Inspiration – your own inner greatness

by Marianne Williamson in “A Return To Love”

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I
to be brilliant and gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people
won’t feel insecure around you.
We are meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some of us: it’s in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

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The Benefits of Visualization

What is visualization?

Visualization is a mental rehearsal of what you want to happen in reality. The hit film Secret, introduced millions to the Law of Attraction and describes how powerful visualization can be. Imagining your goals and dreams can lead to actually experiencing them, because your body and even the universe responds to your mind.

The key however is the level of emotional input you add to the process. Emotion adds fuel and power to the process and aligns your mind, body and spirit, which is the real secret to manifestation.

When you visualize, you rehearse how a problem can be solved, how a new idea could be implemented, or what a piece of art looks, reads or sounds like. You mentally practice achieving and living your goal, which leads to the real thing.

Three benefits of visualization

New neuro pathways are created. These are like templates which are “patterns of mind-body reflexes that prepare you for what you are going to do”. When you visualize, your muscles experience electrical impulses that correspond to the physical event you are imagining. Take Liu Chi Kung, for example. He was a talented pianist imprisoned for seven years during the Cultural Revolution; when he was released, some say he played better than ever. How is that possible without practicing? He said, “I did practice, every day. I rehearsed every piece; I played every note in my mind.”

Visualization is also used by athletes, sportsmen and women. Scientists at NASA reported that the same muscles and nerves fire in the mental rehearsal as in the actual event.

Leaving your comfort zone. Visualizing your goal takes you into a whole new realm – which can be scary and weird, but much safer in the confines of your mind. You can practice examining your success from a new perspective with all sorts of different scenarios! This sets you up for the real thing, and when it actually happens you’ll be ready. This can be of great use prior to an interview or big exam.

Visualization also allows you to see the big picture, from the perspective of your family, friends, co-workers – and even from talk shows, the daily news, or local radio (depending on what your goal is). You can imagine the Big Picture; the more you picture it in your mind, the more likely it is to become reality.

Problem solving. If you’re facing an obstacle you don’t understand or haven’t ever experienced, your intuition can work its magic. Your mind will reach back into your past for ideas, resources – your intuition will bring forth inspirations that you hadn’t previously considered. It will prompt you to turn left or right, or take a whole new road altogether. It will let you know if you’re on the right track, and will supply you with motivation and insight.

There are a variety of tools for visualization; one of the most effective is mind movies. This combines visual and audio to create an emotional response.

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Leadership Wisdom from Robin Sharma

Robin Sharma is the globally celebrated author of 10 bestselling books on leadership and personal development. His work has been published in over 50 countries and nearly 70 languages, making him one of the most widely read authors in the world. He shot to fame with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, which has topped international bestseller lists and sold millions of copies.

Robin is the founder of Sharma Leadership International Inc., a global training firm that helps people in organizations Lead Without a Title. Clients include many of the FORTUNE 500 including Microsoft, GE, NIKE, BP, FedEx and IBM. Organizations such as NASA, Yale University and The Harvard Business School are also SLI clients.

URSuccess – How did you get the idea for your book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari? And why do you think it has resonated with millions of people around the world?

Robin Sharma – The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is largely a book that reflects my life’s journey. I was a very unhappy litigation lawyer, just like the lead character Julian Mantle. I had two law degrees; I was working with a very successful firm, but in many ways, I was living someone else’s life. I was living by an external definition of success rather than by my own. So I decided to do some soul searching, and get my life on a new path.

I wrote The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari in the form of a story because fundamentally, adults are nothing more than deteriorated children. Every one of us loves to be entertained. Every one of us loves to be inspired. I thought that if I wrote a book that was entertaining and fun, yet shared real and powerful ideas that help people achieve greater success, people would enjoy it.

URSuccess – Who inspires you?

Robin Sharma – My two children are my heroes. They teach me what passion, curiosity, joy and unconditional love looks like. People like Bono, Richard Branson, and Nelson Mandela inspire me. Unknown human beings reaching for their own unique form of personal and professional greatness inspire me. My readers – and all their stories of personal and professional transformation – inspireme deeply.

URSuccess – In these uncertain times, what is your advice for people going through some difficult situations?

 Robin Sharma – We must remember that the most successful and resilient people are able to transform challenges into opportunities. Each distraction or challenging situation that life throws our way must be interpreted as a learning point and as an opportunity to improve as human beings. This is the time to shed our old ways, to create and be remarkably innovative, and remake old business models. A simple way to deal with stress is to focus on the positive and distanceyourself from the overwhelming negative news in the world right now.

URSuccess – You talk and write a lot about this concept “Lead Without Title”. Explain what leadership means to you.

 Robin Sharma – Every person within an organization has the opportunity to show leadership behaviour each day. To Lead Without Title. Leadership is far less about position than it is about attitude and the way you show up each day. Leaders without a title are able to seize opportunities amidst setbacks, constantly innovate, and treat people with compassion. Every person can be the CEO his or her own role. For example, frontline sales staff can become ‘CEOs’ of the division or business they’re responsible for. This enables them to assume job ownership and foster a sense of freedom to control their own careers. The role of great leaders is to help their staff to realize their own potential, driving them to do their best and work towards excellence.

The best companies get that. Their race is to grow leaders faster than their competition. My company, Sharma Leadership International Inc., helps the best organizations do exactly that.

URSuccess – In your books, you encourage people to spend 60 minutes a day reading. What are your favourite books?

 Robin Sharma – Reading is having a conversation with the author. Just imagine having a conversation today with Mahatma Gandhi and Richard Branson and Lance Armstrong and Salvador Dali and Madonna – by reading their books. One idea read in one book has the power to revolutionize your life or your career. Ilove to read. My greatest gift to my kids will be my library.

Some of my favourite books are “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, who has become a good friend. “The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius” and “The Prophet” by Kalhil Gibran. I still love classics like “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie as well as a lot of the popular business books out there like “Winning” by Jack Welch and Jim Collins’ “Good to Great”.

URSuccess – Could you name 3 of your best tips, or pieces of advice, that people can quickly adopt into their daily lives?

 Robin Sharma – Be the greatest you can be before it is too late, because no one knows how long we are going to live. Run towards your fears rather than away from them. Within your business or organization, show leadership in whatever title you have and help build a culture of success, and build strong relationships.

Robin’s latest book The Leader Who Had No Title is now available

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Slowing down to speed up

Do you ever have days where you do nothing but sit at your computer and answer emails, and at the end of the day you’re completely exhausted and you still don’t feel like you got anything done?

In my early days as a salesman, somebody told me, “Massive action solves every problem.”

That has to be one of the worst pieces of advice I ever got from anyone.

Did you know that it’s possible to be productive without being frantic and rushed all the time?

Lots o’ people are celebrating the US 4th of July by taking today off. Today is the perfect day to slow down for a minute and see how you can get more done with LESS effort and less stress.

A few weeks ago I did an interview with RC Peck about the “Critter Brain” or “Lizard Brain.” It’s the part of our brain that hijacks our best intentions when we most need to be strategic and deliberate. The lizard brain takes over and we do stupid stuff.

RC said, “The way to speed up is to slow down. Rarely is a rush of frantic activity helpful.”

If you’re a spontaneous person like me it’s hard to slow down and really think. I don’t know about you, but I get excited about new things and generate a whirlwind of activity. A lot of energy gets wasted.

TIP #1:

The worst place to get REAL thinking done is with your hands on your keyboard. The best place to think is in your favorite quiet spot with a pad of yellow notebook paper.

TIP #2:

Get up and go for a walk.

Physical motion switches your brain on. I guarantee you, you will have more thoughts, better thoughts, more creative thoughts when your body is active than when your butt’s on a chair.

If you play a sport, run, ride your bike or play music, that’s even better.

When I put on my shoes and head for the door, I say “Time to go give my head a shake” and my family knows exactly what I’m talking about. I go for walks even when it’s freezing cold outside. It stimulates my brain.

TIP #3:

Learn to recognize when you’re stuck in reactive mode. If you can’t get your mind to focus and all you seem to be able to do is react to emails and click on things and surf, it’s a good sign you need to bleed off some excess energy.

Yes, there are times when you just need to answer emails and phone calls and take care of miscellaneous things. Much better to do that stuff within a deliberate time slot instead of all the time.

My formula is:

Speed up to slow down to speed up.

Which means:

Stop the frantic activity and plan your work. Plan your work by physically speeding up (a brisk walk or run gets your juices flowing) then (slow down) write down your plan on your strategic yellow pad of paper. You’ll speed up getting more done.

You’re an entrepreneur, which means the world does YOUR bidding. YOU are the person who organizes resources and moves things from low value to high value. You don’t just sit there and let your day get nibbled to death by a thousand mosquitoes.

There has never been a time when one person could accomplish so much in so little time. But you need to run the world, not let the world run you.

If today is a day when the phones aren’t ringing and people aren’t demanding your time, then it’s the perfect day to go for a walk, figure out what you want to accomplish in the next weeks and months, map out your plan and EXECUTE.

Seize the day – and start by going outside and getting a breath of fresh air.

How about right now?

Perry Marshall

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Half Time Team Talk – What’s Your Goal Tally?

Half way through the year is a great time to reflect and take stock of our goals and progress so far. Did you start the year full of hopes, dreams and expectations? How are these working out? It’s time for a half time team talk.

A great business maxim is that ‘what gets measured gets managed’ and the same can be true of life. If you want to lose weight for example you need to know where you are now, if you intend to create more wealth, again you need to know your starting point. A vague notion of wanting to be a bit fitter or to have some more money lacks the specificity required to power your dreams.

The wheel of life is a popular coaching tool which enables you to examine the key areas of your life, health, finance, careers, relationships and so on. It not only measures current or intended ratings but also shows areas which are out of balance.

You may like to print the diagram below and mark your current rating.

A client was experiencing some money worries and scored a 4 in Finances. Rather than becoming negative about ‘only a 4’, we switched energy by assessing what factors had made it a 4 rather than a 3, 2 or 1. By doing so he became grateful for his job, his ability to have a bank account, credit cards etc. Even though he may have wanted more, being firstly aware and secondly appreciative of the current position is an important starting point.

Setting clear and effective goals is a great way of putting your request into the universe. Almost immediately, via your brain’s Reticular Activating System, you will begin to notice new opportunities and resources to help achieve your goals.

Something important to consider is how the goal makes you feel. If setting a goal to lose 20lbs or 10kg makes you feel dispirited then perhaps a smaller goal like 5lbs would be a more motivational place to start. Law of attraction teachers tell us that desire plus emotion plus action equals results. Therefore your goal should feel possible, even if you are not sure exactly how it will be achieved.

“You do not need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step in faith” Martin Luther King Jr.

Other great tools in achieving your goals are the use of affirmations and visualisations. By mentally rehearsing having already succeeded, you are training your subconscious mind to go to work on your behalf.

Regular use of positive, empowering, present tense affirmations, such as “I am feeling fit and healthy at my ideal weight of xyz”, will condition your brain to support your goal.

Visualisations help because the brain works in images. Find a picture of the former slimmer you and put it on the fridge or next to your bed. Perhaps use an image from a magazine, but remember to consider how it makes you feel. If you chose a ‘perfect’ model type figure, does that inspire you or depress you into the biscuit tin?

Finally reward yourself for your progress. Follow these simple steps:-

• Measure
• Set goals
• Take action
• Review
• Reward.

The reward will enable your brain to associate pleasure with the progress towards your goal, which in turn, will make even more progress come quickly and easily.

A simple, fun tool to help with the setting and acheivement of goals is The Goals Workshop Program -  goal setting software.

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