "retail giants" for years - and why shouldn't they shop online where they get the same goods but at a much cheaper price - even with postage. But the biggest issues it seems for shoppers with regards to the WA retailers are the false and misleading advertisements for goods including those on "sale" and the complete lack of understanding and customer service by their sales representatives and checkout personnel.

How many times have you walked into a store wanting / needing to purchase something only to find - no-one on the tills, and those that are, are too busy talking to their colleagues about what they ate for dinner last night and can't be bothered to serve you. Yesterday was a very good case in point. I needed just a couple of items from the supermarket - so wandered through the heat to the closest one. I eventually found what I was looking for - still not sure why they put vitamins next to the chocolate and sweets! but that wasn't the problem. I had 5 items in my basket, but there was no-one on the express checkouts and they had just one till open ... this was during a lunch time and the 2 people in front of me had bought enough groceries for the entire year or so it seemed. No apologies, no empathy and no sense to get on the tannoy and ask one of their colleagues to come front and help out. Will I be going back to that store? Unlikely, even with the additional walking to the other supermarket, I could have been finished and back at the office in the same time.

Then make sure the people who are front and centre, and the ones who are on the telephone are pleased to be there and have learned at least the basics of being polite.

Buyers have learned to base their decisions on more than just price. A lot of the time people continue to buy from a place because their service is better, even if their prices are more expensive than the competition down the road.

So why shouldn't people buy from overseas - no waiting in line, no need to be treated to the surly I don't give a damn about who you are and in most cases (having using a myriad of online retailers over the years) brilliant follow up and customer service. Which is definitely something to think about if you are in the business of being in business.

If you don't know what your organisations point of sale experience is like, then may I suggest with all due respect that you find out and fix any problems you might find, or you might just find your customers going elsewhere.

I have created a downloadable file of the Complete 2010 100 Day Challenge Program for you. You can access it here

You will be pleased to know it has been edited for clarity.

I hope you find it helpful as you move forwards into 2011 with your dreams, goals and challenges

Kind Regards

Elle

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech tells 3 stories as a way to inspre the new graduates as they go out into the world to make their mark. The last story is perhaps the most poignant, but I'll let you listen yourself. The entire speech lasts just 15 minutes - but the lessons are priceless.

I hope it inspires you as much as it did me

There is a great line from a song that says "sisters are doin it for themselves" - of course to be politically correct it should be "sisters and brothers" are doin it for themselves, but it doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it.

It is only when we know what we want and we know what we need to do, or we know where we can find the right kind of information - will we move forwards. Procrastination isn't part of our vocabulary and definitely not in our actions - when we are doing something for ourselves.

Whilst we can use the services of mentors and coaches to help keep us on track - it's really down to us when you think about it. We may choose to have a personal trainer a couple of times a week - but how many minutes is that out of an entire week? Just because you work out for a couple of hours doesn't give you the wherewithall to eat your entire body weight in chocolate does it?!

It's interesting, however - if we really don't want something or if someone tells us we need to do something for example:

or any other put down comments we hear on an all too regular basis - then nothing is going to happen - in fact the opposite is likely to occur.

So if your motivation is lacking, or you are having trouble working on your goals, make sure you are doin it for yourself and not because someone told you you should.

I drove a different way to work today, I was early enough to take the long way in - so I did.... I'm very fortunate because that means I get to see the Indian Ocean. And before you say - blue skies, white sandy beaches - let me tell you it's a completely different story on a cold, wet and windy winter morning. The wild and rugged white topped waves were pounding the shore, birds hung in the air unable to move and grey storm clouds gathered overhead, but the streets and the coastal path were filled with people - exercising.

You can tell those people who are serious about their health and fitness, they're the ones who still cycle to work even though it's bucketing it down with rain (and they were). They have the wet weather gear for their rucksacks (so their day clothes are dry) and they get on their bikes and they carry on as if it were just another normal day - which if you think about it - to them it is. The walkers, runners, dog owners and a couple of early morning swimmers wading into the surf don't care if the sun is shining, the wind is howling, there is horizontal rain - they just get on and do what they know they have to do. Which made me feel a little guilty just sitting there watching them and the world go by. (And just so you know - I didn't pike on my own exercise today - I walked at 5.30pm and trained at 7 with Hilary of Efit121).

Is exercise such an ingrained part of your day that you will train in the rain? Or are you a fair weather trainer?

For me exercise has become an integral part of my every day. It wasn't always you understand, but I made a commitment to myself and my health that I would find some kind of exercise that I enjoyed doing, so it wouldn't seem like exercise. That way I wouldn't need to make any kind of excuses as to why I couldn't "work out". Motivate Me to exercise!! Not any more, the results I am getting are all the motivation I need and I can't wait for the next session.

And if you think about it, every goal - no matter what that goal is - should be an integral part of your every day, it should not be an after thought and something you do when you get 5 minutes or when you can be bothered. Goals need to be front of mind so you work on them, until such time as you don't NEED to work them - they are just part of your life, a habit you have.

* Can you honestly say that about any of your goals?
* What do you need to do starting today to make that happen?

We usually set goals because we are not happy with what we have and want more. That's OK, but there are a couple of things I need you to think about.

1. Are you thankful for what you have achieved / received / accomplished so far? - You need to be thankful, doesn't mean you have to be content to stay with what you have, but you do need to be thankful for what you have.

2. We usually start from a negative - I need to lose weight, I need to stop smoking - actually we need to stop thinking negatively for a moment to truly begin the process of change. And this is why we need to deconstruct before we can reconstruct our lives in the way that we want to live from now on.

So - that said -

When starting a new program – what determines success or failure?

a.   Attitude – I want to do this, I am sick of this happening (Can be positive or negative influence)
b.   Belief system – does your belief system support you or dismiss the changes you say you want to make.
c.   Value system – what do you really value in your life. You cannot value good health if you eat junk food and don’t exercise.

These 3 things then determine how much time and energy you are willing to devote to the program and the process of change.

You need strength of character that says – what I’ve done in the past hasn’t worked and I am willing to make some changes so they can work now.

So, the basis for any program is a desire to change.

Deconstruction phase:

Identify all behaviours and actions that have led you to this point – don’t worry it may be a long list, but identifying everything means you can get to the heart of what the real problems are. Don’t stop when things are getting a little tough – that’s the point where you sub-conscious is trying to hide from you….now you are getting somewhere. Take a deep breath and keep digging, keep writing and keep examining what you are finding. The more uncomfortable this process becomes, the closer you get to the real truth.

a.   What are you happy to keep
b.   What do you need to get rid of?

How do you identify habits?
§   Be honest
§   Keep a time / food log / diary
§   Keep strict accounts
§   Who do you spend time with?
§   What do you read?
§   What do you watch on TV?
§   What do you listen to on the radio>
§   How do you spend your free time

What are you willing to give up in order to move forwards with your goals?

Reconstruction phase

Understand how your attitude, belief system and value can make a difference between success and failure.

1.   Attitude
2.   Belief system
3.   Value system

Attitude: Who is to blame? Are you willing to accept your part in the process? Only when you are can you begin the process of moving forwards.

Belief system: What do you believe?
§            Do you believe you can?
§            Do you believe you can have?
§            Do you believe you are not “lucky” enough to have everything you want in life?
§            Do you believe you are worthy of more?
§            Do you believe that people won’t like you when you become successful?
§            Do you believe you will fail – so you never begin?
§            Do you believe you won’t be able to sustain the success if you achieve success once?
§            Do you believe you are a victim of circumstances?

3.   What do you value the most? When we talk about value what I mean is this - You need to value you and your own self-worth. And you do that when you need to put yourselves first sometimes.

Now you can begin to start thinking about your goals - what do you want? Remember you have one life, how do you want to live it?

"God gives every bird a worm, but he does not throw it into the nest."
Swedish Proverb

When we talk about success we tend to forget that we may have to work darned hard to reach it.

I've spoken many times about the fact that there is no such thing as overnight success. What I've yet to find is anyone who finds success in their sleep. However, there is such a thing as being prepared to receive success.

How do we prepare ourselves for success?

I feel it is the same way we prepare for anything.

We think about what we want. We think, we plan, we find others to help us if necessary, and then we begin the process of acting upon those thoughts and plans. Each step taking us closer to our "overnight success". When we are aligned with our goals, when our actions work with us, rather than against us - then we are ready. What do I mean by "aligned" - if you think about it, it's that absolute point in time when all the numbers are dialled into the combination on the safe, all we have to do is take the step of unlocking the door (taking the right action at the right time). We know it will happen all we have to do is turn the lock.

Those people who whinge and whine about how hard everything is, are the ones who look for the shortcuts to "success" - they're the ones with the lock picks and the dynamite, those silver bullets and magic pills we joke about. These are the same ones who still believe you can lose 30lbs in a week, or you can make millions on the internet overnight with a 1 page squeeze website that is long on blocks of yellow quotations and little on how it can be done (whatever it is)...

Lets face it - The early bird catches the worm, but silver bullets are hard to find.

So - a question or two:

With many thoughts
Elle

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Keep your goals front of mind by asking yourself these 4 simple questions:

1. What are you doing?
2. Why are you doing it?
3. What should you be doing?
4. What should you be doing next?

If what you are doing (1) is not what you should be doing, and you don't have a good enough reason (2) then I would suggest you need to look at what you say your goal is. Re-definite if necessary, but to succeed you do need to ensure that your goal is something you say you want to achieve... then Q's 3 and 4 become easy.

I was at a family "do" last night. One of our friends was celebrating his 60th birthday, and something tells me there will be a pic or two heading for facebook eventually. Whilst I was taking a break from my heels, a daughter in law of the guest of honor and mother to two young children came and sat down at the table with me...and what she said astounded me.

As you know I post regular updates of my training escapades via twitter and facebook - partly to prove that I am doing what I say I am doing - after all I reason that if I can't motivate me - how on earth can I be expected to motivate you, and partly to keep myself "honest". It's easy to tell people we've been "to the gym" but how many times have you walked out wondering if you actually worked your jaw more than your muscles.... (believe me some personal trainers I see!!)

Anyway Jo said she was inspired by my facebook comments to start working out again. Her hubby had bought her the Wii Fit for mother's day and whilst she had enjoyed using it, other things had gotten in the way and consequently it had been a few weeks since she had done anything.

I was so pleased

Of course the conversation that followed, we have had many times:

Who are you inspiring with your actions?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S. Happy 4th of July to all our American readers

P.P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

1. Breakfast:
As it sounds after a period of 6-8 hours sleep you do need to “break your fast” and you do that by eating something. But don't go for the sugary cereals and full fat milk, why not try scrambled eggs and a piece of wholemeal toast with tomatoes. The protein helps to keep you full for longer, the wholemeal toast and the tomatoes gives fibre and some vitamins... And it doesn't take long – if you use a microwave and a toaster, a couple of minutes and you’re done.

2. Water:
Aim for 2-4 litres a day, especially if you sweat a lot, it’s warm weather and you’re exercising. Water helps the body flush out the rubbish. And it doesn't have to be “plain” either. Think Soda Water – no calories, herbal teas (hot or cold), add a slice of lemon or other citrus, cucumber or mint to give it a different taste. And try drinking it ice cold – apparently the body has to burn calories to warm up the water to body temperature. It may not be a lot of calories, but every little counts.

3. Vitamin D:
If you spend most of your time indoors chances are going to be good you will be deficient in Vitamin D. Myriad pieces of research indicates that this fat soluble vitamin does more than prevent rickets, but can aid the body to absorb calcium and according to some of the information I've read, may promote weight loss and prevent certain types of cancer.

4. Vitamins and minerals:
The other minerals and vitamins we may not be getting through our diet are also important of course, so make sure you are taking a good multi vitamin as well.

5. Good fats:
Think olive oil, nuts, seeds, fish and avocado. Limit (get rid of entirely) the trans fats – those things that create margarine, and are in most take away sandwiches you buy at the deli as well as most (if not all) the processed cakes, biscuits, pastries, potato chips (crisps) and everything else it seems.

6. Processed foods:
And talking of which, and you know what I am going to say here – don't eat these in any quantity if you want to lose weight. Our bodies are a finely tuned machine, so why would we want to give it inferior fuel? Think performance car and cheap engine oil – you would never do it, but we do it to our bodies ALL the time.

7. Avoid white:
rice, bread, sugar, pasta etc etc. All these do is spike your blood sugar, giving you an instant “hit” – the chemistry is interesting, but basically as the body takes in the white stuff, it has to produce insulin to process it ... once the body has processed it and stuffed it in your fat cells for later use when you need energy to outrun that sabre tooth tiger the body experiences a major slump and what happens then – you crave more “white stuff”. It takes a couple of days to stop thinking in terms of “white” but believe me this one trick can save you a whole chemistry lesson of trouble... think diabetes 2 prevention for starters. But if you can't bear the thought of not having your “white stuff” ensure you have some good quality protein with it to minimise the “damage”. And while we are on the subject – check the labels for things like corn sugar, corn syrup or High Fructose Corn Syrup as this has all but replaced “sugar” in processed foods and soft drinks.

8. Halve it:
Or better still opt for the entree size servings when you go out to a restaurant. Most people don't realise just how large restaurant portion sizes have become. We feel we want “value for money” and that means having food and lots of it on our plate when it is served. Opting for the entree size servings not only saves us hundreds of calories per meal, it’s cheaper too

9. Halve it #2:
If you have a lot of weight to lose it can seem too hard to eat the tiny portions stated on some “diets” – so in the beginning of your modified eating plan a good rule of thumb would be – whatever you were going to have, have half the amount. So if you were planning on eating 2 pizzas for dinner, eat 1 and save the other one for tomorrow. If you normally ate a loaf of bread in one sitting, eat half. 3 chickens – eat 1 ½ and so on. As you begin to lose size you will be able to reduce your halves again. 1 pizza becomes half a pizza and so on.

10. Halve it #3:
Desserts and other “sweet stuff” – the same rule applies to this section of foods. I no longer eat dessert or very much that could be labelled “sweet” – it has taken me years to wean myself of the stuff, but now I rarely even think about it. Occasionally I will have some yoghurt, but not very often as the “diet” stuff is full of aspartame, and that is one chemical I do not like to put into my body, and the flavoured stuff is full of sugar and fat... tastes great, but it is now something I keep for a treat. If you do want dessert, share it with someone else.

11. Chocolate:
This one deserves a mention of its own. If you do eat chocolate, a good idea is to forget the milk version and the marketing miracle they call “white chocolate” which is just sugar, fats and a variety of chemicals mixed together to make it taste wonderful and opt instead for the 70+ cocoa version. It may take some getting used to, but break a tiny piece off and put it into the roof of your mouth and let it dissolve slowly. Believe me you get all the highs of chocolate without the calories.

12. Take it with you:
What am I talking about? Lunches and snacks. Prepare your “work” meals the night before and take them with you, that way you can’t be tempted to run out and grab the first thing you think about when you get hungry.

13. Don’t take money with you:
A good rule of thumb, don’t carry money with you. This one works especially well at lunch times. If you don’t have it with you, you can’t spend it and more importantly you can’t spend it on inferior calories.

14. Walk:
Walking is a great way to move things along internally (if you get my meaning) – they didn’t use to call it a constitutional for nothing you know. Set your alarm for 40 minutes earlier than your normal get up time, then get up and get walking. I have a range of circuits based on time. My 30 minute morning walk is a wonderful way of waking up the mind and of course the body. I tend to walk on an empty stomach, but that is a personal choice. If you find yourself getting light headed try eating a piece of fruit before you go out. And don’t forget the water.

15. Rewards:
Never reward yourself with food or alcohol. Weight loss should be a happy journey to the size and shape you’ve always wanted, so why ruin the process by eating something you know will de-rail your progress? Now some people may say that denying yourself everything is a bad thing – but given what goes into the “rewards” if you think about “sweets / fast food / take away” etc then surely it would make sense to reward yourself with something that is going to make you feel better? So what kind of rewards? Well a good idea is to have them set up ready for the milestones. Losing 5lbs you may want to treat yourself to a foot spa or massage. Losing 10lbs you may want to reward yourself with a new pair of trainers or pair of track pants. Losing 15lbs you may want to go through your wardrobe and donate all the clothes that are just too big for you these days ... what better reward than that – but I would recommend not re-stocking your wardrobe just yet if you have more weight to lose, better to buy one or two pieces in a smaller size and to keep pushing on.

16. Alcohol:
As much as I hate to say this, but too much alcohol isn’t good for you. What is too much – well that is not for me to say, but just looking at the calories is a great start. For example a bottle of wine on average is about 560 calories. Have you any idea how much time it takes to burn off those kinds of empty calories? Well a week or so ago I did a time trial on a static bike at the gym. It took me 44 mins of cycling on level 4 at an average speed of 107RPM to burn off just 300 calories. That’s an awful lot of cycling (about 21km’s actually).

17. Incidental exercise:
I’m sure everyone has heard of use the stairs not the elevator. Well there is more to incidental exercise than stairs. Get off the bus 1 stop earlier and walk the rest of the way. Do your own housework and gardening. Clean the car. Walk the dog. Walk the neighbour’s dog if you don’t have one. Go dancing. Challenge the kids / grandkids / nephews / nieces to a game of twister. Play Frisbee. Re-decorate the house – believe me climbing up and down the step ladders is a wonderful way of burning calories and tightening the legs and butt. Get off your chair and walk to your colleagues desk to deliver a message rather than using the email. Hide the TV remote control so you have to get up and change the channel. Get frisky – not only does it burn calories, the natural high just makes you feel better. And before you tell me you don’t have the time, all I am asking you to do is think about how you can get more exercise (incidental) into your day, sometimes you would be surprised at how easy it can be.

18. Do it anyway:
There are times when even I don’t want to exercise, I may not feel particularly “well”. I may be feeling tired or stressed. When that happens I usually go anyway. I always keep a set of work out gear in the car and I like to get changed before I leave the office. I may only do half an hour on the static bike, but that half an hour can release those feel good hormones we often hear about. “The runners high” is our reward for working out.

19. Get support:
Weight loss may seem to be a lonely journey if you are doing it on your own. My gym started a 12 week weight loss program and even the boss is on the chart. My name is there along with his and 37 others. Seeing your name up there and to see the numbers come slowly down can and does give you the incentive to continue.

20. Do it for yourself:
Don’t lose weight because someone told you to (unless it’s a doctor or health professional). Find your own reasons to lose weight, they will be unique to you. What do you want to look like? What do you want to wear? What size? Do you have a health reason? Do you want to lose weight and get fit for a specific reason eg., running a marathon? When you have your reasons lined up your daily actions should be easier.

21. Don’t buy it:
If you know you have a tendency to eat certain foods you know are absolutely no good for you – then don’t buy it and don’t keep stock piles of them in the cupboards, cars or other places just in case you “get hungry”. Limit your temptations to once in a blue moon and then only buy a very small portion of whatever it is you are craving. Chances are going to be good if you don’t start eating / drinking “it” again your mind will eventually get over it.

22. Don’t stress:
For some reason we do seem to stress a lot. Some stress can be considered good for us, deadlines that we cannot get out do tend to focus the mind. It can also help us forget to eat. Too much stress however can cause a myriad of problems and our reaction may be to eat for comfort or drink to drown your sorrows. If this is you, it might be a good idea to deal with whatever is causing your stress and / or speak to someone who can help you.

23. Sleep:
Sleep is essential we all know that. Too long without sleep and our body starts to go into stress mode, our cognitive functions are compromised and believe it or not it is harder to lose weight if we don’t get enough sleep. Aim for 6-8 hours a night as this allows our body to repair itself. If like me you struggle to get enough sleep (insomnia) again you do need to work out what is causing you to lie awake, or wake repeatedly throughout the night. Several things to try:
a. Try and go to bed at the same time each night
b. Try having a bed time ritual – for example: turn off the computer and the television a good hour before going to bed, shower, clean your teeth and limit the caffeine and alcohol. Write your must do tomorrow list and forget about the tasks that you need to do. Set 2 alarms if necessary if you feel you may oversleep.
c. Don’t eat too late – your body may be processing foods and give you indigestion which may be the cause of your inability to sleep
d. Listen to music – preferably something without lyrics, keep it low and drift off.
e. Read – preferably not Stephen King who has a philosophy with his writing that says he wants you “to sleep with the lights on”.

24. Habits: We can all be guilty of bad habits we don’t think we have. Make a study of your day, what do you do? When? Why? Are you in the habit of buying a cup of coffee on the way to work every morning? Does that coffee now come with a biscuit on the top and a muffin because you “forgot” or didn’t have time to eat breakfast? Do you have a glass of wine after work while you cook and prepare dinner? Does that one glass turn in to half a bottle before you stop?

25. Do it for yourself: Finally - Remember you need to ensure that whatever you do, you can maintain. Start small, add a new suggestion to the ones you have adopted each week and see if you can maintain that before you try another one. We are after “over life success” not overnight success.

How can dying be motivational you may ask?

Well I have a couple of questions that might answer that question for you:

If you were lying there, waiting for the end - what would you be thinking?

Would you be worrying about the stock market, the price of vegetables this week. Or would you worry about how many holidays you missed "because you were busy", your kids growing up, why you couldn't find time to be with your partner, your family, your kids and grandkids. Would you regret not writing that book, taking those photographs, drawing those pictures and crossing everything off your bucket list?

We're very lucky because tomorrow we get another chance to make a difference. Are you going to take it?

With many thoughts

Elle

"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps"
David Lloyd George

As you know I am a great believer in the little steps we take each day make the biggest difference to the way our lives turn out. But there are times when we do have to go "cold turkey" and make a massive leap forwards if we want to break an impasse.

For instance, stopping smoking can be done if you make up your mind not to smoke any more. Seriously, you don't need patches and gum because apparently the effects of the nicotine are out of your body within a couple of days and if you can get over those first few days you are well on the way to breaking that particular habit. Remember if you think you can, you can.

Do you drink sweetened tea or coffee? Same deal applies, it takes a bit of getting used to, but believe me you can - because I did it. One day I took 2 spoons of sugar in my tea, the next - none. Now I don't even have milk. It was a decision I made and once I had made it, I didn't go back.

What have you always wanted to do but had never found the courage to do it? Perhaps now is the time to decide that you will - after all, if not now - then when?

Pick one item and make the necessary adjustments to your schedule. Always been afraid to throw a dinner party at home - then pick a date, choose a couple of friends and keep the menu simple. What matters most is that you did it and far less about the food you are serving.

Building on each single success (however small they may look to other people) means you can and have made a massive leap forwards, and if you can do one thing, then you can do many others. The hardest part I feel will be deciding which item on your goal list you want to tackle next. And you know what's exciting - there is no limit to what we can achieve when we start thinking about it and making the odd leap forwards.

With many thoughts and many exciting plans and projects to plan and implement

Elle

I am a big fan of the onion - so when I saw this I just had to pass it on, and apologies if you have already seen it...

Awesome satire ... unfortunately given the number of "biggest loser" shows, the number of obese people in Australia and elsewhere across the world, then it could quite easily be all too real.

Anyway - forgive me my indulgence for having a real crack up laughter moment (even my kids joined in the fun) and enjoy

The Department Of Health And Human Services Recommends Standing At Least Once A Day - http://www.theonion.com/articles/department-of-health-and-human-services-recommends,19000/

OK a couple of very quick questions as we head into the weekend...

    * Why you?
    * Why not you?
    * Why not now?

Why you? What are you good at? What skills and abilities do you have that no-one else has? How can you use those skills and abilities to help you help others get ahead? Remember, by helping others be all they can be, you automatically find you are raising your own game and reaping the rewards too. So - why you? Why should people listen to you?

Why not you? Are you willing to give away your own power? Why? You can get the job done, you are worthy of the best - so why not you?

Why not now? What are you not doing that you know you should be doing? What are you waiting for - an invitation from life to lead one to the fullest extent possible? Get on with you, you don't need permission from anyone other than yourself to be YOU and doing what you know you are good at. So - what are you waiting for? Why not now?

As you ponder those questions think about this:

As you go through your day-to-day activities over this last week, be honest with yourself:

    * Did you perform to the best of your abilities? ALL the time, or could there be room for improvement?
    * What did you do that you absolutely nailed? Why - what was it, what worked for you?
    * Where did you fall down? Why - was it in your control or not in your control? If it was in your control and you didn't manage it - why? What can you do differently next time so you do succeed? If it wasn't in your control and you couldn't influence the outcome, move on. So
    * What are you going to do differently next week?

I hope you do take time to go through these questions - because the answers can mean a whole world of difference to you.

Elle

Are you a race horse, cart horse or shetland pony

A Cart horse - usually uses the excuse - I have big bones. I plod along and do what is expected of me. But don't expect me to jump too high or run too fast because I'm never going to be anything other than "big" and I've been on all the diets to prove it.

The Shetland pony - I'm short and dumpy and nothing I eat ever seems to make much difference, so what's the point in ever trying to change. I mean nothing is ever going to work, I'm just short and dumpy, it's my genetics ...

But those who see themselves as a race horse, the thoroughbreds ... they eat the right foods in the right quantity they need to provide them with the maximum amount of energy. They train hard and they train often. And they take pride in themselves and everything they do.

As I've shifted my thinking, as I've increased the exercise and changed my diet I've found a new sense of pride in myself. I've pushed myself to the absolute limit in recent times, and then pushed that little bit harder - because I can and because I knew I was capable of sooo much more.

Are you stuck in your thinking that you can't change, that nothing goes right for you? Well I believe in you, you are amazing - and you can do everything you set your mind and body to. And you know what - I;ve even seen Shetland Pony's race... So what are you waiting for?

With much love n hugs

Elle

they only function properly when open. I'm not sure who said that, but i feel it's true. Sometimes the best lessons we receive are the ones where we have to question ourselves and our actions. The question I suppose is are we willing to admit we still have things to learn?

Perhaps Winston Churchill said it best when he said "we are always ready to learn, although we do not always like being taught"

Here's to many more learning opportunities

Elle

For those of you who are following me on Twitter or friended me on Facebook may have seen that I was going to give away 5 copies of the challenge - well I gave away a few more than that - but hey that's my prerogative :-) . If you haven't done either (friended or followed), you may want to - because I am re-starting the challenge, and I might just give away a couple more copies of the challenge workbooks for those who are truly motivated, but can't afford the book/program - but would like to see what all the fuss is about.

I am also going to be using Facebook and Twitter as a way of keeping the new challengers motivated. So use the links at the bottom and join in the fun... for example - my challenge to one long term reader and good friend is to stop working so darned hard and to learn the technique of non-striving - that for her IS a major challenge.

The second thing I would like to throw open to everyone is this ...

Hands up all those who are in Western Australia, keep them up if you would like to join me for a couple of hours to discuss ways to overcome the procrastination habit and to get even more out of the next 100 days? The 100 day challenge is ON. I have a venue lined up and ready - now all I need is for someone other than myself and the sponsors to turn up.

Now you may be wondering why a Wednesday night and why the 9th February - well it is quite simple.

You don't need to wait for any day in particular to begin to change your life. You can decide today to work on your goals and to make the next 100 days and the rest of your life better than it has ever been in your life.

There is a new forum on the website where you can keep track of where you are and what you are doing. You can also join in the discussion that others are generating - the forum can be located at

http://www.motivateme.info/100-day-challenge-forum/

So are you ready to re-start the challenge?

I was just going to use that subject line for the 100 day challenge, but it occurred to me that it is actually perfect for today's topic.

If you don't know where your end point is you won't know:

* Which way you should be going
* Which would be the fastest way
* How far you have travelled on your journey
* Where your marker points are

Or anything else

So when you are beginning / re-starting your personal journeys / challenges check to make sure you do know what your end point is - before you start, otherwise you can't plan properly and any action you take will not be as effective as if everything had been thought through in the beginning.

Of course what you think is your current end point may turn out to be just another stepping stone to further success, but how will you know if you don't know?

With many thoughts

Elle

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100 day challenge:
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Day 1 was the 9th February 2011 which makes day 100 May 19th and can you believe it, that's almost halfway through the year. As you know the 100 day challenge helps you to focus on what you need to do on your goals today - so whilst it is good to know what your end point is - remember the main focus is on TODAY. I hope you are working on at least one aspect of your goals today (after all it is the weekend).

Of those who I know are participating we have the following happening:

H.R. Wants a clean office
H.A. Wants to meet and speak to 100 new people to overcome shyness
C.L. would like to be an adult for at least 15 minutes a day to help cope with ADD and attention span of a gnat.
A.T & E.W. Are looking at health related challenges
M.B. Would like to write 100 articles for her webiste

and just to join in the fun

My goal is to achieve 10 items (or have the plans in place / bookings made etc) from my bucket list. So far I have achieved 1, a 2nd I can organise on the 23rd February when tickets to see the Dalai Llama go on sale and I know what the rest are ...
My health / weight loss goals are already up and running and I would like to drop 10% (or better) weight by the end of the 100 days. This is being charted elsewhere so believe me there is no cheating.

Let us know if you are participating or going to participate and you can connect with us all (via me) on Facebook for extra motivation (poking / prodding / cajoling / messages / boots up the wazoo etc)

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100 day challenge seminar:
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Dates to be announced, but it will be around Easter time - unfortunately it's only for those who are in Western Australia or plan to be here at that time...though I might get it recorded - in which case...

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Let's Connect:
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Add your comments:
http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

Spending half an hour a day:

* Thinking positive thoughts or practicing meditation techniques
* Walking / exercising
* Working on your goals

Is a start.

But if you are not using the remaining 23 hours and 30 minutes in a constructive way you will probably never reach your desired outcome.

A case in point - There are 3 ladies who go the gym where I do. In all the time I have been going there, they have not changed shape or size. In fact one day recently I saw them sitting on the exercise bikes and they weren't pedalling. Me being me of course had to say something "going to the gym" is not exactly the same as working out when you get there, you know". Their excuse was that they were going to have a personal training session and didn't want to wear themselves out *coughs / splutters * and gets on an elliptical trainer. Anyway, if one thing is sure, you can guarantee they don't eat the right foods or do anything strenuous when they're away from the gym either, which makes me wonder why they waste the money and the time.

How about you? Are you using your time as effectively and efficiently as you can?
Are you de-railing your success by doing things you know you should definitely NOT be doing?

What are you going to do tomorrow to change / improve on that?

With many thoughts

Elle

p.s. For those of you who "celebrate" St Valentine's day, I hope you are enjoying the time with those you love. But remember there are 364 other days in the year - when you can show those you love, that you do.

This is paraphrased from Earl Nightingale -

Things we worry about:

* Things that are done and gone and cannot be changed: 30%
* Things that never happen: 40%
* Things that will happen but we cannot change or stop: 22%

Total: 92%

Just deal with the ones that we have control over: 8%

When you look at it that way it makes life a lot less of a worry don't you think

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100 day challenge: 1 week in - how are you doing?
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Just a time stamp - we are now 1 week into the challenge - how are you doing?

For those of you who are new to the challenge consider - in the early days of the challenge it is all about setting patterns. You may want to try and schedule a time where you know you can work on your goals each day - that time should not be negotiable - just like any other appointment you make, you don't cancel your doctors or dentist because you can't be bothered to go, so why cancel your appointment (s)with yourself?

And it doesn't have to be a lot of time, you can get huge amounts done between 6 and 6.30 am, half an hour at noon and again at 6pm. Now I know some of you have kids and that may be harder for you, but try breaking your day into specific zones and see how you get on.

With that one very simple technique and a little bit more organisation I've tripled my exercise, how can that technique work for you?

Best

Elle
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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb
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Given a spate of very rude emails I feel the need to send this:

If at any time you wish to unsubscribe:

Make sure you are using the same email address you used to subscribe with. Failure to do so means I can't find you and therefore cannot remove you.

Hit the reply button and type the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. I know I can't help everyone and some people prefer not to receive my correspondence (aka nagging) and that 's fine, I do my best and if that's not good enough, then so be it - good luck with your future endeavours.

The word DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN BLOCK CAPS, nor do you need to be rude. I do not shout at you, nor am I rude, so I do expect a little bit of courtesy, though it has been sadly lacking of late. The email list is not automated and I do read every single piece of correspondence you send.

Please Note: If you are rude I will block you.

If you are using a different email address please supply the email address you did subscribe with in the body of the email.

Thanks and regards

Elle

Have you ever been tormented by the thought of making the wrong decision? What if I were to tell you there are no wrong decisions, just different outcomes, would that make it easier to break through?

We have a choice - we are faced with a or b, but what happens if the one you choose should go wrong - how will you ever cope? This is the no-win scenario - whatever choice you make you are going to beat yourself up over the decision. I knew I should have gone with the other choice. See I told you it would go wrong ...

But if you consider that there are no wrong decisions, just different outcomes - you can imagine how liberating that is. Liberating because it means you can make changes to your current circumstances knowing you can handle whatever comes your way as a result of your choice.

Jim was told he had to follow in his father's footsteps and work in the family firm. Jim dutifully went to business school, studied hard and qualified - then went to work every day in his suit and tie hating every minute of it. Jim had always dreamed of being a teacher, but he knew his father wouldn't help pay his tuition fees if he went to teachers college - so he did his job and hated every minute of it.

I'm sure you can relate to Jim - what would you have done in his shoes? What should Jim have done? What should Jim do now?

Well in this particular case there aren't just 2 options open to Jim. Stay where he is and be miserable or chuck it in and go back to school and have his father disinherit him. Nope, there are many options. Go to night school, take distance learning modules, offer to teach business modules to his fellow workers, or approach the local college with a proposal for a course he would like to run. What is holding him back? HE is. Everything that could possibly go wrong is running through his mind leaving him completely stuck. And as a result, he can't see the many options that are open to him.

Next time you are faced with making a decision - difficult or otherwise, get out your paper and pen and write down the pros and cons of each option. If you can't think of any - then imagine you are giving your best friend some advice. Just remember 2 things -

1) whatever happens - you can handle it. And
2) there are no wrong decisions, just different outcomes.

With many thoughts

Elle

Business relationships are built on trust. They rely on someone doing something in a timely manner - if that doesn't happen the trust is broken and you, the customer, are likely to go elsewhere next time.

We've all been there, we've all been promised the earth and been bitterly disappointed. Phone calls that aren't returned, emails that don't get written, letters that don't get sent and goods that are not sent when they should have been. We write, we complain, we tell our friends and we find an alternative supplier.

So - turn it around - have you promised something to someone and haven't lived up to your promise? Don't you think you should, after all if you are in the business of being in business - and therefore making money, your reputation is at stake.

And this is not just about business dealings, but everything if you stop and think about it.

* Are you known as a gossip? Have people stopped telling you things because you can't keep a secret?
* Do you fail to hand in your homework?
* Have you promised to help your parents with the housework and then "forgot"
* Have you promised a friend you would help them out and then conveniently found you had something else to do on that day - and didn't tell them?
* And what have you promised yourself recently and then failed to follow through with?

Your reputation is at stake - make 2011 the year you don't let yourself down

Kind Regards

Elle

Is it easier said than done to create space for yourself - at work / during your working day? I don't think so:

2 things spring to mind - make sure your working environment is friendly. If you can and don't work in a rabbit warren of sound pods and cubicles add colour, pictures, plants and other things to make your space "YOUR space" after all you are there for a lot of hours each day, so why not make it enjoyable. Same goes for home offices. I am surrounded by books because from them I draw my inspiration and my peace of mind. When things get too cluttered, I pick up one and read a few pages. It can be enough to re-boot the mind. What you do is up to you of course, but you do need to think about where you work and how it is affecting your creativity. Too much clutter can lead to cluttered thinking, too much noise and you can't work effectively (so invest in a personal mp3 player of some sort). I only have one earphone in because I need to listen for the phones, but it is enough to give me ambient background noise to drown out the rest.

The second thing I would strongly recommend to you is getting out of the office during the day. Since Christmas / New Year I have made a very conscious decision to get away from my desk - every day. Well 4 out of 5 as I am with clients one day a week at the moment. Those 4 days I change our of my business wear and into track gear and runners... and I walk for about 30 minutes and 3.5km's. It gives me a break from

* sitting down all day
* the computer screen
* the telephone and the noise

it also gives me a chance to do the mental filing and the best bit, I don't get the afternoon slump, I don't spend money, I get an extra 2 hours worth of calories burnt off each week and I am much more productive in the afternoon / evening.

Don't have anywhere safe to walk? Try walking up and down the stairs a few times but you do need to get away - and no, DO NOT take your phone with you - this is your time.

How can you create space for yourself during your working day?

Today marks 2 milestones.

Today is of course the end of February, it is also the 20th day since we re-started the 100 day challenge - doesn't time fly when you are having fun? (That's a yes BTW).

In light of both of these events I would ask you to set aside half an hour, get out paper and pen - yes the old fashioned variety and then I would like you to write yourself a letter. We encourage our business colleagues, family members and our friends, but rarely do we pat ourselves on the back for a job well done so far. So that is your task - I want you to say well done to you for a job well done. I don't care how big nor how small your accomplishments, remember the caveat - what works for you, won't work for someone else. What motivates you, will rarely motivate another. And what counts as an achievement will be the same. So this is your letter to you to say "keep it up, you are doing great".

Spend a little bit of time and review both the first 2 months of the year and in particular the last 20 days. What worked, what have you accomplished, what have you overcome to achieve at least one step towards your goals and your brighter future? And write it down.

Now, it may seem a little strange, but when you have finished writing your letter, I want you to post it. Yes, post it to yourself hence why I needed you to write it down.

Obviously when you post something it is going to arrive, but, rather than opening your letter straight away when you get it back - I'd like you to save it for those odd days when things aren't going quite so well, when you need a word or two of encouragement and when you feel like you might throw in the towel and go back to your old procrastinating ways.

You could of course journal these thoughts, but it can be a little hard to find one day in amongst thousands of other days. So, humour me - just a little and write a letter of encouragement, thanks and congratulations to the one doing all the work.

Oh and by the way - well done you, you are doing great.

With many thoughts

Elle

I was going back through one of my notebooks and came across these random thoughts:

* Never ask for what you DON'T want, always ask for what you do.
* The busier you are, the more you find time to do
* For every "great" book out there, there are another 100 making lots of money
* Don't buy cheap pegs, your washing only ends up on the floor

Raise your standards
Raise your output
Raise your quality
Improve your interactions
Lower your expectations of others

* Goals should be like magnets. If they are not pulling you closer then your goals are not strong enough

You have to be so convinced that something will happen you have to be willing to go for broke, to burn bridges and boats so you cannot go back.
You have to "see it" (you cannot see what you cannot visualize). But it's not a "see it" and it will come, but a conviction that when you know what you want, you can "see" it and you know what you are going to have to do to get it.

* A new discipline begun is only successful if it becomes a habit

With many thoughts

Elle

Carrying on from yesterday's post, try and create space for yourself during your working day, there are going to be some questions as to WHY? Why do you need to create space for yourself? Why should we take time out to exercise every day - and preferably on our own? Why should we switch off the phones and tune out the noise?

It is a simple technique that gives our mind a break from structured thinking and to think creatively once more.

"it came to me when I was running" said Paul. Paul changes out of his business suit every lunch time or whenever he gets a break long enough between meetings and into a hideous pair of shorts, ratty old t-shirt and battered cap, plugs himself in and away he goes. Everyone else thinks he's mad to run for 30 minutes in the heat of a Perth summer, except me.

"my best thinking time is in the shower" says Elizabeth. I've suggested she take up running again too as it was something she stopped doing to attempt to pack more work into her busy day. "Have you been more productive as a result?" "Well I got more done" - "Yes, but at what cost to you and your own well being?" She's taken up running again and after one week is glowing with vitality and energy.

My best thinking times always come during my walking times.

But what if you don't work?

Stay at home mums with young kids; school / uni students with endless distractions and lots of homework?

Well I believe the same principle applies to you too. Find time when you can be alone for 20-30 minutes every day.

Mums, when the kids go down for a nap forget about the housework instead break out the yoga DVD or climb on the exercise bike you've got stashed in the corner. You need to find space and time to remember who you are. You are not just someone who carried the children, gave birth and are now their primary carer during the day (with apologies to the house dad's out there - BTW this is for you too). Nor are you just the person who does the cleaning in the spare time - you are you and it is important to remember that and create space for yourself - treat yourself to the endorphin rush that always comes with exercise and you'll find you can cope with almost anything.

For my gorgeous kids, teens and young adults who read these musings, you too should get into this daily habit. Find time between classes and walk. Remember though it is not a joint activity, you do need to get away from the constant chattering. If you find that all too hard, it might be sensible to wait until after school has finished, get home, dump books and bags, get your track gear on and get going for 20 - 30 minutes. Do it because I can almost guarantee you will get your assignments and work finished faster as a result of being able to get out of your structured mind and into your body for a short period of time.

Get out of your mind and into your body. Allow it to feel, allow it to breathe and sweat a little. As you get into your body your mind can run riot. Give it a couple of days and you will wonder how you managed without doing it for so long.

With many thoughts

Elle

You can make a difference, believe me you can.

But who am I? I am a single person, a lone voice ... what can I do?

You can do whatever you want - all you have to do is believe in yourself and whatever it is you want to achieve. When you do that, then the blocks and the barriers that you put around yourself will melt away.

BUT?

No buts

Seriously?

Think of it in this way, most of what we see around us today started off with the thought by a single person. They may then enlist the help of others, but they thought about it, and put the flesh on the bones of that thought, until it took shape - and once they had done that, others couldn't help but join in.

Oh

How many times have you had the most brilliant of ideas and you added details, worked out what needed to be done. You told everyone who cared to listen and then you refined those thoughts and all of a sudden the "thing" was there... that's what we are talking about here.

YES, yes - it has happened exactly like that...

So - what can you do today to make a difference?

Oh? Errr, I'm not sure?

Really? Why not make an extra dinner and take it to someone who needs it. Are you good with a pair of knitting needles - millions of kids around the world have little or nothing to wear - or why not dig through your closet and get rid of those clothes you don't wear and donate them. Why not offer to babysit for a new mum who is tired and needs sleep? Don't have anything but time - well then you are rich indeed, give a little time to someone who doesn't have much or needs a hug or an ear. It's amazing how rich we are and how much we can share when we look at life through a different set of eyes. Let me tell you a story - after the boxing day tsunami a lone shoe washed up onto the shore of a beach - it inspired a single man to find shoes, he asked people, friends, family, businesses and whomever else who would listen and he found a way to give thousands of pairs of shoes to the people who had nothing. And he's still looking for people to donate shoes to those who don't have any. One man, one thought and he has made a difference to thousands of people. How amazing is that.

You too can make such a difference. Mother Teresa, Einstein, Fleming, Bell, you, me ... we can do amazing things, all we have to do is have a vision ... YOU can make a difference, the question is - will you?

I hope so

Elle

People who live their life by default tend to be the ones who "blame" other people for their situation. They blame the economy for not having enough money, yet are more likely to spend all they do earn, wasting money on simple pleasures like going out, buying cigarettes, take-away food and alcohol. Want to know where your money goes? Keep receipts, put them into a spreadsheet and tally it up at the end of the month - it's amazing where you can make savings to your budget once you take responsibility for taking care of what you earn.

People who live their life by default are more likely to blame their bosses for not giving them a payrise yet do little or nothing during the year to warrant one.

People who live their life by default say that if the "government" did more they could get a better job - yet fail to understand their part in the process. I've worked in factories, my kids currently work in fast food - anything to give us enough money at the time to do what we needed to do... For my kids, fast food is a good option because the hours suit their needs, and when the time comes they will move on, because they are also working towards bettering their education. And you know that selection criteria that says "dealing with difficult situations" boy do they have a LOT of examples to share. Believe me fast food is not an easy option.

People who live their life by design on the other hand tend to know what they want - and they take the steps to get there. In some cases it may take years to get the qualifications, or to save up enough money. It may mean burning the midnight oil after the kids have gone to bed to do the paperwork that will mean they can open their own business. But they know what they want and will put things into place that will allow them to reach their goals. Do you suddenly decide one day that you want to get fit and wonder why after doing little or no exercise for several weeks you haven't changed?

But do you know the amazing part? When you live your life by design you don't just affect one area of your life. As you make changes you will automatically start to see other areas where you can make changes too - for example, your desire to re-decorate your house means you don't spend all night watching TV, you save the money you would have spent on going out and put it towards paint or new furniture. As you climb up and down ladders and cleaned rooms of existing furniture you will slowly find yourself getting fitter / slimmer, your house gets de-cluttered and on it goes.

You decide you will get another job, so you update your CV, put together a covering letter and send it through to prospective employers. Not satisfied with your current "look" after all you didn't have time to go shopping or get a decent hair cut before, now it becomes important. You begin to dress to impress, your self-esteem goes up and you find you have more energy. And the best bit, you work better where you are currently employed too. You decide that if you do leave, you really don't want half-finished projects to mar your chances of a good reference, so your productivity improves.

Have you been guilty of living your life by default? Is now a good time to change that? And if not now - then when?

With many thoughts

Elle

Ninety percent of all those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit. ~ Paul J. Meyer

Congratulations to everyone who is in the 10% who don't see defeat as a failure merely a chance to re-evaluate.

Kind Regards

Elle

Today's challenge is a simple one, but it will have a profound impact on everyone you come into contact with

Today I want you to smile at everyone you see / meet.

No people won't think you're crazy, in fact your single smile will act like a stone thrown into the pond rippling out the effects long after you've passed by. You know what I mean - you smile at a stranger, they return your smile, you are still smiling as you pass and your single smile is caught by another... the person who smiled back at you also then "inadverdently" smiles at the next person they see and on it goes...

Not only will you feel great, you will make countless others feel great too.

Go on give it a go

OK, need a reason to smile - try watching this first ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN8CKwdosjE or watch how it all began http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4 and see if that doesn't raise a smile ...

There are many different kinds of motivation. As I have mentioned to you many times, what motivates you may not motivate your partner, or your neighbours and probably not your kids - and today was a very good example.

The annual sculpture by the sea exhibition is running and will be dismantled and moved on next week - the 22nd to be precise. What motivates an artist to create some of these HUGE pieces, how long it takes, the thought process behind each unique piece. And the same goes for those things I don't understand (aka the weird bits of sticks, the powerless fans, the kids wheelie bins etc) - but still - like I said what motivates one...

And then you have people like me, who visit every year and take lots of photographs and wander through the bodies who aren't necessarily there for the sculpture - just the beach, and why not we have (IMO) some of the best beaches in the entire world. I do invite friends to join me, after all we are about 40 minutes from this particular part of the coastline, but as yet have had no takers - and dragging the kids along last year didn't count. I thought my son (the artist) would get it, but apparently not... but hey. Again it comes down to this one very LARGE point -

If you are motivated to do something, you will find the time, you will find the space in your calendar and you will (in my case) wander through the sculpture, across the sand in bare feet, wearing classic business wear and carrying my shoes. Great fun. I also got lots of photos for you to enjoy...

http://www.motivateme.info/gallery/sculpture-by-the-sea

I hope you too had an enjoyable end to your working week ...

All the best

Elle

A hundred thousand welcomes to each and every one of you who reads these musings on an almost daily basis.

Why the Irish greeting?

Well tomorrow is St Patrick's day, and for some reason here in Australia the event is almost as big as "Australia Day" - so for those of you who intend to raise a glass or two of that (Sorry in my opinion - rather horrid black stuff) Guinness - be safe on the way home and make sure someone is the designated skipper.

For the rest of us who, while acknowledging the special day for Irish, well I personally would like to extend a prayer and a blessing or two to the thousands of Japanese who are suffering through this very hard time, the rescue workers who are always there, those people with family and loved ones in Japan, to everyone who has lived through the recent disasters in New Zealand, Australia and the many people who are fighting wars they didn't start - but are now inextricably part of - be safe, look out for each other and remember there are people hoping and praying for your safe return.

With love and light

Elle

Motivation is easy when you know what you want to achieve and will stop at nothing until you get it.

So why aren't all our goals as easy as fetching "chocolate"? You know, that insatiable desire we sometimes get in the middle of the night when the shops are shut and we have to drive to the local 24/7? Because finding chocolate, even in the middle of the night is easy.

So - how do we turn our goals into "chocolate" ones?

Do you remember the question - How do you eat an elephant? Answer - one bite at a time! So it is with any goal we set. If we are hungry enough, if we want it badly enough, if our reasons are big enough - we will do anything and everything to achieve it.

So - Are you hungry enough?

The power is within you to do amazing things.

The question is - are you willing to give it a go?

We regularly clean our homes, houses and places of work. We also clean the outer part of who we are, and if we choose to detox then the inside gets a scrub too. But what about your mind? Do you clean that out too? Personally I think you should make time to do that too.

We speak thousands of words to ourselves every day, and most of the time we can be extremely guilty of putting ourselves down

and so on

So how can you spring clean your thoughts and refresh your mind? I think a multi-pronged approach is best.

Books - read, listen, absorb, dive into and lose yourself. BUT - don't just read motivational / inspirational stuff, or business stuff - but how about a piece of poetry, a play or a novel that you've had sitting waiting for a chance to sit down and enjoy. Switch off occasionally, you are allowed you know. If you don't feel you have the time, then why not turn your car into a place of listening to something other than the rubbish on the news or drive time radio. You find time to listen to that, so switch to something that will give your mind a rest from the constant chattering of news / guffawing and inane comments... or is that just Australian radio?

Time out - go for a walk, get out during your lunch break, wander round the art gallery, take a long leisurely bath ... whatever - but you need to do it on your own - yes including the bath. Switch everything off, TV's, radio's, stick ear plugs in if necessary, and try and speak kindly to yourself as you frivolously spend half an hour or so refreshing your mind. And breathe deeply, believe me the extra oxygen can make a massive difference to our minds and it helps stop fuzzy thinking.

Get enough sleep - most of us don't. I have been re-learning the beauty of sleep. As a reforming insomniac this is going to be a tough one for me, but the power of sleep on our minds and body is truly amazing. If you can, try an afternoon nap too - we sleep as much as we can when we are ill, so why not sleep when we're well too... the studies are showing, the more sleep we get, the better we are... hmmm pillows...

Do something bizarre or just because you can - get your "must do before you die" list out of the drawer - find something that appeals to where you are now and organise it... better still do it. Go to the movies, go rent that video you missed at the movies, find a kayaking company and book onto a tour, bake a cake, learn how to do something, find a class, get your knitting out - it doesn't matter what you do, just do something that may seem a little frivolous and ENJOY it.

We can be guilty of thinking we have all the time in the world, well I hate to break it to you - they haven't found the secret to endless life, and while we may believe in reincarnation who's to say we're not coming back as a garden slug next time...

One final thing - I don't want this "thoughtful spring cleaning" to be a once in a blue moon activity either (BTW a blue moon occurs on average every couple of years - and is a 2nd full moon in a calendar month, just in case you were wondering where that term came from - sorry I digress) so - just as you schedule appointments into your diary, I would like you to add these activities to your weekly planner too. Yes, make time for you - you deserve it you know.

And BTW - tonight I sat on the beach at Cottesloe and watched the sun set ... I too try and put the balance back into this work / life thing just in case you were wondering - it doesn't always work, but my goodness when it does...

With many frivolous and happy thoughts to each and every one of you today

Elle

"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life."
Dr David M Burns

I was speaking to the captain of the local "girls" soccer squad today, a good friend and the lady who persuaded me that it I was still capable of playing soccer even at my vintage ... bless ... (BTW I would be in the veterans league assuming they had one...)

They played a friendly this morning. It was 35 degrees, stinking hot - and they gave it their all, reasoning if you didn't want to be on the park then what was the point of putting on your gear if you were going to let your team mates down by NOT playing your best. The game might have been messy, it might not have won any kinds of awards, BUT - they won the match.

Sometimes we do just have to keep going when we don't want to, sometimes we might just want to stay home, put our feet up and tell ourselves we can't. Well in this grand game of life - sometimes we do just have to put on our gear and give it our all - after all we never know who might be watching us, never know who might need our guidance and courage. They may look to us and say - hey if they can do it, then *squares shoulders* so can I.

Who are you influencing without knowing you are? Are you influencing them in the right way or the wrong way?

Which is always something to think about

Elle

Karma = "I really shouldn't have done that" moment

If you do believe in the concept of what goes around comes around, or reaping what you are sowing - what are your thoughts and actions going to bring you?

As always, something to think about as we begin another working week

Elle

Books, e-books, journal articles - whatever inspired you to become more, do more, engage more the first time - should in effect inspire you even more a second or third time on reading the material.

Isn't that a complete waste of time - re-reading something you've read once?

I believe the answer to that is no... I believe we have the attention span of a gnat, albeit an intelligent one. Most of the time we are not wholly focused on what we are reading, as a result we skip words, even whole chunks of pages because we are distracted. Anyone who has other noise going on around them will understand only too well what I mean ...

For example, gopher stations (open plan offices), over loud telephone conversations, office colleagues slamming doors and steaming off in a huff, the kids either interrupting you directly, or indirectly with their noise, conversations, tv's and sound systems. My daughter is particularly vocal and she will quite often make me jump - kids!! or consider your own worrying thoughts and interpretation of what you are reading - they can and do interrupt your thought processes. So how can you be expected to read a book for a single time and expect to:

a) understand the principles in their entirety
b) put into practice what you have read
c) keep putting into practice what you read - weeks or months down the line. We may be good at remembering, but probably not THAT good.

So - get out all the books that have inspired you over the last little while, and I would like you to consider re-reading each one. Keep a note book by your side for those good ideas and ah-ha moments - and see if those ideas you had but didn't put into planning or action can actually take shape this time.

I have thousands of books, and I have read thousands more, but there are a group of books I go back to on a regular basis

And my own works of course, I re-read the Daily Dose when I need a personal kick up the wazoo, I re-read my journal, I re-read the notes I have made and I keep everything tallied in the 100 day challenge and my time log... am I doing enough? what should I be doing? what is the best use of my time? what else can I do to help you? what else can I suggest, what can I offer to you that means you will become inspired, motivated and able to push through the procrastination habits that sometimes stick to our boots like gelatinous mud.

I think "persuading" you to go back and re-read those things that inspired you the first time is perhaps the best one I can suggest for today.

With many rustling pages and piles of books to sample

Kind Regards

Elle

If there is one thing of which I am totally certain it is this - You were born to create.

It may be you were born to create the most beautiful computer code or the best cup cakes in your home town. But you were born to do something you love doing.

It may be that you are already doing what it is you love, in which case I can only take my hat off to you and say "what on earth are you still doing reading this e-zine" no I am kidding.

However, for most of us, our passion and our jobs lie somewhere apart. But that's OK as long as you make time to do whatever it is you love to do. However, I would like to challenge you to think about making your "hobby" or as I prefer to call it - your PASSION - your "job" or the thing that brings you money and / or other rewards to you at some point in the not too distant future. We can all be faked out by the phrase "sometime in the future" but who knows how long we have each been given.

Part-time if necessary, until such time as you can say goodbye to your "day" job and let your passion take over.

Now I could tell you how to go about that - but that is not what today's email is all about. Today I would like to talk to you about how to find out what your creative streak is - assuming you haven't found it yet. And to challenge a few of you who think they know what that is, with a - "are you sure?" After all it does not hurt to take another look.

So how do you find where your creative streak lies?

There are many ways to do this:

I know we have just touched on this fascinating topic of releasing our creative streaks, and I know you will have some suggestions of your own, so don't be shy - you can leave a comment and let your fellow readers know how you find your creative side here -

But in the mean time, enjoy, it's your life, lets get out the color palette and go crazy

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

Henry Ford said it best "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young."

But it's not just a platitude, numerous study's show that the active mind stays "young". As you learn new things your brain is having to forge new neural pathways, that's why babies and kids are like learning machines - they have this huge capacity to learn, they have to. Every time they are shown something for the first time they have to absorb the lesson and they have to absorb it quickly - and if they don't - then you can understand why they have nicely padded rear ends - they don't care if they land on them once or twice whilst they are learning. The other amazing thing about kids and babies is this - they have no fear. To them life is one massive adventure....and boy are they going to have fun "adventuring".

When did we stop "adventuring?"

If you are a parent, did you ever tell your kids - don't do that you'll hurt yourself .... really? are you sure? How many times did your fear translate into actual accidents?

I remember as a young kid catching bumble bees - I would capture one in my cupped hands and proudly go inside to show my mum ... rather than freak out she said - make sure you don't frighten him, cos if you do you'll get stung, which meant nothing to me - but sure enough - was that a painful lesson - extracting the sting from my finger, but there are some things you do have to experience for yourself.... learning is like that. We have to experience it for ourselves for the lessons to sink in. And no I didn't catch any more bees.

I have a personal trainer - I go a couple of times a week, and I do a lot of other stuff exercise wise besides. But every time I go to see my trainer I know I will be learning something new. It may be a new exercise, it may be a variation on an old one....once I've stopped laughing long enough to say "are you sure you want me to do THAT" the exercise is broken down so I can see what my body needs to do and eventually my mind catches up. I am shown - but I only learn by doing.

Are you still learning?

* Every time you read something new
* Every time you attempt the morning cross word puzzle
* Every time you challenge your mind and body

Consider this

Every time I accept that the only thing I know for certain, is that I still have a lot to learn - I am opening my mind to new learning opportunities

Are you?

Stay young, keep learning

Here is a simple exercise for you - one that will answer this question easily.

I want you to stand up and walk towards your bathroom. When you get there I need you to stand in front of the sink.....

If you are like most people there should be something in front of you - go on and have a look, I'll be here waiting...

*hums tune whilst everyone hustles off to the bathroom*

Back already - gosh that was quick. OK - what did you see?

The answer is 2 - fold of course.

*hums tune again whilst the muttering ceases*

I am not kidding - we are our own and biggest blockers to success. We may like to blame other people, and in some cases we may be justified in thinking that is the case. However, speaking from experience - I have given up so much of my time and energy on people who expected me too, and then there is always the guilt trips we get thrown at us. I am now re-learning how to reclaim my time and my goals - just as you will have to..... ready to do so?

As we talk about in the Motivational Tip below - one of the things that always seems to get thrown by the wayside is exercise. We think we don't have time, we think people will laugh or stare at us at the gym when we struggle to complete the exercises. My trainers are great (Matt and Hilary at Efit121 - http://www.efit121.com.au) they show me, they wait whilst I stop cracking up and they correct me until I feel confident to do the exercise routines on my own. I know that the biggest problem of course lies right between our ears. We do have the time to exercise, we are just choosing to do other things. Those things may be - sleep in, go to work early, get up and write, feed the kids, take the kids to school - or whatever it is. But what about lunch time, or when the babies are asleep - why not then? Or how about dinner time - if you are organised enough and have one, use a slow cooker - and set it going in the morning - not only do you have a wonderful dinner cooked for when you and the family get home, you also have the time to do other things. And of course it's not just exercise, but any of your goals....a lot of which interrelate at this point.

An honest question - and answer please.

Are you overweight? By how much?

Do you buy your breakfast / lunch every day or do you spend time and work out your meals for tomorrow in advance? How about dinner? Too tired to cook? Bet you're not too tired to sit at a drive through and wait though. One thing I know with "fast food" - it's not especially fast especially if you have to go out of your way to get it, nor is it particularly nutritious - and I don't care what the fast food joints will scream ... it's also ridiculously expensive.

So if you are overweight, have a liking for takeaway / fast food, have a smaller than you should have bank balance and you say you can't find time to exercise - we need to talk.

You see, everything impacts on everything else. If we can talk ourselves out of a simple a thing as doing some exercise, what chance do the rest of our goals have?

What can you do about your blockers to success?

Get serious about your goals, make them real, make them exciting for you - make them live, breath life into them by giving them so much detail you can't help but achieve them. I know there will be hiccups and set backs - hey that's life. But don't waste yours telling yourself you can't.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Exercise - Take your gear to work
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Do you find excuses as to why you can't exercise on your way home from work? I used to, I would tell myself I was tired, I had too much to do, I had dinner to cook etc etc. Then a couple of things happened.

I still have the same amount of other stuff I need to do, but now I have less evening time to do it in ... so what gives? Anything that wastes my time - namely TV... I have also become very adroit at multi-tasking. Washing in the machine, dinner being prepared, sorting out paperwork, sorting out bags for the next day - it can all be done so much faster when you have a smaller window of time to do it in.

Try it - once you get into the habit - you won't believe me when I say - you will get so much more done.

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MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

* Today's daily dose: We are not in the matrix
* Motivate Me to find work: Start applying
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:
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Today's daily dose: 31st July 2010
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"Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb"
Pythagorus

Find time in amongst the noise of this technologically driven world in which we live, to turn everything off and unplug yourself from the grid. We all need to recharge our internal batteries and we can't do that by sticking a USB port into our ear and a plug into a socket. We do that by doing the exact opposite. By being outside, by being quiet and listening to ourselves breathe.

When was the last time you were truly "quiet"?

You can call it meditation, you can call it going for a walk on your own, you can call it going for an afternoon snooze on a weekend. I personally don't care what you call it, just that you find time to do it.

The downside of not doing it is stress, strain, getting run down and possibly becoming ill.

We call it the catch all phrase of finding work / life balance - again I don't care what you call it, but it is something I factor into my week so I can cope with everything else that I do. Granted I don't always succeed, but I am getting better at it. One thing I do need to do though is add a longer period "away" - otherwise known as a holiday. A long weekend every 6 months really isn't enough and I do need to work out a way of getting more "away" time into my life. But until then I am factoring in down time so I don't get too run down.

You are important, extremely important - so make time for you.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: 3. Start applying
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There is one thing you should never procrastinate over and that is applying for jobs / positions.

Don't leave things to the last minute because:

1. You will need time to put together the application, the covering letter, answers to selection criteria and customise your CV for the desired role. It is not something that can be written and sent in the one day. ALWAYS leave a day or two between writing the initial application etc and editing it before sending it on to the prospective employer. In fact this one technique is essential for any professional piece of written communication you write and send. Assignments are always better after being left a day before editing - guaranteed you will find spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.

2. Technology may fail. Not just yours, but if you are sending your application by email - never assume it will get there in time, so make sure you send it a good couple of days before the closing date. Add a read receipt so you know it has got there, or telephone the next day to make sure it has. The same goes for online applications - things fall over, connections break or fail, things that look like they have been sent - aren't. Don't trust anything.

3. Ditto with snail mail.

4. Leaving a job application to the last minute also smacks of a lack of planning on your part and maybe procrastination too - get in early, look keen. But don't rush the application either.

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MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

* Today's daily dose: Find your reason to succeed
* Motivate Me to find work: 4. Follow Instructions
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Today's daily dose: 2nd August 2010
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Find your reason to succeed.

As you know reasons are the reason we do something or not. The stronger the reason, the faster things gets done, which means you can achieve your goals much faster. The problem I have found with most people is their reasons are not strong enough.

Will you move heaven and earth to achieve your goal?

Then you have strong reasons for doing so

Can't be bothered to get out of bed in a morning

Yes you guessed it, the benefit of staying in bed is larger than the reason for getting up.

A friend and I decided to take part in this year's City to Surf which is a 12km walk (or 12km run) from Perth city to the coast. When I registered just over a week ago the number of participants stood at over 23,000 people. My friend registered today and the number was over 24,000. That's a lot of motivated people, especially as most year's the weather is pretty bad - well we are still officially in winter at that point. Our motivation to get up early on a weekend and meet is the reason why you can find us toiling up malcolm street every saturday morning - the first KM of the race is uphill - and we don't want to be overtaken by people dressed as rabbits and caterpillars. How embarrassing would that be?! So we get up early on a weekend to train. Yes I know it's only 12km's and that training is only part of what we do each week, but our reason is big enough to ensure we walk every week. We also have added benefits - I've dropped 8cm's off my hips and my friend has dropped similar size. For us, the benefits far outweigh the reasons.

Do your goals have big enough reasons? And do those reasons have associated benefits that can draw you to goals faster.

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Motivate Me to Find Work: 4. Follow Instructions
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When you are applying for a position it is ESSENTIAL that you follow the instructions to the letter.

Job application packages are there to help you, so take time to read them thoroughly and highlight the area on how to apply and in particular "what to submit with your application".

Failure to follow their instructions means your application will end up in what we term File 13, or the round receptacle under the desk. If you cannot follow simple instructions will you be able to follow "orders"? It also smacks of a lack of attention to detail....you know - one of THOSE questions the prospective employer always likes answers to. If you don't follow the instructions, you have demonstrated only too well that you don't have what they need.

Sounds harsh?

Not if your life or the life of your colleagues or patients depend upon it. Imagine a science experiment where you think you've added the right combination of chemicals - well it's nearly right... Nearly right is not always good enough.

I have had an ongoing dialogue with a person who seems to have a blind spot with regards to these kinds of instructions. As I have said to him many times, if the prospective employer wants you to hand write the application on purple paper with green ink, then that is exactly what you send them.

    * Follow their instructions as stated in the job application package or advertisement
    * Only send them what they have asked for - nothing else
    * Make sure the application gets to them in plenty of time

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MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

* Today's daily dose: Check your self talk
* Motivate Me to find work: #6: Rinse and Repeat
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Today's daily dose: 9th August 2010
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"The mind is an iceberg, it floats with only 1/7th of it's bulk above water"
Sigmund Freud

Do you tell yourself you can or you can't do something?

We are constantly "speaking" to ourselves - unfortunately most of what we are telling ourselves sub-consciously is at odds with what we are saying consciously. Only when you stop the negative chatter and align the sub-conscious thought processes with the conscious thought processes will you be able to move forwards.

Don't believe me?

If I ask you to say the sentence

I achieve ALL my goals with ease

What does your mind automatically start to say?

Most of the time, we can catch ourselves saying something derogatory like "No you don't", "Don't make me laugh" "You always give up"

That's the trouble with "affirmations" they don't really work, unless you believe them to be true - and your actions back up those words. Of course we can believe something to be true without taking action - but that's the start of delusion. We can affirm that we are rich and powerful, but the bank balance never seems to catch up with the spending, so watch your "affirmations" and make sure you only affirm that which is true. You can of course affirm that you are broke, good, now you need to work out how to get out of being "broke".... You can say - I will get a better paying job OR I will create my business and I will start today by working out the market for my product / service. Once you make that kind of decision, guess what - the actions are obvious, and as you take each action step, your sub-conscious starts to catch up and becomes aligned with what you have been consciously saying.

So - What are you affirming to be true and are your actions backing those thought processes or not?

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Motivate Me to Find Work: #6 Rinse and Repeat
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Congratulations on getting this far, however, the true success to a job search though is to:

Repeat steps 1-5

It is essential to have more than one application in the pipeline so never sit back and wait for the call from a prospective employer to say you’ve got the job, because

a) the phone call may never come
b) some job applications seem to take forever.

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Open your mind to see
* Motivate Me to find work: Turning a job offer down
* Motivate Me to Exercise: What are you training for?
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 16th August 2010
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"Some things have to be believed to be seen"
Ralph Hodgson

There have been occasions in recent times when my mind just cannot make the leap. I am constantly told that I can do it, and I will be shown what to do, but in my mind I am unable to believe the words so my body is unable to comply. However, my personal trainer Hilary of Efit121 - (http://www.efit121.com.au) is a persistent lady and she helps me to break down the exercise and position by position I am able to work through the mental blocks. It is a fascinating process to observe, because there does come a point - when my mind finally gets it, and, as soon as my mind can "see" what I am supposed to be doing, it is then quite happy and my body can then catch up. I'm not sure exercise has always been that way for me, but in recent times I have noticed the phenomena - be it climbing the 242 steps of Jacobs Ladder or the rough terrain of the Kokoda Track steps, indoor rock climbing, canoeing, pole dancing and of course learning lots of new techniques with personal training.

As you know I do like to challenge my body, and I will never ask you do things I am not willing to try myself, but first I have to challenge my mind to be open to the possibility that I can - are you the same?

Perhaps it's trying to protect me from falling flat on my face, perhaps, but I am not adverse to making a complete idiot of myself, and have landed many times and yes even face planted, so you'd think my mind would be used to it by now. I also figure if I can't laugh at myself, then what is the point?

But I still don't know how to get over those mental blocks except by having a go and continuing to work through it until I feel comfortable.

What mental blocks do you have? How do you overcome yours?

Of course, it doesn't have to be exercise related as mine usually is, but it could be anything.

But there are some techniques we can use.

I've mentioned 2 of them already

1. Use a personal trainer (or mentor / coach / friend to keep you on track) and
2. Break it down.

These 2 techniques are I believe, THE most powerful weapons at our disposal and with them we can achieve many amazing goals.

Every day you face millions of micro decisions, each decision gives you a new path to take and therefore alternative decisions to face.

Each one of those micro decisions we are using technique #2 - break it down.

Think about it.

You see we can have a million goals or we can have one or two - these are usually "biggies" and will be several years away. Sometimes we may not believe we are capable of achieving those goals, but if you break each one down so each chunk is a micro decision - guess what - you can't but help to achieve these and many other goals.

Remember as one wise man once said

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"

What step are you going to take to get you through your mental blocks?

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Motivate Me to Find Work: Turning a job offer down
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“My father always told me, "Find a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life.”- Jim Fox

Are you afraid to say no to a job offer? After all, you did spend a great deal of time putting your application together, organizing your interview clothes and then answering a million questions during the rapid half an hour you'd been allocated to prove you were the best person for the job. So why would you consider turning a job down?

There are many reasons for turning a job down. It may be you have been offered the perfect job and the one you are now turning down doesn't even come close. Or it may be that you didn't like the people or the place. Unfortunately, people feel obliged to take a job because they may feel they are:

This internal negative dialogue can be deafening, and most people are afraid of it, so they give in, reasoning that anything will do, and it will solve a few problems after all.

In reality all this does is create more problems than it solves. You may start out by trying to do the right thing by your new boss, you arrive on time, you do what is expected of you – but no more, you don't make the effort to fit in.

Then what happens?

You don't want to get out of bed in a morning, your appearance isn't as sharp as it used to be, you may take longer lunch breaks than you are supposed to. As things start to progress you resent those people who are “getting on”, receiving pay rises that you don't seem to get any more, people don't include you in their conversations or out of work activities, you may even start to take time off work because you hate the place and the people in it.

Most people are afraid to trust their instincts that says – actually this job isn't right for me. The job sounded great on paper, and that is why I applied for it. But it’s not really what I want to do at all. I know something better is just around the corner, one that will fit my skills and abilities far better, and be far more challenging than this role.

So don't be afraid to say no, but before you do - make sure you ego and your attitude is completely in line with your skills, abilities and ethics.

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Motivate Me to Exercise: What are you training for?
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I wanted to challenge myself this morning. I wanted to be able to get to the top of the Kokoda Track steps without stopping.

Sounds easy - well if you saw the video from the last time I did it, you might realize it's not as easy as it looks as it's virtually straight up the Mt Eliza escarpment.
Read more: http://www.motivateme.info/motivate-me-to-exercise/2010/8/8/what-are-you-training-for.html

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: The first sign of madness
* Let's Connect:
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Today's daily dose: 30th August 2010
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The first sign of madness is doing the same things in the same way and expecting different results.

The second sign of madness is to carry on doing "it" when the results are speaking for themselves.

Think about this in terms of muscles development. To develop better muscle tone you need to do 3 things:

1. Use bigger weights and / or do more repetitions (move out of your comfort zone)
2. Reduce your body fat - so you can see the muscles - believe it or not we all have six pack abs, but most of us carry several kegs of fat over them!! (get rid of your bad habits so you can develop good ones)
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you reach your goal - which could take weeks, but may take months or years depending on a) how much muscle you want to develop and b) how long it will take you to reduce the body fat ...

Translate that formula into any goal and you have just learned the 3 steps to achieve any goal, which is part of the problem unfortunately.

Is it any wonder most people take one look at the formula for goal achievement and give up. But there are no magic pills that miraculously allow you to burn body fat while you sleep after spending all day eating too much and doing little or no exercise.

However, there is an optional extra you can add to the steps we outlined above, which will mean you can achieve your goals much faster and in a better mood. Actually there are 2 optional extras:

1. Believe you can do it - and
2. ENJOY the process.

If you don't believe you can, then you won't and if you don't enjoy the process of change you are not going to reach your goal and all of a sudden be happy about it. But if you enjoy the journey - at least you have the illusion of getting there quicker. Actually it isn't an illusion - that was my attempt at a joke. If you enjoy what you are doing, you are more likely to do "it" more often. The more effort you put in, the more you are going to get out of it. The real trick is to make sure you are working on the right goals. It's no good digging a hole and enjoy the process of digging the hole - IF THE HOLE IS IN THE WRONG PLACE.

We have come to the end of August that gives us approximately 120 days before we reach the end of the year ... are you putting the effort into the right goals (the ones that will give you the best / most reward?) or are you digging a hole in the wrong place?

With many thoughts
Elle

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* Today's daily dose: Entry fees apply
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Today's daily dose: 13th September 2010
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It is important to remember that in order to get the most out of this thing called "life" you do have to pay a price.

* You do have to make the calls
* You do have to visit your clients and customers, sometimes many times before you get the sale
* You do have to study to gain your qualifications
* You do have to put in the hours to maintain your fitness levels, and you have to work even harder if you want to improve them.

You can of course sit on the sidelines and watch other people getting on and enjoying life, but where would that leave you? That isn't a rhetorical question - if you don't do things differently, how can you expect to get any different kind of perspective or result?

Are you the kind of person who doesn't want to pay the admission price to see some of the world's most amazing views. You've driven all day to get there, to find that entry fees do apply - but you decide that you are not willing to pay the few dollars so you can experience it yourself. You argue that you shouldn't have to pay, that it's only a ...

There are a lot of people like that.

We saw some of that kind of thinking today as a matter of fact ... $11 to get into the Kalbarri National park for the day and people were doing a U turn ... "I'm not paying that..."

Now I'm not saying that you can't find and utilize the odd bargain here and there, but sometimes you do have to pay the full price for some things, and you know what - it doesn't make the experience any less. In fact because you have had to pay the full price price for admission you do want to make the most of it. Or is that just me?

Training courses are a very good example of this kind of thinking and mentality. If you are paying the price of the ticket yourself I can guarantee that you will get more out of it than if you had been "told" you were going on a training course by your boss.
"He/She thinks I need training ..." grumble, grumble, grumble ...

And you know I'm right.

I try and go to as many events as I can. Some are free, but usually there are admission prices to pay and I will gladly pay the money so I can see, experience and enjoy. They also serve another purpose for me, they allow my cluttered mind a chance to stop, so my creative side can take over. And that to me is worth every penny.

* Are you willing to pay the full price of admission?
* Are you willing to put in the effort so you can get the full reward, or are you going to make a u-turn at the gate?

As always - something to think about...

Elle

p.s. if we're not yet friends on facebook - we should be... there are some pics of the Kalbarri Region just loaded ...

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: No excuses
* Motivational Me to Exercise: 5. Be consistent
* !00 day challenge: Get ready to be challenged
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Today's daily dose: 17th September 2010
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"He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else"
Benjamin Franklin

If someone were to offer you a million dollars but you had to put in a little effort and "dig" for it, would you still be willing to have your hand out?

How far would I have to dig? Until you find it
But that could take ages - Well yes it could
But I've got other stuff to do - I'll take it that's a no then
Well how hard is it going to be? That depends on how hard you make it

You see, we can all put in a little effort and "dig" for a million dollars. The person who saves a couple of dollars every day and uses the power of compound interest can make a million dollars - it probably takes about 20 years, but ask yourself this. How long have you been working? How much money have you saved? What would have happened if you had put away a couple of dollars consistantly over the course of your working lives so far and never touched it? Truth is we would be sitting on a lot more money than most of us are now.

The reality is, most of us can save for a holiday or a car, but how many of us have thought about saving for our long term future?

So - consider that if you start now and put away a few dollars every pay packet, then follow it with a few more dollars each time we are paid or every time we earn a bonus, add some compound interest and time and you will get there - would you be willing to put in that kind of effort over the long term?

Of course if you have a great idea and turn that great idea into a business then you will reach your goal a whole lot faster, but I'm sure you'll agree it is something worth thinking about, but more importantly think about doing.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Me to Exercise: 5. Be consistent
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When it comes to exercise, consistency is important. It means you have appointments with yourself that you do not break or postpone. Imagine paying someone to train you, you've given over a good wad of cash - how likely are you to turn up?

If good health is important to you then exercise should be one of the first things on your to-do list every week. The best tip I can give you is this: It is a good idea to train on the same day / same time each week.

We need to set patterns into our cycle of thinking and doing, that way when someone says to you, why don't you come out and have drinks after work you can smile and say, if you're still there when I've finished at the gym / been for my run, I might consider coming down - but don't wait for me.

But then why would you want to waste the exercise benefits by going for a pint afterward?

Consistancy doesn't mean that you have to train every day, in fact doing so could hinder rather than help - if you are doing the same exercises / set of exercises - that is. Your body needs to rest and recover. However, you can intersperse different types of exercise / routines into your week.

I train at the gym 3 - 5 times a week at the gym depending on my schedule. However, because the gym runs a variety of classes I can go every day and do something different / work different muscle groups. What I do in between gym sessions includes walking and of course a lot of incidental exercise. But more of that another day.

Make sure you plan your exercise just as you plan everything else and then stick to your plan. Sounds simple - but it really is - once you make the decision.

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!00 day challenge: Get ready to be challenged
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On Monday 20th September I will be sending out the first of the 100 day challenge emails.

Will you decide to use the last 100 days of 2010 to achieve your goals?

I hope so because we have some exciting plans and suggestions for you.

I hope you are working through the 100 day challenge program we sent out on Wednesday. I have noticed that days 3 and 4 are usually the worst. We wonder why we are bothering, and our good intentions get railroaded by our day to day lives.

Weekends are a great way to refine your challenge goals, but they are a great way to really push ahead - and you can read my take on that at the end of today's ezine.

But for those of you who aren't taking on the challenge - some food for thought

He who postpones the hour of living rightly is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.
--Horace

With many thoughts

Elle

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If you have done little or no exercise in a while it is a good idea to start slowly. If you are considerably overweight or have a medical condition I would also recommend you having a physical from your GP before beginning any kind of program. But you can start slowly - why not walk for 5 minutes, or 5 minutes more today than you did yesterday. Invest in a stationery bike and stick it in front of the television if you have to, and cycle your way through your programs.

A couple of years ago I was training to run the 12km City to Surf.event. When I first started I could not run more than a couple of hundred meters before needing to stop. BUt day by day I built up the distance, then worked on reducing the time it took. Unfortunately I overdid it and tore my right quad, and didn't have time to heal before the day of the race. This year I walked the course. I have just registered for another event - this time it is the BIg Walk. but rather than just go on a 15km walk which will be nice, I am raising sponorship money - the money will go towards the Children's Cancer ward at Princess Margaret's Hospital and Rotary. Why?

Well I have 2 happy, healthy kids - but I know that not everyone is as fortunate as I am. I am also using it as a way to motivate you - the readers of this - the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine and of course the 100 day challngers. There is a prize for top sponsor of a $500 sports voucher, if we get the top spot I am going to donate the money to my children's school so they can purchase some new equipment.

Will you help me?

Thanks to the support of some amazing people we have raised over $100 already, but it would be nice to raise a bit more - if you can spare some money, the childrens cancer ward and myself would be most grateful. Just click on the link - or copy and paste into your browser - and you can find out all about it.

Thanks and regards

Elle

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100 Day Challenge: #97
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Actually no, just because it's the weekend doesn't mean you can slack off. On the contrary weekends are a great way to push through any problems and issues you may have with your challenges. Why? Well simply because there is more time to do this kind of "stuff".

Think I might go and have a lie down now, except I do need to write today's edition of the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine.

In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose:
* 100 Day Challenge: The Daily Posts - kitchen drawers are treasure troves of "why on earth did we keep that?" things ...
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Don't confuse life with a romance novel or any other book for that matter.

We can all be guilty of reading, watching, going to seminars and training courses yet failing to put into action those ideas, plans and suggestions that we have been given.

Why do we do that?

Do we think that reading is synonymous with "doing", do we think it is enough to read / undergo training without putting any of what we have been told into action.

To be honest I see it all the time. People who have been "told" to go on training courses are the ones who take no part in the proceedings. And it is the same with every "self-help" book or program we buy. We forget the "self-help" bit is exactly that. Helping ourselves by doing and not just reading, by taking part in everything that comes our way - regardless of whether we have been told or been sent, but by taking part in everything and giving it everything we've got. After all, we really don't know how long we have been given. But there is one thing I do know and that is this -

Life is just waiting for us to show up.

So - as much as I hate to say - it's time to stop reading.

oh and a P.S. for today

Today is 10/10/10 - and the date only comes around once every thousand years ... but really when you stop and think about each day - they are all unique and special in their own way - if we allow them to be. How amazing has your day been?

Happy 10/10/10 to everyone

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100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
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One kitchen drawer held a treasure trove of all things - why on earth did we keep that ... I'm sure you can attest to similar... anyway, the first 2 items are #83 and #82 - number 82 is interesting though. 2 film cameras and a roll of film that doesn't fit either camera ... like I said "why on earth did we keep those?" http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/

And the daily posts are in : http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/

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On the way home tonight, I decided to do something I have never done - I video taped myself. I do a lot of driving, so therefore have a lot of thinking time. Most people will tell you to use the time to listen to something motivational, or listen to books or whatever... sometimes I do, but more often than not I use it as thinking time. Tonight though, rather than just thinking about it, I decided to talk to you. Now, given my tech probs of late, you may never get to see the finished video (I've just watched it, and it's not exactly a riveting movie)... but the thoughts are important and that is what I would like to talk to you about tonight. I'm not going to attempt a direct transcript of the video, whilst I am a fast typist I doubt I am that good, so we are talking concepts here. And the concept tonight is our ego.

This was passed on to me today, so I thought I would pass it on to you ...

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts .
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but, nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . . . Not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . Having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . Having a driver's license.
At age 35 success is . . . ..Having money.
At age 50 success is . . . Having money.
At age 70 success is . .. . Having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . ... . Having friends.
At age 80 success is . . .. Not piddling in your pants.

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way; BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.

Have a wonderful day with many smiles

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Prevention is better than cure.
Proverb

It is better to try to keep a bad thing from happening than it is to fix the bad thing once it has happened.

We can all be guilty of neglect, but any day you can choose to stop it and begin the process of change. What areas are you neglecting? And what are you going to do about it?

If my brother had lived, today would have been his 45th birthday - happy birrfday bruv.

Unfortunately on the 10th September 1985 when he was just 19 years old, he decided enough was enough and killed himself.

Why?

My brother left school when he was 16, gotten a job, found a girlfriend, found a house, got a mortgage and then got married - all by the time he was 19. Then things started to go "wrong". His job looked like it was going to come to an end and from what I can understand (given that he didn't leave a note) couldn't stand the prospect of being unemployed or having a wife who constantly berated him for not doing enough and so on.

19

Losing my brother in that way is one of the reasons why I am so driven to help other people, especially the the younger readers of the daily dose who sign up because they are struggling especially with things like image, peer pressure and finding the motivation to study.

My daughter will be 19 in 5 weeks, she is in the last couple of weeks of her first year of college and will end the year having gained both a certificate III and certificate IV in hospitality. She has enrolled next year to do a diploma in event management with second and third choices of business and advertising. My daughter is only one of a handful of "kids" from her wide range of friends and acquaintances who have gone on to college and / or uni. A few have gained apprenticeships and are well on their way to getting a trade qualification, others however decided to find jobs, while others "had" to find work. The reasoning behind it seems to have been - well I've paid for your education for 12 years, now you need to repay that by finding a job and contributing to the household expenses.

Believe me when I say I do understand household expenses, but forcing my kids out of education to get work of any kind - I don't think so.

We are coming up as you know to end of another school year in Australia and the kids are slowly breaking for the long school holidays. My son will be moving into his last year of high school next year where he will major in graphic design - not all of his friends however are going back. When I picked my son up from work at 10pm last night, he told me that one of his mates had got a job and was earning $800 a week. Wow - that's not bad for a summer job. Oh no, he said, he's left school and works full time to support the family. He is 16 years old. A highly talented boy who won the 2010 West Australian Under 16 rugby player of the year. He has a large family with 6 or 7 siblings, mum can't work because the youngest is less than a year old and dad was injured in a workplace accident. Would he have been forced to give up school had his dad not been injured - according to my son - yes, but that seems to be part of his family's culture. BTW - The education system in Western Australia allows kids as young as 16 to leave school if they have either a full time job or an apprenticeship.

It bothers me, OK it upsets me - a lot. Here are kids being expected to go to work and earn a living and pay their way - because their parents have decided not to expend any more time or money on their education. Now I understand we live quite a privileged lifestyle in Australia, we don't have the grinding poverty of some of the third world countries where education is a luxury and only those who can afford to go, do so. I'm not rich by any means, but I don't care what it costs me I am going to give my kids the best education that I can - yes they work, but it's to give them pocket and bus fare money so if they do want to buy the latest designer what nots and gadgets, they can. I don't consider my kids to have a debt that needs to be repaid - I want them to grow, to be the best they can be.

And that's what I would like for each and every one of you. Never take your study or your education time for granted. Take the opportunity to learn as much as you can from as many people as you can. There are so many opportunities today - don't waste those given to you.

"You have to dream big to achieve big"
Hayley Warner, Runner up, Australian idol 2009

What is interesting about Hayley is that she is still a teenager, but a teenager who knew what she wanted and spent all of her time thinking about it, but more importantly playing, practising and performing. The fact that she came second is (IMO) immaterial, because what she has achieved is massive. Whilst she suffered a few self-doubts in the "will they like me stakes" (and don't we all) she took a chance on her dream and it worked.

I feel you have to be so convinced that something will happen you have to be willing to go for broke, to burn bridges and boats so you can't go back. Do you do that with your dreams and goals or are you still standing on the edge deciding whether to jump or not? Well consider that some chasms can only be crossed with one leap.

You have a business idea, but you also need your salary to pay the bills. You don't know whether you will have the time or the resources to build your business so you wait.

You can do anything you set your heart upon if you make the decision to do it. A friend of mine threw in a massive job to take the next step in her future, and it's not the first time she has changed states, changed jobs and careers either, nor will it be the last. I'm perhaps not as brave as my friend, I work full-time and run MotivateMe in my "spare time" amongst doing a million other things. But I too know what I want and I will get there.

Because we can "see" what we want to achieve, and you do need to "see" it to achieve it. By "see" we mean you know it's going to happen, you know what the end result is going to look like, you know what steps you are going to have to take to get there. Mine are sometimes small, but every small step takes me that little bit closer to acheiving my dream.

Creeping bad habits are those things we never think we have - until we try and stop doing something - you know:

You may think you have a valid reason, but let me tell you something right out of the school of very hard knocks - the issue never goes away - in fact it usually gets worse. We procrastinate because we don't want the "the pain" that usually goes with fixing it.

I have had a weight management issue for decades - no really I have. I've been the classic 'yo-yo" dieter most of my adult life. Add in a sedentary job and my problem just got worse. Add in the fact I could disguise a lot with choice of clothes and my height, but who was I kidding - and I knew it wasn't fooling many people when a client turned around and uttered the awful words "I used to be BIG like you" ... OUCH

She became my trainer

Little by little, week by week my strength improved, my shape started changing. I stopped making excuses as to why I couldn't train - and did even more. Did it hurt - yes - but usually only my pride. Oh yes, and I stopped using food as a reward.

And then it dawned on me, the creeping bad habit I had gained could now be turned around. I could use the same technique to get fit, lose the size, gain the shape I've wanted most of my adult life AND - well the possibilities are endless once you have confidence in yourself and your abilities.

For those of you who have been keeping note, I have re-set my 100 day challenge, and my partner and also my trainer will be working with me to achieve my goal of 200 push ups - and I have to say they will be "boy" ones, not the girly ones I had anticipated me being capable of at the beginning of the year. Why 200 push ups? Not sure, but it's been on my bucket list for years. Before I started with Hils I couldn't do 1 - tonight I surprised even her with the strength I had gained. My creeping bad habits have been replaced with creeping good ones. It's taken about 6 months for the catalyst to take place - and it will probably take another 6 months to achieve the ultimate goal. But every day is a chance to create the habits that will get me there.

Of course you may not have a health / weight / fitness challenge like I have - but that doesn't mean the technique can't work for you and your goals.

I don't believe there is anything such as an overnight success - what I do believe in though - is we are all capable of "overlife success"

Here's to an amazing 2011 and the start of our "overlife success"

With many thoughts

Elle

"The very first step towards success in any occupation is to become interested in it"
Sir William Osler

And it's true isn't it. You don't have a motivation problem when you are interested in a topic or subject. Quite the opposite in fact, you live and breathe it, forget to eat, forget the time, forget anything other than what you are focused upon ...

When motivation becomes a problem, when you procrastinate because you don't want to deal with it, don't want to work on it - is I believe, when you are not interested enough in it.

The trick I believe lies in aligning your interests with your goals. Gosh can you just imagine what you can achieve if that were the case...

With many thoughts

Elle

Ok, maybe not so drastic - it depends on your point of view and what you need to change and how much change you need to make - with me so far? ... ok, enough with the generalizations.

People tell me they need to lose weight - OK, fine, but without "measures" you won't know where you started, where you want to be nor how long it is going to take you to reach your magic number. Without knowing the amount of energy you are putting into your body vs the amount of energy you are expending - you can't see whether you need to make any adjustments, nor can you track your progress.

Are you willing to do some kind of exercise? How much? What measures are you going to use to see if you are getting fitter, faster or leaner? Case in point - I got onto the static bike today to "test" my current level of fitness. I've not cycled distance for a long time and I know I didn't have traffic, cars or lights to hamper the progress - but I wanted to cycle the equivalent of home to work ... how long would it take in ideal conditions? And how many calories would I burn as a result.

Answer: 21.5km's 44 mins and 300 calories later with average RPM 107

And then I thought - 300 calories - goodness, it's no wonder people struggle with weight gain (me included over the years I have to say), that's about the average calorie count of a small chocolate bar !!!!

But lets carry on for just a moment to some of the other biggies

Money. Most people have "make more money" at the top of their new year's resolutions lists. OK - so - what is "more"? 5c is more, so - what is more - really?
What do you currently earn - before tax? after tax? and after living expenses? how much are you saving from each pay cheque? how much do you have saved? where can you make some changes to your current expenditure so you can turn that around some? You may say, well things are pretty tight, that's why I need more money - well what do you spend on a daily basis? Can you cut that out? Consider:

1 cup of coffee, average these days is $4 x 5 working days in a week = $20 x 48 working weeks in the year = $960

Most people don't notice they are spending $4 a day, but can you find a spare $960 out of your annual salary? What else can you use that for?

Once you are using your current money as effectively as you can, then you can decide how much more money you really need - what will make a difference to you? In most cases the answer is stop wasting the money you currently have and pay off your debts as fast as possible... assuming you have them of course. Then you need to ask - what else can I do to make more money? Do you need to get a better paying position? Do you need to buy a smaller house, ditch the mortgage and give yourself an income boost at the same time? Are you sales / commission based - well then, how many more clients do you need to call upon to get the numbers you say you need?

Ultimately - in order to know where we want to be, we need to know our current base lines. I know those base lines do need some thinking about, but until you have them you will struggle to know your progress. Work out what you are willing to do to achieve them, set your measures and then follow your plan. But we'll talk more about plans tomorrow - until then - good luck working out your baseline measures.

Elle

Planning and preparation is essential when you are deciding on what you want to do with your life. Failure to plan means you are going to fall prey to everyone else's plans and goals and you can guarantee they won't have your best interests at heart - absolutely not, they'll be thinking of themselves and their needs.

One of the best ways I can illustrate this point is the classic phrase uttered by millions of people across the world every single day

"What do you want to do today dear"

Have you ever been tempted to say "well I don't mind" and then hated every minute of the activity they then chose. How many arguments did those 2 lines generate as a result - again probably millions, every single day.

Why we should expect other people to be our entertainment's manager is beyond me. If I want to do something, I decide, I plan, I prepare and I do it. It may take me 5 minutes or it may take me years - it depends on the monetary cost and how far ahead I need to plan. I've been to concerts, exhibitions, openings and a myriad of other things on my own, because I am not willing to

a) give up on the opportunity
b) wait for other people to make up their mind as to whether they want to do something or not.

I always ask, and if there are no takers, then I go on my own.

I was speaking to one lady who was recently divorced, about her new year's resolutions. She said she had always been part of someone else's plans and part of a "couple", and had never had to go anywhere on her own. Now she was spreading her wings just a little and she had plans to do something "socially" on her own every week. For her it was and always will be a momentous step as she becomes an independent person once more.

And with goals we do need to look at what WE want to achieve. We need to look at it as OUR future, not everyone else's future. It may be like "J" as simple a thing as gaining confidence to go somewhere on her own AND enjoy the experience. Or it may be something as amazing as climbing Kilimanjaro, which is the plan of another friend of mine this year. His partner will stay home, but it is something he has always wanted to do, and the plans are in place and he is currently getting even fitter so he can handle the climb. His wife just thinks he's mad... but she has always supported him in his goals, and he hers.

Now, I am not saying there cannot be an element of joint plans and goal achievements of course not. But to be honest, we can be giving up on our own dreams and goals if we really don't want to do what "they" want to do.

So, how do you plan?

Well, as with all things, I think it comes down to one simple question that can take a whole life to answer ...

"What do you want to do with your life dear?"

With many thoughts

Elle

It's not what you do once in a blue moon that makes the biggest difference. It is the deliberate actions you take each and every day that do that.

There is a little coffee shop in a place called Maylands, Western Australia called Sherbet. They opened their shop on what was quite a run down street at the time of opening, but the remaining shops on the strip were being renovated, so they could see potential. What they have created is nothing short of a sublime experience. Specialising in cakes, cup cakes, and awesome coffee. Their sandwiches are wrapped in grease proof paper and tied with twine. And sometimes you just can't get a seat. Now I am not a cake eater, but I do know their cakes are fresh - and I can tell that by the number of people who are eating them and taking them away in nicely presented boxes. What makes Sherbet outstanding amongst a myriad of other coffee shops, apart from their gorgeous looking cakes is the consistency of service, food and coffee. They could do the odd thing a little better, but hey couldn't everyone! For example, I emailed them asking if they did gift cards, notably coffee cards. I wanted to purchase one as a gift for my partner - he loves Sherbet's coffee. They didn't reply and he didn't get the gift, I had to get him something else. Given the website hadn't been up very long, maybe the glitch wasn't the fact they didn't do gift cards - maybe it was because the email didn't get sent through. I've had that happen a few times myself. And one day when they are not so busy I'll ask them in person.

You can translate those earlier questions into anything and everything else

When you know what your long term goal is (build a website, open a shop, lose 30 kilos, run the London Marathon) then your day to day actions are much easier to work out.

With many thoughts

Elle

I'm sure we've all heard that the movie the "secret" was based on the "Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace D Wattles, and it may have had some influence on the creator, but according to an interview I heard recently there was another book that played a larger role in what became the "phenomena" we know today. That book is by someone I hadn't heard of before today, but me being me, went to see if I could find a copy. Sure enough the first place I tried, tried to get me to buy the program based on the original book - err, no thanks - not only is it out of print, it's out of copyright - notwithstanding your right to make money out of this kind of material, I prefer to read the original - so - went elsewhere and voila -

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3976933/The-Master-Key-System

and because it is in the public domain I can share it with you - and at no cost to you other than time, and maybe you creating a free login to download it (although you can read it on screen).

So the Science of Being Rich by Wattles may also be on Scribd, I haven't looked so don't know for certain. What I would ask you to look out for though is another one of Napoleon Hill's books, written before Think and Grow Rich - called The Laws of Success in 16 Lessons because this book gives you another secret - the key to unlocking how you can THINK and grow rich - and believe me it's nothing like you imagine, nor is it what the "gurus" are espousing today.

ACTION

Actually yes you do need to take action - but in the right way and at the right time. What you need to do is something I've been asking you to do for years - basically - and to paraphrase myself - if you think that being positive and affirming your goals for half an hour a day is going to get you anywhere - it's not if for the remaining 23 hours and 30 minutes you are being negative, down or downright rude to anyone and everyone including yourself.

Happy Reading

Elle

How good is my "what"?

Customer Service?

No matter what job you are doing, no matter where you are working, you are working in the customer service industry. Surprised? Thought it was the realm of check out chicks, cafe's and hotels?

We all know where we can find "bad" customer service, the sales rep who won't stop talking about his / her weekend long enough to serve you. The bored tone of the person on the other end of the telephone. The person who chews gum whilst talking to you. Those people who never acknowledge your presence when you walk in the door, or you offer feedback and they never respond. Everyone has a chance to make a difference to the way your experience turns out and most people don't bother.

Think about it, no matter where you are on the organisational hierarchy you have the power to make or break the organisation you work for. Wondering why you never get repeat business, check the attitude of the person answering the telephone, or the person on front line - are they happy to be at work, or are they going through the motions?

You can tell you know.

But what really amazes me is not the bad customer service, because to be honest that's what I have come to expect... but the superb customer service - because when you see it, it is seamless. Case in point - my washing machine died a few weeks ago, I ordered a new one from an online company - and the very next working day a representative was on the line asking me if I really meant the 11th April for delivery, they could deliver much sooner. I explained that due to my schedule I couldn't get an earlier date. She asked that if that changed, could I give her a ring and she would re-arrange delivery. Anyway, my circumstances did change and delivery was scheduled for today. My daughter promised to be awake - just in case we got an early time slot and promptly slept through the alarm. When I got a call from "Andy" this morning - he was so bright, breezy and said "not a problem" when I said, please let me call my daughter and wake her up... silly muppet. He set it all up and was away in a few minutes taking the old one I had 360'd out of the laundry door (that WAS the only way I could get it out of the way).

So I SMS's him to say thank you - you'd think I'd given him the moon ...

I am going to follow that up tomorrow with a handwritten but formal letter of thanks to his company and to the online company who made it so easy to do business with them. Believe me, it was a pleasure to do business with a company that cared.

* Do you?
* Does your company?
* How can you make a difference today to the people you meet?

With many thoughts

Elle

Rewards Cards:

Do you collect rewards cards? Most of you probably do it without thinking / knowing about it. For example - Most credit cards come with some form of incentive (rewards) to use them. But here's the thing, most of them have gift cards as part of their rewards program.

Gift cards can be given as gifts of course, but the points can also be converted into something you can use for yourself. So if you haven't checked your points balance in the last year or so you may be pleasantly surprised by how many points you have collected and can redeem.

With many thoughts on ways to save money

Elle

Today is my new starting point. What I have done up to now has led me to where I currently am - sounds like a cliche, but bear with me for just a moment. For me and my new starting point this is a good thing. I am starting today 8 kilos lighter than the 1st of January and several dress sizes smaller due to the massive amount of exercise I have done. As a result of that exercise I have gained muscle and lost body fat - but not a great deal on the scale, but goodness do my clothes look better. And to be fair I've still got a long way to go from where I am now and where I think I want / ought to be. The beauty of course is that every day is my new starting point, as it is yours.

* Every day becomes tomorrow's stepping stone to a different future.
* And if all your "tomorrows" build on what you do today, doesn't that make "today" THE most important day of your entire life?

One final thought about your goals for today, especially for something like weight loss. Your goal isn't to reach that magic number for a single day, the goal should be to reach it and then maintain it for the rest of your life. Or take the goal to open a new business, do you throw open the doors one day to close it the next - YES I opened my business - NEXT?! Nor do you just write a book and not do anything with the manuscript.

You need to think beyond the initial goal, because that is just a stepping stone to other things. I don't know about you, but I think that is really quite exciting. Every day we can choose whether we will work on our selves and our goals or we can choose to stay where we are. And who wants to stay where they are doing the same things in the same way - not you certainly, and certainly not me.

With many thoughts

Elle

I was caught short today. I should have been prepared to wait, I should have had a notebook, a book, a pen - SOMETHING with me... but I didn't - silly really. I had half an hour wait and nothing to do except sit by a group of bins and wait for the shop to open so I could return something.

Why didn't I have those things with me?

Because

1) I thought it opened at 8.30am, and
2) I emptied my bag yesterday and didn't put them back - because I didn't think I would need them today.

But it's only half an hour, what can you do with half an hour?

Well it meant I couldn't get to the gym half an hour earlier which meant my workout was cut short. It meant I couldn't work on any of my writing projects. I couldn't for instance write and save this - I had to wait until I got home to do that. Seriously if you have a spare half an hour and you don't know what to do with it, let me know because I have LOTS of things that need doing.

When you go out - be prepared to be delayed and be prepared to have something with you to fill the waiting time. Those moments in the line at the supermarket, the waiting room at the dentist, even the line for the petrol pump on (slightly) cheaper Wednesday... you can (if you have worked out your current goal list) spend time working out the next steps, working on an application, you could write upwards of half a dozen pages of anything in half an hour - if you know what you want to say... and if you don't then you have time to work out what you do. Of course you could just use the time to clear your mind, to meditate, to listen to the kids argue - whatever - but don't be like me - caught short and then "worrying" about wasting precious time - until I mentally slapped myself and started working on clearing out the mental debris that was littering my thought processes.

With many thoughts

Elle

Have you ever wondered why I spend so much time working out?

Apart from the fact I can now get back into clothes I haven't been able to wear in years, I am healthier, I sleep better, eat better foods. I've lost body fat, reduced my BMI and my potential health problems. I've gained strength, self-confidence and rediscovered muscles I hadn't seen or used in years. And it started with a client who became my trainer. She turns 56 tomorrow, and yes I did ask permission before stating that very important fact. I also asked if I could share a photo she had taken this weekend - thankfully she said yes.

Hilary is an inspiration, and you can see why... http://www.efit121.com.au/gallery/monica-brant-photoshoot-april-10-2011/

Who do you turn to for inspiration?

Tell yourself you can do it if you …..

and then write down a few ideas.

- nothing is stupid

- nothing is outrageous

- nothing is considered un-doable

until you decide it is.

With many strange and wonderful ideas for an amazing future

Elle

And no I am not channelling Bill and Ted. But seriously who decided you weren't worthy of everything? That's like saying you're not worthy of having good health or enough food on the table.

The trouble though, we believe we're not worthy, we believe those people who tell us:

* we've always been poor
* we've never had
* we're never going to do / be / amount to anything

and why?

It's not that we can't it's because THEY think that if we get what it is we say we want / need we are going to move away from then, we're going to change - and THEY can't handle it.

I mean, talk about pathetic - THEY can't handle it, so WE don't do what it is we say we want to do. It's called "LACK" - they lack the thought processes, they live their lives thinking THEY are not worthy, and because THEY are not worthy, we shouldn't be either. Talk about rubbish.

Well I am here to tell you, you are worthy, you are worth spending time on, you are worth every single second you choose to spend on you and your better future. And if THEY can't support you, well ...

So - I would like you to consider this

What would you do if you weren't hampered by THEIR thinking?

Which is always something to think about

Elle

"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars and they pass themselves without wondering"
Saint Augustine

We can all be guilty of abusing and using our bodies. We feed it inferior foods, stuff it full of what could be considered toxins and poisons (alcohol, caffeine, drugs - including overuse of OTC ones, cigarettes, sugars and fats) and then we complain when it lets us down. We don't feed our animals rubbish, we don't use inferior parts, fuel or oil in our vehicles - yet most of us do it without thinking - to ourselves.

Today is a homework day - just for today I would like you to take some time and look after yourself. Clean out your mind in preparation for the coming week. Spend some time with yourself working out what you do, what habits you have created that could be considered bad or poor ones to have. Then take a good look at the good habits you have - do your good habits outweigh the bad ones or should you make some adjustments?

Then take a good look at the outside of you. What do you look like? What do you like about yourself and your appearance? What could you consider to be areas to be worked on? How would you work on them? Go for the nip and tuck or would it be simpler to increase / improve your exercise, diet and water intake and reduce your reliance on those other things we know we shouldn't indulge in.

Once you have done all that it's time to play dress ups. Go and find those items of clothing you really enjoy wearing, lay them out on your bed and get yourself ready. Once you are bathed / showered / shampoo'ed / made up and dosed in your favourite smells, get dressed - and if you are able, take "you" out on a personal date with yourself ... take half an hour, take an hour, take all day it's up to you. But just for today I would like you to make room for you. After all, we all make room and space for everyone else, sometimes we forget about ourselves - so today it's time to put that balance back.

Relish in the joy that is you. Go on, enjoy yourself - you deserve it.

Elle

Actually the problem with most chocolate creatures and other "feast days" such as Christmas is we rarely (if ever) have what could be called famine days to make up for it.

Anyway - I've been amused by several discussions on the social networks from people who are "trying" to lose weight - and I am completely baffled by their comments, namely - what they are planning on cooking and eating over the holiday break. Why would you even go there when you could conceivably undo the months of very hard work in a couple of days ...

As someone who has battled with weight over the last couple of years, and is finally winning that one - I'll let you in on several secrets to my success

1. Don't buy it, then you can't eat it. Yes your brain may decide to chuck a tantrum - but it can and does get over it, and very quickly

2. Work out the calorie quota of the item and then decide if it is worth the extra time at the gym. Believe me when I say this - 30 minutes a day IS NOT enough to counter that amount of chocolate. And do I practice what I preach? Well today a member of staff brought in a plate of goodies for Easter - and I let other people eat my part of the gift as I could not afford any more time for exercise (and yes I was at the gym at 6am), and tomorrow is almost as impossible to insert extra time - so today the answer was no. Kind of you to offer, but I won't thank you. And besides which I really didn't fancy eating it...

3. When you are beginning your weight loss journey - avoid the cheat days completely for the first couple of months. Go bootcamp if you have to, your mind and your body will soon get used to the idea it doesn't need excessive amounts of carbs, sugars and trans fats - and when you do decide to indulge - limit yourself to one meal a week - yes it sounds harsh, but unless you have the ability to be disciplined not to over indulge on any other day - then it is worth considering as part of your "normal" eating plan. I finished a 12 week challenge - lost 6 kilos (8 for the year) and treated myself to a couple of days off. That has since taken me 2 weeks to get rid of the kilo or so I put back on ... you might be different - and be able to shift a couple of kilos in a day or two - but I know my body and its idiosyncrasies, but it is something to think about.

4. I use protein shakes as a filler or before going anywhere these days, you might find veggies works just as well or a piece of fruit - I find that kind of snack just spikes my blood chemistry too much and would recommend you eat some form of protein with your carbs if you don't want to feel hungry again too soon. But again, work with your body and the blood chemistry.

5. If you do decide to indulge over Easter - enjoy it, don't feel guilty - BUT get straight back on your eating plan at the next meal - that way you will never be off the weight loss journey.

With many thoughts of too many chocolate bunnies who "bit" the dust.

Elle

You know that time you uttered those immortal words

"I'll do that after Easter" or
"I'll start after Easter"

Well I have news for you - that day is today.

And you know what else today is - no more excuses day, so what are you going to do today to make tomorrow better?

With many thoughts
Elle

I love it when a message really hits the spot... usually by the number of people who unsubscribe ...

It amuses me for several reasons:

1. Those people are not ready to change their behaviours, AND
2. They dislike being held accountable for their inaction

I used to hope it was because I had "cured" people of their procrastination - but I know that was and is wishful thinking.

Motivate Me works when you are willing to immerse yourself in the process of becoming a better person. Breaking free of bad habits, creating new ones and occasionally finding something that inspires you to dig deep and go again.

Believe me when I say this, it's easy to give up, it's easy to live a normal life, doing the same things in the same way - I mean 97% of the population can't be wrong - right?!
The beauty I think with Motivate Me and a good proportion of other "motivational" websites, speakers and authors - is they tap into the 3% who ARE willing to change. Not all of the others give out quite as much homework as I do - but that's what makes this different I.M.O

So - one question for today, well 2 actually, but they mean pretty much the same thing:

1. Are you willing to dig deep and go again? We are nearly at the end of the 4th month of 2011 - scary how fast time flies when you are having fun isn't it.

2. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to become a better you?

I hope so

With many thoughts

Elle

I don't care what business we are in, IMO we are in the business of building relationships. But before those relationships can be forged, people have a "nasty" habit of judging people by what they see and hear. So:

But what if your business is mainly telephone based - does it matter what you look like? Only to yourself - and it is entirely up to you if you want to sit in your undies at home and answer your sales calls - but how do you sound? You can tell an awful lot about the tone and timbre of a person's voice. Record yourself if you have to, but make sure you don't put people off with your bored tone of voice.

When was the last time you looked at your business through the eyes of the people who arrive there?

Elle

p.s.
A couple of days ago I set a challenge, and only one reader responded - he was ready to dig deep and go again, and was rewarded with a bit more homework with a copy of the challenge - Have fun Jerry :-)

A reader sent a message to me a coupe of days ago and I thought - ah, there is going to be a lot of Internet / social media / TV watching going on today - what perfect timing to ask this question... what am I talking about? Well the Royal Wedding of course. I must admit I wasn't going to watch it, the timing was just a little wrong for me to see it all, but I did down tools and see the dress ...

So - what on earth am I talking about - well I'll let you read the question yourself:

Any chance you could tell us how to overcome wasting time on
irrelevant stuff like social networking e.g fbk.
How can we avoid procrastination during exam season...my exams are in
two months and i've got soo much to do but i keep getting distracted
by fbk and youtube. I know i shouldn't be on them as they are
hampering me achieving my full potential but the distractions are too
much.
Thanks,

Let me say this - what a great question and believe me I say this - you are not alone with your concerns about not wasting time on distractions such as social media, television, royal weddings, or drinks out with your friends. The question is balance.

How can you balance what you know you should be doing with what you are doing to avoid it.

Some thoughts:

1. Treat your study time as your job. Similarly if you are looking for work, looking for a job is your job when you are out of work. Studying should be treated in exactly the same way. An average and productive day for most people is only 6 hours. You may think you are working "in the office" for 8 hours or more per day, but take out the time you spend in the kitchen, lunch, breaks, loo, on the telephone and answering emails and you will struggle to do any more than 6 hours of productive work in every 8.

2. Only have in front of you what it is you are working on. Do you need to be in front of the computer? When I need to read and concentrate on something I turn away from the screen and use the desks return. I have my computer on mute so I cannot be distracted by the "new message waiting" noise that usually accompanies spam arriving as well.

3. If I am studying or writing an article or paper I work in 30 minute blocks. If I am distracted by telephones or colleagues coming into the office I re-start my 30 minutes... Did you know it takes you 8 minutes of determined concentration after each distraction to get back to the same level of thought processes you were in before you were distracted? Well it's true and would explain why you could get to the end of a day and decide you didn't get much done - because you probably didn't.

4. Don't turn on the emails, facebook, social sites or anything else first thing in the morning or when you first turn on your computer. Assuming you are using it for study purposes. Limit yourself to half an hour at lunch time and again during the evening. Put it like this, most workplaces don't allow facebook etc so you have to limit yourself during work days... use the same principle.

5. Use a time log - don't forget there is one on the website for your use ... I use one all the time so I can keep a track of how much time I spend on client work. Keeping a track of how much time you spend on each and every activity will soon prove how much time you currently waste. http://www.motivateme.info/downloads-and-free-stuff

Just a couple of suggestions, all of which I know work for me. Hope they do for you.

Best

Elle

p.s. apologies for not being online much over the last couple of days, but have been stripping out 2 rooms in redecorating. I love re-decorating it makes you decide just what is important, what you want to keep and what can go... clearing the clutter :-)

I often speak about why and how we should and can become a better person, but to most people that can seem like an insurmountable mountain they have to climb. Remember those mammoth New Year's Resolution Lists we write year after year and wonder why nothing is ever achieved. The reason I believe is because we try too hard to change too many things at the same time.

I am going to:

lose weight
give up the booze
stop smoking
redecorate the entire house in January
drop 10 kilos in 5 minutes
make 30 new client phone calls every day for the next month

or whatever happens to be on your list...

well today and every day I am going to ask you to do just one thing

and all I want you to do is this

Do just one thing better today than you did yesterday.

I know it is important to have long term goals, but it is the day to day challenges we face, the unexpected crashes that happen to each and every one of us - and most of the time, they happen every day - that we have to face. So just for today and for every day from here on in, I would like you to

Do just one thing better today than you did yesterday.

I liken this concept to the group personal training sessions we do at the gym. The trainers break every exercise down into 60 second slots. I don't know about you, but I CAN do something for 60 seconds... and that includes push ups and the plank. In fact right at the end of the 6am class today we did 2 x 60 second planks (bridges - resting on forearms and toes only) back to back with a 10 second rest in between. It hurt, it hurt like the blazes but we did it, because we knew it was for a finite moment in time. And that's all I am asking...

Keep an eye on your medium to long term goals certainly, but it is what we do day in, day out that will ultimately determine whether we reach those goals, and how fast we do so.

With many thoughts

Elle

The original saying goes along the lines of

Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.

Well I feel that if you spend all your time wishing for things to happen, but don't do anything that means you will reach your goal - then you are merely deluding yourself.

By all means dream, but:

* Flesh out those dreams, put some details on their bones so you can "see" it and know that it is real.
* Take one small step today - if all you can do is take one small step, remember any movement is good. But if you can take a great running leap into the unknown then to coin a very bad catch phrase then "good for you" - not everyone is as brave as you are.
* Keep an eye on the long term, but it is your tiny decisions that makes the biggest difference. You will need to make adjustments as you go along simply because we cannot know everything we need to know before we begin, but you will succeed if you are willing to do the work. Think about it as a car journey - you don't plug in a destination, sit back and let the car do all the work - you actually have to steer, make gear changes, speed up and slow down and occasionally there will be detours and crashes. But that doesn't matter - you still know where you are going and what you need to do to get there.

Dream big, but make sure your actions are speaking louder

elle

I'll leave today's words to someone else ... I've read this poem many times over the years - a reminder to never give up.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit -
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out---
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Anonymous

If anyone knows the author of this poem, could you please let me know as I would love to credit the source.

I love Friday the 13th's - my 21st birthday landed on Friday the 13th, and I've probably had a few more birthday's land on those days too - just time and age gets in the way of remembering other specific times - but that's not what I wanted to tell you, although it does have everything to do with the power of words, and of course perception. Most people I know loathe and dread Black Friday's - they've seemingly bought into the hype that the 13th is a bad number and when it lands on a Friday - the lorded saints help us. Personally I feel it is one of choice - if you think you're going to have a bad time of it on Friday 13th - then guess what, you probably will... You would also have had exactly the same experience (IMO) on any other day had you been wandering round with a black cloud of "OH NO IT'S GOING TO BE AN AWFUL DAY I CAN JUST FEEL IT" handing over you.

And if you want an interesting example of the power of words - observe

(it's about a minute long BTW)

One final question after you've watched the short clip

How are you getting your message across today?

With many thoughts

Elle

Have strength to seek help when you need it

I feel strength does not necessarily come from being the "strong" person all the time. The one who shoulders the burdens of the world and wears themselves out helping others or denying their own needs is actually a weak person.

The stronger person knows and accepts their own weaknesses and is willing to find someone who does have the skills they don't possess ... and then accepts their help.

What is interesting to me is this - did you know you can make better progress by focussing on your own strengths and not trying to become a "jack/Jill of all trades". In trying to be everything to everyone you are actually denying your true calling. Your reason for being.

And what is your true calling?

If you have the strength to give up wasting your time, and focus on what you are good at - then you will never struggle with motivation again.

With many thoughts

Elle

If you consider that we are only as good as the last idea we had, on a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your:

* Self
* Creativity
* Leadership style and ability
* Managerial qualities
* Marketing
* Relationships - yes I did say relationships. Do you still have date nights? Do you still organise time out with the kids / teens? Would your teens still want to spend time with you if you haven't had a decent day out idea in years? Answer - probably not.

Now go back to the beginning of this list and start again. How would you rate yourself based on your last idea of how to make you a better person.
When was the last time you let your creativity have full reign without someone (usually your inner voice) telling you it's rubbish and you should stick to carrot farming (or whatever you do for a day job). Go slosh paint, write a poem, knit a scarf, find a way to make someone's life easier with that crazy invention you've had simmering for 20 years...

And before you say anything else - just 4 words

IF NOT NOW? WHEN?

I've said it before, and I will repeat it until I am blue in the face if I have to ...

You will not live forever
The graveyards are full of people who died without reaching their full potential

So

How do you want to be remembered?

Now, let the ideas flow

And if you really have no idea how to do that - not only do you and I need to talk, you also need to take some time out, pencil, paper, go for a walk, sit in an armchair and listen to Bach or whatever works for you... but you do need to do it.

One final caveat

No idea is stupid. In fact sometimes the silly ones are the best.

To every last idea we will ever have ... and then some

Elle

When it comes to energy vampires, we can be our own worst enemy.

Today I would like you to take a look at your daily schedule,

- Where are you wasting your time?
- On whom are you wasting time?

Where can your time be better spent?

* Sometimes we forget to say them,
* Sometimes we may feel that they're not needed so don't bother, and
* Sometimes we need to remember what it felt like when they're not said to us

But why should we use them - surely if you do a good job the "rewards" will speak for themselves.

Well I don't know about you, but failing to use these 2 words can be the death knell to a person's motivation.

Your employee has worked hard to get something finished, in fact they've taken it on themselves to do more than was expected. He delivers the finished item and ... nothing - not a word. Now it could be that you as a manager had been particularly busy that day - hence why you needed to delegate that particular task - but how motivated is your employee going to be next time you ask him to do something? Would he "go the extra distance" next time? I doubt it. And yet it doesn't take much to do the right thing. A walk through the office at the end of the day, "Hey Jim, sorry I was busy earlier - thank you for getting that done so quickly for me, it made my day a lot easier"...

I don't know about you, but I feel a heartfelt and genuine "thank you" can and does make a massive difference.

Who do you need to say "thank you" to?

With many thanks

Elle

If you were absolutely convinced the world was about to end would you worry about your goals?

Which got me thinking - as it does.

We do spend a lot of time waiting

When the kids leave home
When I've got a better job
When the food is gone from the fridge I'll start my new diet

When, when, when, when, when ...

Well so far as I can tell, the world hasn't come to an end, my kids haven't left home, it's entirely up to me what I eat and what I don't, how much exercise I do and whether or not I spend any time on my goals today or not ...

How about you?

Are you going to wait for a date in the future or are you going to make a start today?

I hope today is the day you decide to take control of your future and stop waiting

Best
'
Elle

p.s I hope we are friends on Facebook because for a day the world was supposed to end, it was very pretty

This may sound quite an easy thing to consider.

Write down 50 things you are happy with.

For instance you might be happy about

1. The weather, because you can get the washing dry outside
2. Your kids progress at school
3. The great cup of coffee you've just had
4. The amount you saved on your grocery bill today
5. The fact that it is the weekend and you get to lie in
6. Your weight loss to date
7. A great mark from your last assignment
8. A new business deal

etc

Why should I ask you to write down 50 things you are happy about? Well, I feel there is so much negativity running around us, pulling at us like a swift flowing river before you know it, you are not as motivated as you were when you woke up this morning. But by focussing on the things you ARE happy with you can counter the negative.

It may take you just a few minutes to write these down, or it might take you half an hour. But believe me - it is half an hour worth spending. I keep mine in a series of notebooks so I can go back and re-read them. It helps keep me focussed and motivated. I hope you try it.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S. If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Weight Loss - Portion sizes
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If you want to lose weight there are some simple things you need to think about. The biggest (if you excuse the pun) is portion sizes, or more importantly portion control. If you are eating too much for your body to process and use in any particular day you will, over time gain weight. We also call this weight creep. A few hundred grams every week and in next to no time we are talking several kilos.

One of the tricks to successful weight loss is to ensure that for 6 days out of 7 we eat "properly", then on the 7th day you can eat virtually what you want. As long as your 6 days are within or better still slightly below calorie range for your Base Metabolic Rate and amount of exercise you do, you should be able to maintain your weight quite successfully. To lose weight all you need to do is reduce slightly your portion sizes and / or increase the amount of exercise you do. Think of it as a way of life rather than "going on a diet" and you will succeed.

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Here's a thought:

For next 100 days say only nice things about people and to people ... it will change your life #100ways

And by the way - that includes you - say only nice things about yourself to yourself... no negative speak for 100 days

With many thoughts
Elle

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Motivational Tip: Be prepared
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Don't wait until tomorrow morning to get ready for the day. Get yourself organised the night before. Make lunches, organise gym bags and "homework" and the most essential thing you can do for yourself - we all use email - so write your to-do list as an email at the end of each day and send it to yourself. Turn off your computer and forget about what you need to do - it will be there waiting for you in the morning.

What did?

I've been carless this week. I was a little careless (first time in 18 years as it happens) and managed to bend the wheel arch on my rather snazzy Fiesta Zetec a few weeks ago. Well technically it was my fault - but there were mitigating circumstances - namely my car is black, the car I reversed into was black, it was pitch black and he'd parked on an angle on my drive and I didn't drive over enough garden bed to miss it ... *sigh* you get that, and I will be paying $500 in excess for the privilege of getting it fixed :-(

I decided to forgo the hire car option I have on my policy - and I will be removing it (writes note to self), turns out I would need to cover the insurance, the deposit and fetch / return it. And to be honest it didn't seem to be worth it for the 5 days she was going to be away - so I've been using the Transperth public transport system. I have to say I am really impressed. On time, every time, cheery bus drivers if you choose to engage with them, polite passengers (except for the "gentleman" who decided to sit opposite me on the last journey and pick his nose the entire way home *yuk* - but I did get a chance to read my book to and from work. Oh and Friday morning I got to see a rainbow out to the ocean and 2 dolphins in Fremantle harbour. There are always positives if you care to look for them... and lets face it you can move if you need to (which I did).

Normally I put all my bags and baggage in the boot of the car and hit the road... gym gear, spare clothes, makeup, toiletries etc. Well I wasn't going to forgo the gym just because I was going to be carless, so I pared down what I normally carry, stuck it in a holdall and slung it over my shoulder... all 10 kilos of it. Travelling light? Not when you do as much exercise as I do these days.

By the end of day 4 (Thursday) my back and my knees started to hurt (not to mention my neck and shoulders). And I mean REALLY hurt. My right knee creaked and groaned everytime I walked up a flight of stairs, and the gym on Friday morning was painful, so much so I stopped running and walked during group training, and I was quick to put it down to "old" age. And then it occurred to me - I used to have these same aches and pains all the time - when I was 10 kilos heavier than I am now.

I tell you, it was a relief to leave the extra 10 kilos at home this morning. If only it had been that easy to lose the actual weight...

Something tells me it's going to take a couple of weeks for everything to stop hurting again. A nice, timely reminder - NOT to put the weight back on

Hope you have an amazing weekend.

Speak soon

Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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100 Day Challenge:
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Challengers:

A couple of thoughts on how to use the 100 day challenge:

Challenge #1: For the next 100 days, say only nice things about people and to people - and that does include what you say to yourself - no negative speak
Challenge #2: Put $1 into a jar - then at the end of the 100 days use it to achieve one of the items on your bucket list - book a bungee jump, laps in a V8, take a flying lesson - or whatever you have on yours that would cost about $100 - I would prefer it if you didn't use it to buy clothes or other items, this is about doing something amazing for yourself - and those things you would do - IF you had the money, well in 100 days you will have $100.
Challenge #3: In a journal or notebook, write down 5-10 things you are grateful for - every day for 100 days...

Little things can and will change your life.

With many thoughts
Elle

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Mark Twain said it best when he stated:

"I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want"

* Most people know what they "don't" want
* Most people think they know what they do want

But - not many people are specific enough to make their dreams, thoughts and ideas come alive to themselves never mind the person they are speaking to.

A couple of simple questions for you:

* If you had to describe to me what you thought success was for you, could you do it?
* If you had to tell me what your biggest goal is - could you do it?

Simple enough? Perhaps!

Imagine your goal was "cold porridge" could you make it sound interesting enough for me to want to try it?

Because to me that is the biggest test of any goal. Can you make it interesting enough for me to believe in it? Can you make it come alive in such a way that YOU believe in it? Would you be willing to eat cold porridge based on your own description? How about immerse yourself in it? Weird? perhaps - but I hope it has you thinking hard and long about how.

If your goals don't pass the cold porridge test, it's definitely time to:

* Change your goals and / or
* Change the way you think about them

With many thoughts

Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

To add your comments, suggestions or ways to make cold porridge sound interesting go to:

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Motivational Tip: Your to-don't list
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Identify one low-priority activity which you can stop doing and devote that time to a high priority task instead. We call it creating a to-don't list...

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* Today's daily dose: Believe it or not I am quite normal
* 100 Day Challenge News: 4 seminars next week
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 11th June 2011
---------------------------

Good Morning, what a truly wonderful day we are about to embark upon.

I love Saturday's, they are my project days. It also gives me a chance to catch up on those silly things I don't get to do during my normal week. Things like: talking to you - sorry I do feel like I neglect you sometimes. Then there are the emails that I need to read and action, client work that needs to be completed, and admin that never stops. I also tend to get up really early and just dive straight in, which is OK, but I have a project day of painting the last of the walls in my house and I am going to need energy, and lots of it given I am not running on all cylinders due to a cough and cold. So today instead of diving straight in thought I would start my day with sustenance for the mind and body. Coffee will come later, but only if and when I feel the painting has reached a good stopping point. (Dale, large flat white please :-) )

I like to start my day with a few simple things. The habits and rituals that make my day seem "right".

* I make my bed as soon as I get out of it.
* I have a shower and put on clean clothes - yes even on painting days. I have several sets of "work" gear and there is nothing worse than wearing yukky stuff. So I start my day with a "clean" slate.
* I make myself a cup of black tea and today I am going to make myself some breakfast - protein based so I won't need to eat again until "lunch time". So far though I have also fed the cats, washed the dishes the kids left yesterday, put away the ones they had left on the drainer and cleaned the kitchen surfaces...

So why should I tell you this mundanity? Well I feel it is important for many reasons.

1. I am normal - I have the same things to do as you do. Where perhaps we differ lie in the things I have stopped doing.
2. Habits are important. Some habits are essential - the trick to getting more out of every day is to make habits and rituals that work for you. Then slowly you can begin to remove those habits and behaviours that perhaps don't serve you as well.
3. Sometimes just getting on and doing it, is the right thing to do. People hate me when I say - just do it ... usually with an added aside "well it's all right for you". Is it? I work anything from 60 - 80 hours a week - but in the main it is thoroughly enjoyable. I love what i do (most of the time - see told you I was normal). But perhaps one of the reasons is because I do have the benefit of being able to share my thoughts with a wide community of people, across quite a diverse range of disciplines. Some of you will know me from my work in the information industry, others via my partners web development company where I assist with SEO, SEM and social marketing - and of course via my own social network. My point to you is that to get more out of each day you need to love what you do, and if you don't then either "fake it" and pretend that you do (you do get more done that way) or find work that you do enjoy.
4. Intersperse "work" with play. That is what I do on my days off - aka saturday and sunday. These 2 days I work from home where I can balance the needs of my family, the house I am completely re-decorating and my urgent need to exercise and write.

Given that it is the weekend, and usually most people's days off, why not take a look at those habits and rituals you engage in. Are they serving you? Or do you need to make a few changes?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

To add your comments go to -

P.P.S - now it is really time to go and break out the paint brushes, speak soon

Elle

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100 Day Challenge News: 4 seminars next week
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And talking of sharing my thoughts with a diverse group of people. Well I am going to doing just that in 4 healthy mind and body seminars with Challenger TAFE next week. I am really excited and have put together 100 ways in 100 days to go with the 100 day challenge program we are hoping the students will take on board so they don't feel completely overwhelmed with studying and trying to balance everything else. I'll let you know how they go, and if the 100 ways in 100 days is a success I may just have to share that with you too.

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BUT "persistence brought him back"

Kids are amazing, they have a million questions - and they all start with "why"? followed by "where" "what" "how" and "when" - to kids - nothing is impossible. For kids the question is when, rather how can something be achieved.

"why not" they say.

Why not indeed.

Yes I did say "play" - I feel you get more done when you enjoy what you are doing, and I can almost guarantee you are smiling as you are getting stuck into life. I know there are times when it feels like the weight of the world sits on our shoulders, when the news is filled with stories that make you want to cry. BUT what would happen if we didn't watch the news, didn't hear about the bad stuff, would we be sad "just in case" something horrible was happening somewhere in the world?" Does that mean we are burying our head in the sand? I don't think so, I feel it is this - we are doing everything in our power to be everything we can be, and we can do that by asking ourselves and our world the right kinds of questions.

With many thoughts
Elle

If there is one thing that is certain, we are all going to reach our own personal "dead lines" but you could be forgiven for thinking we have all the time in the world when we say things like:

"I'll do that tomorrow"
"I'll get around to that when ... I have more time / money / whatever else we decide is our excuse of the moment."

Do you remember when I asked you to save $1 a day for 100 days a little while back? Well I hope you are playing along because in the middle of September when this particular challenge comes to an end, you get to spend it... but remember the caveat - it should be on one of those items you would do "if you had the money" rather than more STUFF. Well - simple maths says that $1 a day for 100 days = $100, so what are you going to spend your $100 on?

Well this is where the "do before you die" list comes in handy (otherwise known as your bucket list).

Do you have a list of everything you want to do, see, experience, participate in - over the course of your life? My list is massive and it changes, because of course as you achieve those things on your list, you will find other items you will want to have a go at / do / explore. Quite simply this is your life goal list... but buckets sounds much more fun - you can chuck things in buckets, swish things about a bit and then grab a suggestion and go with it. Goals can seem too intimidating, so we're not going to set "goals" what we are going to do is give our minds a darned good work out.

    * Which countries do you want to visit?
    * In your local area which attractions would you like to see?
    * What other attractions do you want to see?
    * What physical things do you want to participate in / do? (think - marathons, triathlons, walking the city to surf, losing 10 kilos, stop smoking, taking dance classes etc)
    * Which festivals do you want to experience? (day of the dead in mexico, the mardi gras, blessing of the fleet)
    * What languages do you want to learn?
    * What experiences do you want? (boat trips, cruises, whale watching, swimming with dolphins, patting a kangaroo, seeing elephants in the wild, skydiving, kite surfing, abseiling, rock climbing, laps in a V8, flying lessons)

The list is endless and as you begin to do some of these things, so you will want to do even more.

Once you have your list, then you can work out what steps you need to take - in this particular case you are already taking the steps - you are saving the $1 a day. The next step will be to decide which item you indulge in first. Then all you need to do is work out what day, book it, hand over your $100 or thereabouts and enjoy yourself. Goal setting and more importantly goal achievement can be as easy as that.

So take time over the next few days, grab a notebook and start working out what you want to do come September, and ultimately beyond and throughout the rest of your life.

The beauty of this challenge is - once you can see it works with $1 a day, with a pre-determined end date AND with the reward at the end, you will be able to step it up a notch next time - and isn't that exciting.

With many thoughts
Elle

I bought my ticket to the Perth leg of the Dalai Lama's Australian World Tour back in February, in fact the day the tickets went on sale. I was not going to miss the event. I would ensure that anything else would have to work around the date, I was not missing it for the world. And over 14,500 other people agreed with me, in fact you could have heard a pin drop as he began to speak.

It is going to take me a while just to process what was said, because it was profound. It's not very often one gets an opportunity to meet (albeit at a distance) a living legend, a true prophet of our generation. A person of such humility AND humour - it's just a shame a lot more people couldn't have remembered his teachings as they tried to leave the carpark :-)

Why should I tell you what I did today, well there are a couple of reasons:

1. Don't get to the end of your life with regrets over what you should or might have done. Seeing the Dalai Lama has been on my "bucket" list for as long as I can remember. I am not a Buddhist, but I do attempt to incorporate the philosophy into my life.

2. Action is essential. If you want to go somewhere you need to buy the tickets, save the money, change your schedule, find a child minder - or whatever else you need to do to get there. You cannot THINK yourself thin. You can't say "i'll give up smoking" "call more customers" or anything else if you have no intention of doing the work. That is the beginning of delusion. What's worse though is thinking that's OK.

3. Guard your words and your thoughts carefully. Don't squander your thought processes on the negative, work out the steps you need to take, and if you really don't know, find someone who can help you, or pretend you are giving a trusted friend some advice - then take the advice.

And whatever else - life is to be enjoyed, so make sure you do - or else :-)

With many thoughts
Elle

Habits are those things we don't think we have, until we try and change things.

So with that in mind something to think about ...

100 Day Challenge Update:

It's now been several days since you began the challenge. How are you doing?

Somethings I have noticed:

Well remember that it does take time to set new patterns, you've been doing whatever has become your habits for a while now, you CANNOT expect things to be dramatically different over night (no matter how much we want to).

Deal with today ONLY in the beginning of the process of change. Have you done what you said you were going to do?

Well to be fair it is the end of my day here in Western Australia. I have washing in the machine, dishes to do, dinner to eat and finally a sit down to contemplate... but when I am setting new patterns I do try and ensure these new items get incorporated very early into my day, that way I don't have to remember to do them, they're already done. Which I hope is something to consider.

If you don't think a single day is important try:

* Missing one
* Not eating for an entire day
* Not being able to sleep
* Watching a young child who is sick
* Waiting for a phone call that never comes
* Thinking about the day you lost someone important to you or
when the doctor told you the diagnosis

When you begin to think about each day in those kinds of terms, then you can perhaps begin to see the importance of being the best person you can be "today".

Are you going to be the best person you can be today?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

P.P.S: If you would like to check out the pictures from the Challenger TAFE Healthy Mind and Body Week which MotivateMe took part in a couple of weeks ago, go to - http://www.motivateme.info/gallery/2011-challenger-tafes-healthy-mind-body-week-with-motivate-m/

24 hours
1440 minutes
86,400 seconds

how many decisions do you think you make during that time?

do you do this or that?
do you that or the other?
are you holding yourself back because of minute "wrong" decisions you are making...

we may not think a single "bad" decision will hold us back, but each micro decision can and does affect the next... everything affects everything else. Do you exercise or not, do you eat that piece of cake or not, do you make those phone calls you don't want to or not, do you work on your assignment or not?

If you are choosing "not" how much additional pressure do you think that is going to put on you "tomorrow"?

On the other side of the coin, if you do more than was expected of you today, how easy will tomorrow be?

With many thoughts
Elle

As you can see from the date of today's e-zine, we have come to the end of the first 6 months of the year.

So, review time:

* What have you achieved during the first half of the year?
* What are you part / half way through?
* Where do you need to raise your game so you can double your achievement rate for the second half of the year?
* What help do you need in order to get there?
* What do you need to stop doing right now so you can reach your target?

It is important to spend some time to conduct a personal review. Good times are -

* at the end of each day, a few minutes will determine - did you do what you said you were going to do?
* at the end of each week - one day may not seem like a large amount of time, but now there are 7 of them - what did you manage to achieve during the 7 days, take 15 minutes each week to review these days?
* the next significant milestone is the end of each month - you've reviewed each day / week, so you should be able to tell if you are on track with your monthly targets. Depending on which month there are now 28 - 31 days to look back on and check to ensure your patterns are taking you towards your goals rather than away from whatever it is you said you wanted to achieve.

You should also have reviewed the last

3 months

and today I would ask you review the previous

6 months

Each review allows you a chance to take stock, to make adjustments where you need to and to pat yourself on the back where credit is due.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

Don't be afraid to use coaches and mentors, they can and will help you become better / do more / see things differently. Believe me we can't be an expert in everything, so why not use their services to shortcut your own personal and professional development. Let me give you an example of one group of mine:

I know I go on and on and on about my personal battles with diet, exercise and weight loss, but I am NOT a dietician nor am I a personal trainer - though I do use the services of both, plus a few other people and organisations as well who can help me.

My personal trainer is also a dietician - though I am not that strict with her eating plans as I should be. Her name is Hilary Reid, she is 56 and an all Australian Body Sculpting Champion and she is competing this weekend in Melbourne. Believe me when I say this, if she can help me she can help anyone. For those who would like more information - she can be contacted via the website http://www.efit121.com.au - of course she can only train those who can get to her studio, but it's well worth it if you can. For those who can't, there is a mass of information on the site which may help you. But a good tip here, find someone like Hils who you trust to help you as well as someone who will push you. My first session a while back she said "right, we'll start with 7kilo dumbbells and see how you go ... hmmm that's too easy - here's the 9's ...)

I also have a "normal" gym membership with Get Fit For Life East Perth ... these do group training sessions every day. I'd give you their website, but it is rather awful (sorry Ryan if you are reading this) ... They are doing a sign up thingummy at the moment, if 3 of you reading this sign up - mention my name - there's a TV on offer, we can give it to a charity or an organisation who needs a new one ... we'll decide on who when "we" win.

So my normal training routine each week is as follows:

My diet is predominantly based on a lifetime of trial and error, but what seems to work for me is a low carb diet. When I eat too many carbs I do stack the weight on :-( since January 1st 2011 I have lost 10 kilos but more importantly 3 dress sizes, and will keep on pushing it until I lose my tummy. But the weight loss came about by removing most of the refined carbs in my diet... and working my butt off in the gym and elsewhere.

With that in mind, let me say this:

There are literally thousands of suggestions on how to get more out of every day. We've put together 100 for you ...

If you would like to, you can download a copy of the 100 ways in 100 days from http://www.motivateme.info/downloads-and-free-stuff

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

"We cannot avoid life by not facing it. The more you face it, the more energy you create"
Sylvia Sims, The Young Ones

Have you seen the program "The Young Ones" - no, not The Young Ones, but "the young ones" - The basic concept was to take 6 "famous" celebs who are now in their 70's and 80's and put them back into 1975 - and the time when they were in their heyday. The reason being, these 6 people had suffered everything from strokes through depression - but were willing to undertake a week in the house to see if they could turn back time.

The BBC stated:

"Could it be that we have the power to think ourselves young again? That’s the extraordinary claim of an experiment first conducted 30 years ago which the BBC re-staged."

The results were staggering. The power of mind over matter was played out over and over again. People who had relied on sticks were walking unaided. One lady was running down the garden complete with 2 dogs in tow. I am seriously in awe of what was shown and proven - we do have the power to do whatever we want to do, all we have to do is believe we can, even if we don't believe it in the beginning.

So my question to you, well several

What would you do if you thought ANYTHING was possible?

and perhaps more importantly

Would you be willing to give it a go?

My mum is over from the UK for a visit, we are taking ourselves and her grandkids (my kids) to Alice Springs and Uluru in a couple of weeks, a gift from her father, he couldn't make it, but gave us the means to do so "thanks pop". My mum is partially sighted, her knees are dodgy and she's carrying a bit of excess weight due to steroid treatment. Monday we "trained" in Kings Park. She wanted to prove to people who told her she couldn't do it that she could... so she climbed the DNA tower, and back down again (of course), we walked over the federation walkway, up the Law Walk to the top of Kokoda and down the 153 steps, across the kilometer to the base of Jacobs Ladder and climbed the 242 steps up to the top of Jacobs. I did leave mum to make her own way (very independent is my mum) and ran up and down several times once mum was ok with what was going on, and did some training while she took in the sights... At the end she said "well that was OK, and they said I couldn't do it ... what's the next challenge"...

So today we walked the bridges... about 12 kilometers, thank goodness i'd bought some tiger balm for her because her knees did complain afterwards ... She gets a day off tomorrow (i think shopping in town with my daughter) and then ...

Friday we head to New Norcia and in 2 weeks time we climb Uluru. Not bad for a 70+ lady who sometimes can't see a damn. And what is even more remarkable she is trying to get my aunts (both of whom have lost hubbies in recent times) to be brave and get out and about, and they're both of sound health... go mum.

How about you? Are you going to let life get in the way or are you going to give life everything you've got?

Oh and sunday we're going to walk in the hills, let me know if you want to join us. Bring water, an apple and a positive attitude - kthxbai

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

Do you have recurring issues or problems that seem to dog your every step?

Have you stopped to ask yourself why it follows you around?

Most people assume it's because "life is unfair" THEY get all the breaks. Well maybe, maybe not. Maybe THEY do the jobs and the work that we don't want to do. They put in the extra hours, to coin a cliche or two, they go the extra mile, so that when the payrises and the promotions are being considered, they're the ones usually at the top of the list. Or it may be that you're carrying excess weight around because of something that happened to you in the past. Do you hide behind weight and shapeless clothes so people don't notice you? Then there are people who know they are in financial strife but continue to spend money as if there was an endless supply, they don't want to face up to the fact that bad purchasing decisions in the past have led them to where they are now - and they don't like admitting it...

So a few questions for you to ponder:

1. What are the benefits of having the problem or issue?
2. What is the problem allowing you to avoid taking action on?
3. What is the problem protecting you from?
4. What new skills and resources will you need to solve this problem?
5. What will solving this problem help you to discover who you really are at a deeper level?
6. What beliefs do you need to let go off for this problem to be resolved?
7. What beliefs would someone who'd already solved this problem need to have?

It's not an easy thing to do, confront the real reasons why we are where we are - but - will we be able to move forwards if we don't?

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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Motivational Tip: Exercise
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Walk for half your lunch break - do it before you eat otherwise you won't want to go. If I am feeling energetic and don't have business stuff (banking etc) to do, then I get changed out of the work gear and into track gear... walk for 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week during lunch... If I am not feeling particulary energetic, I don't get changed but I do walk before having my lunch. When you go out though, don't take wallets / money with you so you can't be tempted to buy anything. Eat what you take with you to work and save yourself time and calories too.

Once you have your piece of A4 paper I want you to take a good look at it.

Put it somewhere where you can see it - prop it up somehow, turn it over - study it...

What do you see?

Now some of you may say - but it's just a blank piece of paper, what can a piece of blank paper tell me?

What if I were to tell you that piece of blank paper represents the rest of your life, would it take on a different meaning? It should, because YOU have the power to turn that blank piece of paper into anything you want.

Certificates of education, letters of commendation, mortgage documents on your new business, deeds of ownership to your properties, share certificates, travel itineraries to anywhere in the world.

And you have the power to do all of that and more.

How exciting is that?

Now all you have to do is to take that piece of paper and start writing. Imagine sitting on your porch watching the world go by and you have a chance to re-read your pieces of paper. Reflecting on what you've done, where you've been, who you've met, the difference you have made not only to your life but that of the people who you've come into contact with. You compare the 2 documents, the one you created as you started your journey and the one you've been reading. There is a world of difference. You marvel at just how much more you were able to accomplish when you started to work on the things you said you wanted right at the beginning...

To YOUR future

With many thoughts
Elle

Actually we're heading towards several "rocks" next week...

Motivate Me is going to Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Olga's. If anyone happens to be in Alice Springs next week and wants to catch up, please let me know.

Uluru has been on my must see / bucket list ever since I learned the art of goal setting, I am very excited. But getting to that point has shown me just how much planning, preparation and organisation that goes into any kind of trip. Which of course got me thinking about most kinds of goals and things we have actually have to do to achieve them.

Goal:

As you can see from that kind of list, nothing is massive and most of those things would never make it onto a normal goal list, but each item is essential - and most of the time we don't think about the tiny things we have to do, but each tiny step makes up the entire goal that says "we are going to ..."

Which if you think about it is why you can't know EVERY task / item you need to complete before embarking on any goal, sometimes you just need to begin the process and allow the journey to unfold as you go along...

I'll see you at "the rock"

"Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs"
Dr Maxwell Maltz

I've had a massive dose of what can only be deemed as negativity over the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure if it's just the English per se, or just the fact that my mum now lives on her own most of the time ... but the
"musn't grumble"
"can't complain"
and a million other phrases that slip easily from her tongue makes me wonder if that is why I used to struggle with motivation.

It's not that she thinks she is being negative either which is the interesting and for that, scary part, it's just part of her normal vocabulary, which of course got me thinking about the people who we associate with.

* Do the people you associate with most of the time make you want to do more - or less.
* Do they make you happy or not?
* Do you enjoy spending time with them because they encourage you to do more, try new things or are they the kinds of people who think the world is constantly falling?

And what of your normal speech pattern? How can you tell if it is filled with positives or negatives? Well the first trick is to listen to what you are saying, no I mean really listen. The second and most important part is to not only be mindful but to choose an alternative word to the one you would normally use... it does take time, but you can do it... Of course if you can associate with people who happen to be naturally positive then all well and good, as for mum, I've suggested the same to her ... fingers crossed it works.

We can be our own worst critic, we tell ourselves we can't, we give every reason why something can't be done ...

Imagine that you were giving encouragement to a good friend, but that friend didn't have access to a telephone or any of the social media sites that proliferate our lives these days... yes we are talking about the old fashioned way of communicating with people ... face to face or by letter.

Well given we would probably be locked up if we started talking to ourselves, I would like you to write a note of encouragement to yourself instead... Thinking back over the last couple of weeks, I would like you to think about all the good things that have happened, all the things that could have gone a little better and I would like you to say so... words of encouragement that you would give to a friend or even a stranger. Words of encouragement that you may not even think about giving to yourself and I would like you to say so. Write it down. It's an interesting exercise - focusing just on the good.

The reason for handwriting is simple - Once you have finished writing it, I want you to post that letter to yourself... put it into an envelope, stick a stamp on it and put it into the mail system...

Once you get that letter back, for those in the US you may have to borrow another person's mail box, but you know what I mean, then save it for when you are feeling a little discouraged, then open it and read it...

Sounds a little strange perhaps, but believe me it works. When you read how proud you are and what you have managed to achieve so far, well, what better proof do you need that you are on the right track to better things.

I don't know about you, but I am fed up of hearing the negative. The world is ending, the sky is falling, jobs are down, housing market has collapsed, the stock market will never survive...

As you know I don't normally post 2 messages back to back, but I want to start a new trend, I want everyone to tell me (and therefore everyone else) one good thing that happened to you today. If we are friends on facebook you will notice I asked the same question there, and boy are there some good things happening around the world.

I've created a new forum so we can share each other's good stories and fortune ...

So - tell me one good thing that happened to you today. http://www.motivateme.info/tell-me-one-good-thing/post/1568513

With many positives if only we care to see them
Elle

Getting from A-B isn't the hard part

If A = where you are now and B = where you say you want to be when you have reached your goal.

No, getting from A to B isn't hard, if you know what B is.

Do you know what B is for you?

The trouble is most people have more than 1 B. They want to lose weight, stop smoking, save a thousand dollars, move house, find the perfect partner, set up a business and do it all in 5 minutes. Imagine standing in a circular room - you are standing on a big painted letter A in the centre of the floor. Around the walls are every goal you say you want to achieve... every single one is important. You start to turn on the spot, BUT where do you focus? That's one of the reasons why we call it spinning our wheels. Otherwise known in Australia as headless chook mode. We don't know what we really should be focusing on, so we run over here, do a bit of that, turn around - oops better make sure I exercise this morning - no, don't have time I've got to ...

Actually you've got to STOP IT

Believe it or not a lot of those goals I've listed above can be combined.

Do you know how many calories are in that double choc mocha you had on the way to work?
How about the money you spent on it?

Multiply both out - The double choc mocha with full fat milk is probably a day's calories (well it sounds like it should be) but I do know the monetary cost over a working year (given 5 days a week for 48 weeks in a year) is about a thousand dollars. Don't believe me, you do the math.

Instead of going down to the corner deli and buying a made up sandwich of which you have no idea what ingredients they chose to use - you can choose to make your own, save yourself a few dollars and quite a few calories in the process. Again do the math, now you are probably closer to saving $2,000 not 1 and you've saved yourself a lot of calories in the process. Now consider taking your trainers to work and walking for half your lunch break. As you walk you can work out the next steps for the business you say you want to run or the area you want to move into. You get back to the desk and write down your notes and your next action steps... and voila over the course of a couple of a few weeks you are well on the way to achieving all the B's... all it takes is a little bit of focus in the right direction. As for finding the right partner - well given you are now exercising on a regular basis, you've probably lost a few pounds and your clothes feel a little better, you may feel a little more confident in joining that dating site you said you would when you had ...

Which is definitely something to think about

:-)

* Today's daily dose: You need to Stop it
* The Photos are in:
* Motivational Tip: It starts with a decision
* Think and grow rich:
* Let's Connect:
* Share this e-zine:

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Today's daily dose: 17th August
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STOP, be still and listen, for in the silence lies our dreams

When was the last time you stopped?
Turned off your phone
Left the computer switched off, the television unplugged and the radio un-tuned?
When did you last take yourself away from the noise of a typical family home, work place or the chatter of friends and acquaintances and find silence?

You may call it meditation, time out or anything else for that matter - but it can be hard to STOP and simply listen to ourselves "think" especially if we aren't in the habit of doing so. And if we aren't in the habit of doing so I can almost guarantee you one thing, you won't be thinking about dreams and goals, but usually on your next set of tasks / jobs that need to be done. The trick (if I can call it that) is to do it regularly - Stop that is and listen to yourself "speak".

How?

Well the only way I've found which works for me is by walking. I walk and I walk alone. And I usually walk without music or other distractions.

I use the first half of the walk to do my mental filing. Everything that needs to be considered and contemplated. Any problem I have running through my head before I start is usually much clearer after what I call my walking meditation. Once that is completed and there is no hard and fast time / distance for this to be done, I can then allow my mind to wander. And it is when my mind is allowed to wander that the true insights come, which is why you do need to STOP and listen on a very regular basis.

But do whatever you need to do, and like I said it needs to be something you can do on a regular basis to allow your mind chance to relax enough for you to be able to hear that small glimmer of hope, that voice which murmers - but this isn't what I wanted to be when I grew up... your time outs will allow you to reconnect, and I feel it is vital that you do. So, please, find time, find space to find that small part of you that said "now this is what I wanted to be when I grew up..." because only then will you be able to move with purpose towards the real dreams you have.

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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The Photos are in:
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If you would like to see some of the many photographs we took of our trip to Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, The Olgas and Kings Canyon
Well you can, I've uploaded them to http://www.motivateme.info/gallery/one-off-the-bucket-list/

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Motivational Tip: It starts with a decision
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Most people would say it starts with an idea or a thought. But lets face it we are bombarding ourselves with hundreds of thoughts and ideas every day. It's not that we don't have ideas or thoughts, it's that we sometimes forget to make a decision.

But:

Once you have made a decision, have you noticed how things just start to happen. We can move mountains once we decide that is what we are going to do. How do you move a mountain? One shovel of dirt / rock at a time. But the clever people use at least a wheelbarrow, the VERY clever get a team of people with earth moving equipment to help out. But it starts with a decision that today you ARE going to move a mountain.

Don't get stuck in the day to day dreaming that says "one day I'm going to ..." make today the day you make the decision to start.

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Think and Grow Rich:
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A comment from a good friend prompted me to remind you that you can still get a copy of the classic Napoleon Hill book "Think and Grow Rich" for just the price of postage ... If you haven't got your copy yet you can do so from http://www.motivateme.info/think-and-grow-rich/

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Let's Connect:
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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

My partner found this interesting piece that discusses exactly who we are. Turns out we are nothing - and that IS a good thing believe it or not.

But if we really are nothing, then there shouldn't be anything to worry about or be afraid of ...

Have a look and see what you think.

But of course we do worry about things and I am no exception -http://www.motivateme.info/how-to-motivate-myself/2011/8/21/when-your-body-says-stop.html

"What you are will show in what you do"
Thomas Eddison

I was going to add a few comments of my own to this, but it speaks volumes all on its own, so I will refrain from doing so. Except to say - who are YOU?

With many thoughts
Elle

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100 day challenge: Almost there
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Hello challengers, depending on your start date, you should be approximately 30 days away from completing your first 100 days.

Congratulations.

By now you should have set new patterns into place and you will know that as little as a few minutes each day can and does make a massive difference to the way your life turns out.

Remember, all we ask is that you be the best you can be today.

Major news announcement - we will be using the last 100 days of this year to run the program again. I am in the midst of writing it, so get ready to make the last 100 days of 2011 the best it can possibly be. Given what you managed to achieve in the last 100 days of last year we know it's going to be good.

MotivateMe!
Providing Strategies to Overcome the Procrastination Habit with a Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine

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Today's daily dose: 27th August 2011
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I bought a book today, nothing new in that, I would sometimes go without food if I had to make the choice between a book I wanted or food. In fact I had done so many times in my past. What can I say, we were poor. But I wasn't going to let my bank balance get in the way of my education.

Things are a bit better now you'll be pleased to know, but I am still a sucker for a book sale and that's where I was today. As I was standing in the hour long queue (they only have one sale a year) my eye caught the title - 365 thank you's. Now as you know, I am a great believer in saying thank you for the things we receive. I usually do it in person. But the author of this book made the decision after a pretty harrowing previous year (2007) to spend that following year (2008) hand writing thank you notes to people who had made a difference to his life. And it started with the gifts he received at Christmas. Who does that anymore? And then it smacked me on the back of the head - we all should.

In a world of email and facebook it can be so easy to dash off a sentence or two without realising the true thoughtfulness that goes into hand writing a letter or note to someone. As it happens I do hand write letters, not as many as I used to, but some of my family and friends still write to me and respond in kind. It takes a completely different mind set to hand write a letter. There is no delete key, no going back and re-writing a sentence, unless you want to re-write the entire thing - and that's what makes them special. They are a true snapshot of time and how you were thinking at the time.

Now in reading this book I am going to make it a promise to myself - to say thank you for the gifts I receive.

But what do I mean by "gifts"? Well I'm not just talking "stuff" but consider "gifts of time" and simple acts of kindness. These are all gifts if you choose to look at them in that way. Given my birthday is fast approaching, something tells me I shall be handwriting a few notes soon.

How about you? Do you say "thank you" for the gifts you receive? What about taking that a step further and saying thank you to a client. How about hand writing that thank you and posting it to them. I shan't forgo my use of the internet to say thank you to those who connect with me via Motivate Me. Yes, every email I send is hand"written" by me to you. I prefer not to use automated messages, unless I have to, but more of that in another issue, so why should I inflict them on you. You are very special to me, so thank you.

I hope you have an awesome day

With many thoughts
Elle

P.S.: If you've enjoyed this newsletter and have found it to be valuable, would do me the favour and forward it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. And if they would like to subscribe, they just need to visit http://www.motivateme.info for easy and convenient sign-up.

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http://www.twitter.com/MotivateMe_info
http://www.facebook.com/ellegb

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Or "how to live before you die"

When he was 17, Steve Jobs read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on him, and since then, and for nearly 40 years, he has looked in the mirror every morning and asked "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer had been "No" for too many days in a row, he knew he needed to change something.

Steve Jobs said that during a commencement speech he gave to Stanford Students in 2005. The entire speech can be seen here ...

Given the recent news that Steve has had to step down from Apple because he again faces one of his toughest fights of his life so far, I would ask that if you do nothing else today I would ask that you spend 15 minutes and watch it.

Why?

Because of the lessons he shares. And there is always something else to learn.

I was sent the entire transcript of the speech a long time before I saw the video. It is in a folder in my email that I go to sometimes, to read, re-read and absorb once again the messages contained in it. Much like a good book I will refer back to again. My reasoning is simple - if a story / book / article inspired me once to have a look at the way I do things, to make some changes to my current behaviors then I figure it would do even more a second or third time, because I had a new starting point when I read something a second or third time.

For those who have read the transcript already or have seen the video will know that Steve Jobs dropped out of college, founded a company which he was then sacked from, founded several more companies, re-joined Apple and then battled pancreatic cancer. Each time he has come through it and as a result of his "setbacks" has come back stronger than ever and I for one, hope this will happen this time.

I am not a mac aficionado, I don't own anything apple, but can appreciate who to me sounds like an amazing person. He has a quiet dignity others could learn from. And a message we can all take something from.

"Stay hungry, stay foolish"

With many thoughts
Elle

It's ingrained in our language - don't do that you might hurt yourself.

My question to you is a simple one - What would we be able to achieve if we were constantly being told the opposite?

Sure there might be a few skinned knees and bruised butts where we've landed once or twice - but do babies care about falling over when they are learning to walk - NOPE, so why should we? Will we be embarrassed if we fail the first couple of times? Why? I remember learning how to juggle - I think I spent an entire day bending over and picking up the little balls off the floor. Did I stop? Nope. Did I laugh? Hardly stopped. Did I get annoyed? Sometimes - especially when others picked it up faster than I did. Did I succeed - you betcha. I'm a bit rusty these days, but give me half an hour and some bending over and picking the darn things off the floor a few times and I'll be fine.

Sometimes I think the reason we don't try new things is because we are afraid of showing ourselves up. So what if we don't get it right the first time, we can always have another go.

This week I would like to ask you to do something as silly as learning how to juggle. It doesn't have to be juggling of course, it could be re-learning how to pogostick, hula hoop or learning the mambo or the dance steps on one of the kids videos (think the wiggles). But it's got to be small and something that you can master or re-master in a day or two.

Good morning, it's 5am here in Western Australia and I am like a child on Christmas morning. Not that I am expecting many presents today you understand, but I am excited.

No the reason for being excited isn't because it is my birthday (which it is), but because I want to give 47 of you a chance to join the 100 day challenge - all you have to do is give me 1 good reason why you should receive a copy of the book and files - tell me how you think the challenge can help you stay focused on your goals for the last 100 days of this year. And apologies in advance to those of you who have already purchased it and know how powerful this program is.

3 ways to do this - either by facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ellegb - and leave me a direct message. Just give me chance to post it :-)

Then on the 21st September, that's the day before the challenge begins (22nd being 100 days left to the end of the year) I will choose 47 of you and send you the files. Which means of course you do need to give me your current email address to get your copy.

Then on the 22nd September, the challenge begins - and it is going to be amazing.

A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
Mark Twain

What possesses perfectly rational beings to make them drive more than 200 kilometres once a year to go to a seminar?

Passion

Yesterday was the annual New Norcia Library Lecture. And I like 129 of my colleagues made the drive up to the monastic town to listen to two passionate people from the library world speak about the issues facing the library and information profession today. The biggest believe it or not wasn't the lack of funding of which we have a major issue. Nor was it the fact that jobs are scarce, libraries are closing – but the impact those two issues are having on our profession as a whole.

The biggest issues are “Information literacy” and the Googleisation of our world. We don't need libraries everything is “on the internet”. Therefore if we don't need libraries then we don't need librarians either. How this erodes our society if far more subtle however, and a lot more damaging in that the literacy standards of our population is declining. Now that is worrying. It’s not that people can't read per se, but they lack functional literacy which means they are unable to read and comprehend things like medicine bottles. How scary is that thought? In a recent OCLC report it was the figure quoted was something like 59% of Australians were functionally literate . It appears the problem starts with the parents of the new generation not buying the books, they’re not reading to their children, consequently they’re not forming the patterns in their children’s brains. This means they will be unable to understand and comprehend those weird shapes and letters that will eventually form words and sentences. Believe me, if money is tight, and it’s the choice between books and food, most people will buy the food.

As libraries close, as children’s librarians are made redundant so too go the story time sessions the public libraries put on as part of their program of work. That to me is scary. But there is hope thanks to the passionate people who were at New Norcia yesterday, along with our colleagues across the country because next year is the year of reading, we can only hope it will make a difference.

But why New Norcia? Why drive to a monastic town in the middle of nowhere? Well, New Norcia, apart from being home to the only group of Benedictine Monks in Australia also has a unique collection of material. A repository of last hope. Donations of religious and secular material from across the world, and a considerable number from libraries which were closing down or running out of space and didn't want to throw the books away. Donations in the main, and with only $11,000 per year to spend on books and journals, you can see why they do rely on donations.

Not many people have been able to see the collection. Not many have had the opportunity to see any of the books within the library. Scholars who require access to the material which is actually housed across 10 buildings in New Norcia ask and it is collected for them. Yesterday, thanks to Abbott John Herbet and the persuasion of the New Norcia Librarian Sue Johnson we, all 130 of were allowed behind the monastery gates and we were allowed to see some of the collection. Something tells me it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Its’ not often ladies are allowed into the inner sanctum of the monks front room as it were.

But you will have to excuse me, I'm writing this while sitting on the balcony of the hotel where I stayed overnight, my respite and gift to myself once a year, well it is my birthday next week. It’s also freezing and I need to check out.

But the last 24 hours has given me a chance to recognize once again that without passion and the ability to act on that passion, we will never achieve anything worthwhile.
But if you would like to see what the library (well part of it) looks like - http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/arts/10196731/monasterys-library-an-arsenal-of-books/

With many thoughts
Elle

p.s. for those who don't know "me" I am also a Librarian and Information Management Consultant. I am very fortunate to cross many boundaries :-)

I'll be back in a minute...

Sorry about that, now where was I? Oh yes, the Zeigarnik effect - or we are more likely to complete jobs and tasks once we have started them.

How many of you would sit staring at a half painted wall?

No, me neither.

Marketers, women's magazine writers, even novelists and of course movie and TV series producers use this to very good effect. How many of you buy woman's weekly because of the novel that is being published week by week? Or how many have the complete set of Harry Potter books or the Twilight series? What about the movie versions or the serializations that grip us every week - who's going to be kicked off the island this week? Shock horror no it can't be them, I'm going to write and complain to ...

hooked in - BIG TIME

So how can you use this technique to overcome procrastination?

Well if you haven't guessed it by now, it is simply to begin working on a goal. If it is one that grips you like an episode of "Lost" or NCIS then you are almost guaranteed to finish it. The trick is to ensure that your goals excite you, thrill you, annoy the dickens out of you because you can't finish it today... What happens? You're up at the crack of dawn ready to begin again.

This is why and how the 100 day challenge works. If we haven't yet started working on a goal that does excite / thrill / annoy us - then we are going to have to get into the habit of working on our goals on a daily basis until momentum takes over. But we'll talk more about that next time.

If you are not lucky enough to be one of the 47 people to receive a free copy of the 100 day challenge workbook and supporting files, don't worry you can simply use a diary or calendar to mark your progress. Of course it does make it easier to have the workbook - but it is not a prerequisite to taking part.

The 47 people who are lucky enough to be given a copy will receive their copies in the next couple of days - well in time to do some preparation before the homework begins.

First of all a very big thank you for all the birthday wishes for last week - I had a brilliant day, I hope you did too.

Secondly I would like to thank the hundreds of people who responded with the question of why they should be lumbered with a lot of homework over the next 100 days and the last 100 days of 2011. Congratulations to the 47 of you who were chosen to receive a copy of the challenge. You should have received and downloaded your copies by now. And yes, homework begins today...

A couple of things:

The results you get are directly proportional to how much effort to use / work the program. It is not called a workbook for nothing. While it may look simple, it is a powerful tool and we have had people:

Set up businesses
Change jobs
Sell houses and travel the world
Lose weight (a lot of weight if we added up the total number of lbs)
Stop smoking
Write books
Become a better parent / employee / partner - because they have better focus
Train and run for marathons and other sporting events
Changed from being a below grade student to an A grade student
Cleaned clutter and
Completed degrees with honors

The challenge can help you achieve all that and more. The question is – what do YOU want to achieve?

Before you start the 100 day challenge I would like to give you a chance to clean out your “I suppose I should do that” list so you can have BETTER FOCUS on the things that will make the most difference to you. I wrote my list of Top 20 “what not to do’s” the day after my birthday – my personal new year’s resolutions. If you want to see what I am not going to do this year – go to:

http://www.motivateme.info/daily-dose-ezine/2011/9/14/do-you-need-better-focus.html

So now it’s your turn – write down what you are not going to do so you have better focus during this 100 day challenge:

Over the next 100 days I am NOT going to do:

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I'm sorry I couldn't give away a copy to everyone who responded, but that was part of the challenge - why should it be YOU :-) and for those who don't have a copy - well a diary / planner / notebook can assist you.

As you will have gathered, the key to getting anything out of this thing called LIFE is taking action. And I hope you do take the opportunity to decide what you are not going to do so you can focus on what you are.

Tomorrow the program begins in earnest and don't panic, in addition to the not quite daily dose of motivational medicine - there will be 12 emails relating to the challenge itself. The first is tomorrow of course, then every 10 days we will challenge you with something to think / act upon with a roundup at the end. But in the mean time the normal daily dose will continue for those who are not playing along.

Watch your inbox tomorrow, homework begins in earnest - and yes as last year I am going to be working along side you and I will let you know what my personal challenges are as we go through the 100 days.

Best

Elle

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The 100 Day Challenge Program
Days 100 - 91

Oh the places you’ll go:
If only you stop going round in circles

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With thanks to Dr Seuss for inspiring today’s 100 day challenge post.

Now the next 100 days will pass regardless of whether you leave the house, get in the car and start driving. But can you imagine where you could end up if you did?

If we don’t know where we want to go, then anywhere will do. And eventually we get bored and head back home again. Did we achieve whatever it was we said we were going to do when we left the house? Probably not! We might have lucked upon something that took our interest, but overall, no. We go back to our respective homes, stick the car keys back in the drawer and tell ourselves that NEXT time we’ll have a plan of where we want to go and what we want to do and see. We grab a drink, a big bar of chocolate, sit down and turn on the television.

Surely it would make sense to know where we wanted to go BEFORE we even left the house! Well even that can fail if we’re not prepared for the unexpected. Many times I have left the directions to my kids “mum can you pick me up from so and so’s house”

Needless to say it was dark, half the street signs were missing, I couldn’t see the numbers of the houses and there was a car behind me which was obviously being driven by someone late for dinner. I was not best pleased. And yes his hand drawn mud map was wrong.

The 100 day challenge can provide you with your plan AND your roadmap to success (apologies to Mike for the cliché) but only if you know where you want to end up. If you know where you want to be, then can you work out the directions (Actions) you will need to take to get there. Of course there may be detours along the way, but even they don’t matter if you know your ultimate destination. Which brings us back to the question – where do you want to be at the end of this 100 days? What is your “goal”?

The word “goal” and the act of goal setting for most people can seem quite daunting, and believe it or not, the reason is biological.

When faced with a daunting goal or project the amygdala, the part of the brain that responds to fear and threats, hijacks the “thinker” part of the brain (prefrontal cortex). This area is the creative part of the brain and is responsible for decision making and seeing possibilities. The more the amygdala works, the less the prefrontal cortex can. The amygdala is responsible for many things including:

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO DO … screams our Amygdala, our stomach flips over and feeling of acid dread seeps into our body.

Unfortunately it isn’t helped when this same statement is echoed through our well meaning family members, friends and even work colleagues. They don’t want you to change, they like you just the way they are – because it means THEY don’t have to look at what THEY are doing. Consequently they will do anything to sabotage your new resolve “here, have some cake”.

But by breaking down our goal not only into 100 days, but 100 single units of time, the amygdala has little to worry about.

Oh, you’re going for a walk today – yeah we can go for a walk, a walk would be nice. Goes off humming to itself.

I’m a bit hungry now after that walk – oh we’re having an apple and some almonds – ooh yum, we’ve not had those in a while…

Hey this walking thing is fun, that’s the third time this week isn’t it – where’s my apple?

What are you doing sitting down writing again – can’t we go for a walk?

a) Exercise daily to lose some weight, increase muscle tone, get back into our skinny jeans and eat healthier foods; and

b) Write that best seller we’ve always said we wanted to write and never quite got around to.

And because we don’t make a big deal about what we are doing, our family members, friends and work colleagues are less likely to notice what we are doing as well, let alone make a fuss about it.

Well that is up to you of course, but whoever you choose, make sure they are going to support you and not nudge you off course.

Over the course of the 100 day challenge, each new day adds to yesterday’s “wins” and slowly we create new patterns which will of course create new behaviours which become our habits.

So your first challenges:

Remember - you can use the 100 day challenge to meet your long term goals too. These are goals that are perhaps a few years out from where you are now. By completing each 100 day challenge (and you get 3 and a bit each year if you run them back to back) you can achieve amazing things.

Please don’t wait until the end of the day to complete your daily challenge, otherwise you will be tempted to let a few days go by and then a few more and before you know it – oops, I’d better re-start the challenge. So, begin today, begin now and get an early win on the tasks / challenges you have set for yourself.

If you will excuse the pun.

One of my 100 Day Challengers mentioned today that she was struggling with the planning and organising of the challenge. She would like to lose some weight and I'll leave the next bit to her, she says:

"The extra weight has has now become a physical burden as well as a mental and emotional one, affecting what I do and how I perceive things. My other goal I want to run along side this for the moment is to be more 'present' and fun for my son - I always seem to have my mind on the next job I have to do."

Rather than just respond to Beverley I thought I would share some of the hints, tips and advice with everyone as I am sure there comes a time when you are all ready to say "well it's all right for you but ..."

Well day 3, and now day 4 and all is not well with me. I failed to replace my running / training shoes in time and I am now suffering with a pulled right knee and a sore left heel. To be fair, the amount of exercise I do, I should ask the company who I buy my shoes from to sponsor me :-) as I buy at least 4 pairs a year ... it would save me a fortune. But anyway - tiger balm followed by ice and elevation and we'll be back on track in no time.

Days 3 - 7 of any new way of life are the hardest, why do you think so may people fail with New Year Resolutions? We often get frustrated at our perceived lack of progress and we may be tempted to fall back into old habits and patterns. So when I say we are not on a diet it's a way of life, I also mean that to everything we say we want to do. It isn't what we do once in a while that makes the biggest difference, but what we do day in, day out which will mean we get to our goals or not.

So - first off the bat - we are all on a "diet". That diet may be one that allows us to gain weight, lose weight or maintain our current weight. So first things first. If you want to lose weight - you need to change your current way of eating from one that has allowed you to put weight on, to a diet that will allow you to lose some weight. A "derr" I know that - HOW? Well if you know that then you know how. Write everything you eat / drink into a journal or in your workbook - not sure where your calories are coming from - this is the honest and easiest way of finding out. It takes a damn sight longer to eat an apple than it does to eat a bar of chocolate - but unsurprisingly you get more from the apple over a longer period. Start with replacing - sugar is sugar regardless of how it is packaged. The difference between an apple and a bar of chocolate is how fast the sugar hits the system (fructose vs sucrose or corn sugar) one takes longer to digest than the other... personally I would add some almonds (10) or an inch cube of cheese to further slow down the absorption and to give essential fats and proteins and you also limit the problem of sugar spiking.

Similarly - exercise should be a way of life if you say you are into health and fitness. I can't walk or cycle to my day job - but I can take my gym gear and walk during my lunch breaks... which I do. I also pack my gear and hit the gym 3 mornings a week - and have organised a personal training session for every monday evening. It is part of my way of life. So to Beverley who needs to find time to eat less and exercise more, AND entertain the little one - here's something that I see in Australia every day. Mum and Dad in their track gear, littlie in the stroller and out they go. Beverley - take the little one out as much as you can - when he gets a bit bigger and onto a push bike, you can increase your speed - head to the park and play... and don't forget the apples.

If the weather is rubbish - stick on a kids channel / DVD - preferably one that is active and take part in the activities... the little one will get tired, he can go down for a snooze and you can get planning tomorrow's activities. My ex was not an active part of my kids lives growing up so I was chief entertainments manager - I got very good at finding things to do with no money... frisbees, catch, picnics in winter, you name it, we did it... yes I got down, yes I got depressed, yes my weight yo-yo'd as a result of the same - but think of it as over life success rather than over night success and you will get there. And let the little one help you in the kitchen - find some healthy snacks to make and let him get his hands dirty ... hours of fun, and think of all the extra calories burned during the clean up phase :-)

Want to attract more clients? Do you spend one day a week calling 30 people, or do you make a habit of calling 5 people each day? How about writing that value packed newsletter you said you were going to do to share with your clients (hint - newsletter not a direct sales letter pitch) as you will notice, my newsletter is about 1 "sort of sales pitch" to about a thousand non sales emails. But I know that I am making a difference, and that's what life should be like - how are we making a difference?

When you've worked that one out - the rest as they say - should be easy.

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100 Day Challenge Update:
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Day 3 / 100 - http://www.motivateme.info/100-day-challenge/2011/9/25/2011-100-day-challenge-day-3100-day-3-is-usually-the-hardest.html

Day 3 is usually the hardest. You may be wondering what on earth you are doing, and you may find life is already getting in the way - but it does take just a little bit of perseverance in the first couple of days to set the patterns and behaviors to lifelong change. Remember, this is about life long change, just in 100 day blocks of time.

Then again you may already be well on the way - in which case, congratulations - all you need to do now is repeat the habits and patterns that have worked for you over the first couple of days, refine techniques and see if you can't push yourself just a little bit harder. After all we never know what we are capable of until we are pushed kicking and screaming out of our comfort zones.

As I write this I am enjoying a cup of coffee before my Saturday morning (and normal) gym session - followed by my 2nd day of interval training. Hope the knee holds up after a brilliant week of training last week as it is pulling a little, and the base of my heel isn't feeling too great either - may need to get a new pair of trainers and a compression suit (aka skins) - but we'll see if I can persuade my partner to go shopping with me :-)

Over the weekend, I will be spending some time going through my personal goals for the 100 days and so far I have managed to put into place 4 health related goals. The weekend will allow me time, now those are in place to work on the next phase of my business goals. Until then, good luck and keep up the good work on your own challenges.

To read Day 2/ 100 entry - http://www.motivateme.info/100-day-challenge/2011/9/23/2011-100-day-challenge-day-2100-23rd-september.html

Elle

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We can be forgiven for looking forward to the next great big thing we have planned, after all it's EXCITING :-D

The wedding we are planning, the holiday we want to take, the mountain we want to climb, the book we want to write or the millionth copy of the book we want to sell, that we forget to live today.

I remember working with a lady way back in the dim and distant past. Her father was planning on retiring early to spend some time with his wife, kids and grandkids after a life time "at the office". Knowing there wouldn't be the same kind of financial freedom to spend on the luxury items they had enjoyed, he spent part of every pay packet buying "spares" in the lead up ... shoes, ties, shirts, suits, you name it, he'd thought about it and bought enough to last him a lifetime. Shame he didn't get to use them though, in the most part they went off to the charity shops unopened - he spent so much time living for the future he forgot to live for the day and died of a heart attack before he officially retired.

I'm sure we can all be guilty to a certain extent of getting excited about something that's rapidly approaching. Sometimes I know of people who also spend a lifetime waiting for the right moment:

You and I know there never will be a right moment. It simply comes down to how we use each and every moment we have been given.

As I write this I am again "sick". I have had back to back colds / coughs through the winter, and this particular illness was a bridge too far for my semi-recovered body and now have a chest infection, which has rather put a damper on the training I was doing for my 100 day challenge. I shall now have to wait for the anti-biotics to kick in and an all clear from my doctor before re-starting, but you get that.

The 100 Day Challenge Program
Days 90 - 81

Of sleep and chicken soup:

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Has it really been 10 days since we started our journey? Amazing how fast time flies when we're set challenges. Every day is packed full of stuff to do... No, sorry can't stop, things to do, things to do.

Well have I got news for you - today's challenge is to take a rest day ...

The jarring cough has hurt my ribs, or more specifically the muscles around and over the ribs. Hacking, energy draining, trying to shift the gunk and the irritation off my chest and lungs. Every time I cough I drown out every other sound. A neighbor talking on the front yard, the wind rifling through the eucalyptus trees that need taking down when I can find the $600 to do it, the wind chimes that need replacing and the delicate bird song that both annoys and intrigues my cats. For once though I can't hear traffic. I live on a corner block, the road I lovingly call "brands hatch", but it is the middle of a working day and it appears that most of my neighbors are working. I would be too, save for this cold / cough / flu that has knocked me off my feet. Should I have had the flu jab?

I'm tired, my sinuses are paining me and yet I know that if I attempt to lie down the intermittent whoop whoop of the cough will become worse. I thought sleep was supposed to be the panacea to all ills. That and chicken soup. Well I can't sleep, even though I want to, and I can't be bothered to make chicken soup. Shall I go and buy some? Maybe later, maybe tomorrow, maybe when I'm feeling a bit better - by which time of course I won't feel like eating chicken soup, but at least my taste buds would recognize the flavors.

I've always found illness to be a way to reconnect with the body. A chance to rest the mind, a chance to go back to basics, a chance to recognize what is important.

Which makes me wonder why we need to become "ill" to find out what is important to us. But there are countless stories of people who have battled major illnesses and accidents to come out the other side, stronger, more determined and KNOW what they want to do. They go climb mountains, leave partnerships that don't suit them, move house, change jobs, write books. All of a sudden life is to be lived and lived to the max.

Why do we need to get ill to determine all that? Surely quiet time allows that inner reflection to take place. Now I'm not so sure. When we are forced to take "time off" to power down, to switch off and let the illness work it's way through and out of our body, all we focus on are the little things. I'll get up and clean my teeth. Tea, I'll make a pot of tea, that will be nice. Maybe I should read a book? Which one? Chicken soup - yes maybe I'll get in the car and fetch myself some chicken soup. We don't have the constant chatter that runs through our normally "quiet" minds when we pretend to have "down time".

"I'll just do ... and then I shall be able to sit down and work out what my goals / life will be like in the next 5 years..."

If our life is a journey, illness I think is a chance to duck into a rest stop and evaluate what is working for us and what isn't. You have now had 10 days on this particular challenge. My health and exercise challenges have had to change - dramatically since we started just a short time ago. That's OK, it's Ok to say - you know what, that wasn't working out just as well as I had hoped. Now what?

Well - EVERY 10 days of the challenge, I would like to challenge you to take an entire day off. As my partner told me today - take time to play. That also means it will be a different day each time, and a bit more of a challenge.

In amongst the daily activity that is our current hecticness we forget to play, we forget to take the time to rest, recover, recuperate and reflect on our goals, our dreams and our lives. Had I done so, maybe I wouldn't have landed myself with another challenge to overcome. Maybe that IS my lesson to learn. STOP trying to do so darn much - what are you trying to prove anyway - that you are superwoman?

Action steps:

1. Take a day off - it's probably too late to take today, but I would like you to schedule into your 100 day challenge - 1 day off every 10. That means, stopping the diet, the exercise, the book writing the client calling, the planning, the preparation - everything - and I would like you to think about you for a change. Then as you stop the churn,

2. Think about what has worked, what hasn't, what needs tweaking what is simply NOT working and needs to be stopped completely?

3. Where can you make some improvements? Are your challenges, challenging enough or do you need to stretch yourself just a little more?

A day off completely can help you to determine that.

So what has my down time said to me?

I do too much, but I don't do enough of the thing that really matters to me - when I'm busy I forget to write. I know I write ALL the time, but I forget to write and I lose part of myself when I do. Taking regular rest stops can help you find yourself. Scuse me, I'm off to write.

Kind Regards

Elle

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What opportunities are you missing out on?

An organisation I use on a regular basis decided to expand operations earlier this year and opened a second "office". Now because they are in a people oriented service, I was pleased when they invited every existing client to celebrate the opening with them. Crummy timing, but I wasn't able to go, but I gather quite a few people did.

Me being me, and interested in people's dreams, goals and ambitions, a couple of weeks ago I asked one of the co-owners (who just happened to be in the original operation that day) how the new venture was going

"it's hard work getting the business" he said, and walked off - errrm?!

On reflection I can perhaps see why...

Simple to do, yet oh so simple not to do too - and maybe that's part of the problem.

Are you sure?

A lot of people tell me they don't need to change ANYTHING about their lives, they're doing just fine thanks very much.

Really? I always ask with a raised eyebrow.

I could keep going, but I'm sure you get my point.

We can be lulled into a sense that we are doing OK, no really - everything is just fine. Truthfully though most of us can benefit from another look at all aspects of our lives and take time to work out what it is we are missing / missing out on / not spending enough time on / completely neglecting.

So my challenge for you today is that - be honest with yourself, are all aspects of your life in balance, or do you need to make some changes?

With many thoughts

Elle

The 100 Day Challenge Program
Days 70 - 61

You should be motoring now:

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I was reminded of a quote today - it said

"Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged people who kept on working"

Day 31 - yes, I did say Day 31 - no I didn't forget. Yesterday morning I was speaking at the Curtin University Educational Forum. It was part of their 40th anniversary celebrations and in response to some research that has been conducted on the program for Information Professionals. Fascinating morning - and a great deal of discussion ensued - and will continue as a result of yesterday. It was a great privilege to be able to share the floor with my fellow professionals. Why?

Yesterday was a great example of a profession that was willing to say "are we doing it right?" "what else can we do?" "how can we do it better?" Having worked in the Information Industry for nearly 30 years I've seen some massive changes to the way we deliver our services. Sometimes I thought we would never get it right, sometimes it seemed that all the testing in the world wouldn't help get our 12 million items inito a "database" so the users could search it by using keywords rather than going the hard road through subject indexes. But the hard work we did put in, in those days meant that what followed could actually happen. Namely online searching of the catalogue via remote access using of course those other wonderful pieces of software we take for granted - the search engines.

Do you sometimes feel discouraged?
Do you feel like you are nothing more than a tiny cog in a very big machine and that what you are doing is worthless?

Well, sometimes we can't know the bigger picture until we look backwards, which reminded me of something Steve Jobs said - you can only join the dots afterwards (and I paraphrase), you can't know the big picture looking forwards

It is our daily actions which will show in all the tomorrow's to come what it is we have accomplished. Remember we are looking for over life success, not overnight success. Believe me - there is no such thing as overnight success, no magic bullets or secret pills that will create the world you want to live in. Sorry to disolusion you, but that is the truth. BUT and here is one of the keys - if you have persisted over the last 30 days, then you should start to find things slotting into place more easily. You should be slipping into top gear and motoring. As Jack Canfield rightly pointed out if you are travelling through the night all you can see is the next couple of hundred metres or so, only when you get to that point will the next couple of hundred metres be revealed, and so it is with our journeys through life.

As Steppenwolf put it

"Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way"

Because we can't know for certain where our roads will take us. As one of the speakers said yesterday - she went to uni to become a teacher librarian and ended up working for an oil and gas company in their records department because it was the challenge she was looking for but didn't know existed until she started.

Review the first 30 days of your journey so far.

While you could carry on doing the easier items, indeed you should be in top gear and motoring on these things by now. The other items you've got sitting on your list are like the stop lights. We know they're coming up - and we know it's going to take some doing to move through the gear changes to get back to speed if we stop the fun stuff to work on the not so fun stuff. Which is why it's a challenge.

Off you go and I'll speak to you soon.

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M is for Measurable: How do you know you are on the right track?

The Daily Dose for Wednesday 5th March 2010 - Don't settle for average