Category: Success Attitude

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Success Attitude

GUSTO

Article Contributed by John Bittleston 

One of my colleagues once described a mutual friend as having ‘infectious enthusiasm’, a lovely description and a great compliment. The person so described was full of beans and their enthusiasm was catching. Just being in the presence of such a person is a privilege. Enthusiasm will make you friends but it will not make you a fortune.

It requires more to drive a business. I call the mixture GUSTO. Two doses taken daily will transform your life.

If your life is transformed, so will be the lives of all the people around you. Here’s how it works.

GUSTO is a combination of guts, enthusiasm, energy, drive and Sheer Bloody-Mindedness. Ever seen a baby demanding attention? If so, you’ve seen SBM. How do we set about practicing GUSTO?

First, we must care deeply about everybody and everything. We must care about success. We must care about money, too, but not to the exclusion of other things. We must care about standards – personal, business, quality, service. We must care about demonstrating those standards. If you have not read the story of how James Dyson invented and marketed a new design of vacuum cleaner, you should do so. He is a model of passionate care.

Genuine, passionate care creates fortunes

Next we must give. There’s an old saying that you get out what you put in. It’s not true. If you put in very little you get out nothing. If you put in a lot you get out much more than you put in. Why do some people succeed and others not? The successful have generosity of spirit, an ability to give. They may appear careful, even mean sometimes. Their life style will be magnanimous.

Unstinting generosity creates fortunes

It is vital, too, that we have, and stick to, our opinions and beliefs. Not in a dogmatic, closed-minded way but in a way that prevents us from changing our views with each new bit of information. We all know vacillating managers who change direction more often than an outback swarm of locusts. They may consume everything on which they alight but they will die in the end. Not enough singleness of purpose.

Standards, resolutely pursued and strongly maintained, create fortunes

We do however need to have regard to the feelings and concerns of others. Infectious enthusiasm is compatible with sensitivity. Sensitivity guides us to the correct timing of what we want to achieve.

Timing with sensitivity creates fortunes

We need help to create a fortune in the form of expertise, advice, guidance, practical work and support. As John Steinbeck put it: “The last, clear definite function of Man, muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need. This is Man.” Enthusiastic, magnanimous managers call for help when they need it.

Other peoples’ help is vital in creating fortunes

So, to sum up. What is it that creates fortunes?

  • Genuine, passionate care.
  • Unstinting generosity.
  • Standards strongly maintained.
  • Timing with sensitivity.
  • Other peoples’ help.

Hello. That spells GUSTO, doesn’t it?

About the Author

Founded 20 years ago by Mentor, Business CEO and Author John Bittleston, TerrificMentors is a group of skilled mentors and coaches with considerable management experience who share a passion for reviving human spirits and balance sheets; the two often go together.

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Entrepreneurs Success Attitude

The Value of Being “Second” — 3 Reasons Why Your Biz Might be Better Off Not Being First

There’s a lot of value around being first in your business. The first person to come up with a hot product or service tends to reap a huge amount of rewards in the process.

However, being first isn’t always all that and a bag of chips. In fact, there are times when being second to the party puts you in a better position than being first. Below are 3 reasons to celebrate being second:

1. You know there is a market for what you’re selling.

The one thing no one talks about in the “quest to be first” is the fact that lots of times, the person who is first falls flat on their face. Sure we all want to be Apple with the next iPod. But what about all those businesses who came up with some brand-spanking new gadget and didn’t sell a thing?

Years ago, I read a story about entrepreneurs knowing when it was time to give up. One of the stories was from a guy who created a picture frame that “talked” — I can’t remember if you could create your own audio but I do remember he had these pictures of famous events, like Neil Armstrong on the moon, and you pressed a button and heard a recording of Neil talking about one giant leap for mankind.

Everyone who saw it loved the concept. But no one loved it enough to buy them. He said he stayed in business a good couple years past when he should have quit and lost thousands more because people kept telling him what a cool concept that was even though it apparently wasn’t “cool” enough to actually purchase.

So here we have a story about someone who was first with this cool concept and no one bought it. Because there wasn’t a market for it. And that in a nutshell is why it can be scary to be first, because you have no idea if what you’re selling is something people actually want to buy. (Or at least want to buy at that moment of time — there are also stories of entrepreneurs who had the right idea at the wrong time — 10 years later the idea is big hit but not when they came up with it.)

Now, if you’re second, then you can celebrate because you know there’s a market for what you’re offering. In fact, I would go as far to say if there’s competition for what you want to offer that’s a good thing because then you know for sure there’s a market for it.

2. You can improve upon what the “first” already did.

Google wasn’t the first search engine out there. Zappos wasn’t the first to sell shoes online. But now both of them are the two-ton gorilla in the room. They looked at what the other “firsts” were doing — both right and wrong, and improved upon it.

And not only does this mean improving on the product or service it also means improving on the marketing.

If you are second you’re in a fabulous position to analyze what the “first” did and see how you can improve it to solidify your position in the marketplace. And if you do this right, you may have your own opportunity to be “first” — and reap the benefits without taking as much of the risks, which I cover in the next reason.

3. You have the opportunity to put your unique spin on whatever is “first” — which could make it “first.”

Let’s take coaches. Coaches have been around, well, probably for as long as there were people. I suspect when we were all cavemen we had coaches teaching us better ways to run away from saber tooth tigers and selecting the right berry to gather. But coaches as an entrepreneur industry is a relatively new thing. And the new twists on coaching also can make it feel first, even though the field of coaching is not new.

How this could work in your own business: See what you offer in your business that’s a “second” — is there a way you can put your own stamp on it (maybe combine with something else or approach it with a fresh angle) that could give you the security of knowing there’s a market while also letting you be “first” with your own twist? This is the secret to standing out in a crowded marketplace so don’t rush into this. Play around with some ideas and test them out to see what you come up with.

Categories
Success Attitude

Falling in Love With Your Self

My blogging buddy Daylle Deanna Schwartz emailed me about a 31-day self-love challenge to kick off 2013 in January by writing about love. Receive her FREE ebook, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count The Ways.

What a great idea to write articles on self-love especially with this shift in consciousness to embody love!

Below is a revised post I wrote in January 2011. Enjoy!

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance” – Oscar Wilde

Fear and unworthiness are two main issues that powerfully affect self-confidence and self-esteem. How we feel about ourselves affects every aspect of our lives: business success, relationships, happiness, health & wellness….

Do you…

  •  Call yourself names when you feel you made a mistake?
  •  Sabotage your best intentions and break self-agreements?
  • Focus more on what you feel is bad and wrong about you rather than celebrate what makes you amazing?

When we lack feelings of self-worth and self-love, we don’t allow ourselves to receive the good that is being offered to us in so many ways. Ouch!

We often associate our value and lovability with our roles, our jobs, our responsibilities and how we serve others.

Too often we focus on what we most need to change and what is wrong with us rather than seeing what is right and valuable about who we really are. If I had a $1.00 for every time I heard people’s pain about feeling inadequate and worthless, I would have quite a bit of money.

Self-love, compassion, forgiveness…..are often qualities we withhold from ourselves without realizing it. When we are harboring negative feeling towards ourselves we neglect, punish, and deny  ourselves the very things we need most to experience the best of life.

No one can beat you up better than you, right?

My good friend Anita Pathik Law used to ask me, “Whose rules are those?” when she heard me being too tough on myself rather than being forgiving.  I had never considered myself a perfectionist so it was a surprise to discover that there are times when my standards and rules about who I think I should be…. sets me up for feeling awful if I fail to live up to them. Yuk!

We came into this life filled with love and wonder.  Life circumstances, cultural conditioning, relationships, has wired us to question our true value and to feel we are not good enough.

You are not broken

You do not need to be fixed

You need to wake up and remember who you really are!

Below is an adapted exercise from my 4-week mini journey into Self-Love in my Pathways to Awakening program

I invite you to acknowledge what you do AND celebrate who you are.

1. What I love about myself is (acknowledge a quality, strength, or gift about yourself that you are proud of and willing to own.

2. What makes me fabulous, wonderfull, lovable, and valuable is.

3. What I am most proud of is (I invite you to BRAG. Yup, you heard me – its crowing time. Stand up and tell it like it is, baby! Whoo-hoo!)

Use extra paper to fill in your answer!  :)

Let’s take this farther….

Begin each day by looking at yourself in the mirror and say out loud

(Your name) You are fabulous, lovable, wonderfull, and valuable!

Turn it into a declaration. Stand strong and say out loud

I am fabulous, lovable, wonderfull, and valuable!

Say these statements with ownership, pride, passion…Breathe into the words, and take them into you heart and body!  Let go of feeling foolish or self-conscious. It’s time to own the truth about who you really are!

Now it’s your turn to be the recipient, ok?

Invite others to celebrate YOU! In the next 24 hours, email close trusted friends for feedback. Ask them:

What you love about me?

What do you think is wonderfull and fabulous about me?

What do you value most about me?

The first time I did this exercise I had to breathe quite a bit to take the love in. WOW!

*This exercise invites you to receive love from others that you might be deflecting and discarding. Give yourself the gift of feeling and receiving love – from yourself and the people who are crazy about you.  :)

If you do not love yourself, how can you truly love another?

And how can you expect others to love you?

Ready to fall in deeper love with your Self?

Categories
Success Attitude

Are You Having A Love/Hate Relationship With Your Self?

If you were asked these questions:

What do you love about yourself?

What makes you fabulous, wonderfull, and lovable?

What do you value most about yourself?

What would you answer?

You might automatically answer things like: your accomplishments, personal successes, things you do for others…. Many people identify more with what they do rather than who they are. Those are great answers and I invite you to look who you are in addition to identifying with what you do!

So, what would you answer?

If you have some difficulty answering, you are not alone.

Lack or low self love affects your finances, health, relationships, business, well-being, and connection to God. Without self-love you are cut off from the full flow of wealth and all forms of abundance that enriches your life.

It’s not your fault.

Suffering caused by a lack of self-love is a dis-ease humanity has cultivated for generations. You have been impacted by your family, cultural conditioning and past experiences.

If you have been on an inner journey to heal and transform yourself, you may still find yourself struggling to release those beliefs and patterns that are still running your life. And no doubt you are feeling frustrated and wonder what the heck it will take to be liberated from the grip and pain your mind creates, right?

You cannot USE your mind to CHANGE your mind.

Some patterns are so deep that it can take quite some time to completely dismantle them with God’s help. You must be willing to listen to your guidance and keep going without quitting five minutes before the miracle might happen. Your soul knows the way to bring you “home”. You gotta trust your Self and be committed to your liberation.

That’s the journey I have been on for almost three decades. I have faced and felt self- judgments, unforgiveness, feelings of unworthiness, fears, doubts,  guilt and anger I harbored towards myself for choices I made, things I did or didn’t do…. I sure was not loving me!

The truth was that pain and fears  closed my heart and cut me off from truly giving and receiving love. I was starving for meaningfull connections with others, my Self and most importantly, with God.

I am happier with myself and my life is rich and abundant.

Is love, abundance, and peace what you long for?

Is connection to the Divine what your heart is yearning for?

Love is the way…and it begins with you..inside

Do you resonate with what I have been saying?

 Ready to fall in deeper love with your Self?

Categories
Success Attitude

Getting Rid of Fear And THRIVING In These New Energies

I continually hear people ask me, “How can I get RID of my fears?”

Did you know that when you approach fear from that perspective you cast judgment and condemnation towards yourself that separates you from your true Nature and God?

In this shift in consciousness, we must make a paradigm shift in how we think and feel about our fears or any thought and pattern we don’t like so we are moving into states of wholeness, peace, and love.

You will continue to be in conflict and inner struggle as long as you beat yourself up and judge yourself in any way including when you do or don’t do something out of fear!

Transformation is an internal energy shift that cannot be managed, controlled or directed by your mind and ego which is why learning new ways of living “with fear” in these new energies is critical .

You might be thinking, “I know this!!! I know I need to be more self-loving, more forgiving, more….!”  but you are still  getting hooked into old reactions. (Me too sometimes)

It’s not your fault if you are struggling with fears.

Fear has been controlling the world for centuries. It’s in your DNA. And there are many positives to fear you might not realize too.

That’s why 2012 and the years to follow are so exciting. This is your time to be liberated from the grip of your mind/ego  by the only one who can do that – God.

For this to happen, creating harmony with all parts of yourself is essential including your fears!

Living in the grip of fear and feeling powerless sucks.

You are not powerless.

If you are struggling with fear or any feeling or pattern you wish to change, the problem is HOW you are being WITH it – embracing ALL of you or bracing against yourself? Resistance to anything you don’t want only gives it more power to be alive in your life.

And if you are depending on your mind and ego to create the changes you want within yourself and your life, that is not where your true transformational power lies.

That’s like going to a mechanic to get your teeth cleaned.

The key is Love. It always comes back to love – the most powerfull transforming energy in Creation. That is your natural state and the essence of God.

You gotta line up your insides to attract what you want in your reality.