The Freedom Net

Well, I lost another employee today.  Well, technically it happens next week, as Friday will be his last day.  Although his attitude has been poor for some time, it’s basically a money issue.  He’ll get a $1.50 raise just by going a few more miles down the road.  Meanwhile, in an attempt to be benevolent, our new taskmasters have ante’d up and are putting down a smooth 4% across the board for all employees with some tenure.

Unfortunately, this still won’t bring some of the employees up to speed with what we are currently starting our newbies out with.  Talk about managing under duress … it’s tough to be a manager when one hand is tied behind your back.

Have you ever felt like the guy in the old Dunkin’ Donuts commercials? That’s the way we feel sometimes as managers … first ones in, last ones out (incidentally, that was also the motto when I was in the Signal Corps, US Army). Check out this old commercial and see if you can feel my pain:

Time To Make The Donuts

Have you heard of the Biblical story of Moses?  Early on in the story, before he leads the Israelites out of bondage, he encounters some resistance from Pharoah.  As a punishment for Moses even daring to question the release of the slaves, Pharoah give the word to the taskmasters that they must now make twice as much brick with the same amount of straw as before.

The past few weeks, I have felt like Moses, the manager.  I think that Pharoah must be punishing me … I have twice as much (figuratively speaking, perhaps more) to do now, but with less than half of the people (we had a layoff, and guess who’s department was affected the most?) than before!  Go figure …

Maybe I can get God’s cooperation and get some plagues to fall on the Egyptians (you know the ones I’m talking about, not the ones in the real middle east)…

If you are a manager (like myself), perhaps you could use a great tool to help you evaluate and track your employees performance. Have you ever come to the point where it is time for the annual review, and you really have to think long and hard because you can’t remember all the facts? Then it sounds like you need this program for Employee Appraisals and Reviews.

Check it out!

“I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.” Charles Dickens

This quote struck me today. I realized that many times I have issues with one or more of these items. But, the worst by far, is my tendancy to focus on multiple projects all at once. This is especially true in the arena of website development and income generating projects. How foolish can I get? What will it take to realize and determine that I will only do ONE thing at a time?

Now in the business arena, managers are expected to do multiple things at one time, as this is called multi-tasking. To a certain extent, this is a good thing. But when you are working on a project (as I am this morning), it’s not good to sit down with the goal of “updating all my websites” in one shot. Pick one thing, and focus on that one objective.

Do it today. Pick one thing to focus on today, and then do something to help yourself reach that objective today.

To Your Success,

Michael

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” - William James

So what exactly does that mean? It’s simple … change your mental attitude, and you can literally change your life. Think about it. That’s the whole premise behind Napoleon Hill’s book, “Think and Grow Rich” (which, btw, you can download for free here).

The Bible puts it another way, but it’s the same exact principle:

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” - Proverbs 23:7

It’s really that simple. It’s very profound once we understand the full application of this principle. What you dwell on the most is what you get. If you think about all the bad things in your life constantly, your attitude will be poor, and things will only seem to get worse and worse. On the other hand, however, if you focus on the positive things in your life, your attitude will be upbeat, and things will look brighter and brighter every day. Don’t take my word for it … try it and see!

To YOUR Success,

Michael

Regardless of where you are planning to go, every journey begins with the first step. It doesn’t matter what your goals are in life, in order to get there we must all start someplace. So, wherever you are today, let’s begin the journey, shall we?

So what comes first? What is the first step to a better future? Regardless of whether your goals are primarily health related, financial, emotional, relational, etc. there is one place where each and every one of these begins. I want you to really think about this one for a minute … each one of these journeys, regardless of the goal, begins in the mind. Why do I say that? Well, for several reasons really …

1. All actions originate as thoughts, so regardless of what actions are needed to meet your goals, they must begin as thoughts.
2. All goals are based on what we believe we can accomplish in our lives. If we don’t have much faith in ourselves, our goals will be lower than if we truly believed in our God-given potential.
3. The Bible tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Pr. 18:21). What we speak originates in our thoughts, so this power is truly in our mind.
4. The Bible also says that “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”. Again, the mind is given a very vital role in who we are, who we become.
5. Each decision that we make in a goal area either brings us closer to our goals, or farther away from it. So where do these decisions originate? Ah, yes … in the mind.

So you see, the mind is really the place we must begin when we start on our journey towards a better tomorrow. Whatever your goals in life may be, whatever path you are taking for your journey, you will never get there at all if you don’t first set your mind to it. Plan accordingly, act courageously, and live boldly! Next time we will discuss some practical applications of this concept … how to bring our mind into focus on our objectives.

To YOUR Success,

Michael

“If you take too long to decide what to do with your life, you’ll find you’ve done it.”

The bottom line is that most of us suffer from procrastination. We over-think and over-analyze things to death. Failure to act and react when life gives us opportunities consistantly leads to a life of stagnation and ‘failure’ … failure to act, that is.

Decide today to do something for your success!

To YOUR Success,

Michael

OK, I know that sounds odd … like, what is “life mastery”? Well, let me tell you, it’s awesome. Life mastery skills would include things like positive mental attitude, goalsetting, creating financial wealth, changing baseline beliefs, etc.

OK, so where is this all coming from? Well, I went to an intense 3-day seminar called “All Power Seminar” presented by a guy named Leo Schreven. Leo has been doing this stuff for 24 years, and man he is awesome!!!

I’ve re-ignited a passion for myself, my business, my personal relationships, my financial goals, and MY LIFE. I’ll be sharing some of the principles from his seminar over the next few weeks … as I digest them myself. 17 forty-five minute presentations in 2 1/2 days … talk about intense!

You can check out his website at the link above … I would recommend getting the program if you are serious about changing your life, starting TODAY. There is definately more to come, and the future has never looked brighter!

To YOUR Success,

Michael