Progressive Goal Party

Hold a "progressive" goal party

If you have a group of friends with the same goal who live in close proximity (or who can meet up comfortably in a third-party establishment), get them involved in a progressive goal party. The idea is to meet at one location, where you all complete one part of the goal as a group, then move on to the next (carpool or walk) 8C0to complete the second part, and so on. This can be extended to include shops and other buildings as well as houses. Be sure to have appropriate snacks, fun activities, etc., at each stop to make it a special day.

A good example would be a Christmas shopping/preparation party: Everybody starts at one house making lists, planning the day's activities and eating a light brunch. Next, hit the malls (or other predetermined shopping areas) together, making sure to help each other hunt down those hard-to-find items - and don't forget to stop by the coffee bar or other dining place to fuel flagging energy and regroup. Afterwards, it's on to the next house to wrap (and have a late lunch or early supper), then on to the next to bake cookies (don't forget the eggnog and late-night snacks!). It's good fun, great camaraderie, and everybody gets their stuff done and over with at one time.

(c) Soni Pitts

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of SoniPitts.Com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.

She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.

Alexander Graham Bell

Asking For Help

Asking for help is not something we do naturally. We often find it painfully difficult to do because it makes us feel vulnerable, weak or ashamed; and so our fears of rejection and embarrassment get in the way.

In reality, the only real weakness is NOT asking for help. The smartest people I know understand that they do not know everything, and seek to fill those gaps in their knowledge or ability with people who do.

Life is about learning and growth and in the process, we all need help from time to time along the tricky patches. Beyond each challenge awaits an opportunity for growth; and by asking for help when we need it, we discover solutions, gain new insights, and ultimately empower ourselves.

Why It Is Smart To Ask For Help

If you reach out and ask, you will find that help does arrive and your needs are met, often exceeding your highest hopes! Just take a look at some of the reasons why it is smart to ask for help when you feel stuck:

The help you need is more likely to B68arrive if you ask for it! Keeping your problems under wraps does nothing to resolve them, so why not do something positive about it?

Asking for help lets you manage your energy more effectively. Life balance is all about managing your energy. When you ask for help with a difficulty, it frees up more energy for other areas of your life.

It opens opportunities to connect to others in new ways. Asking for help makes others aware of how they can support us and strengthens interpersonal ties.

When we ask for help, we open the door to learning. By opening up to input from others, we expand our own growth and awareness.

By breaking through fear and facing the challenge of asking, we reclaim our power! Our greatest gifts lie just beyond the things we fear the most so ask for help even when you fear the repercussions and you will reclaim your power!

How To Ask For Help

Another important aspect of finding help lies in knowing how to ask for it. Here are a few tips to keep in mind the next time you need help:

Ask for help as soon as you realize you need it. Ignored problems often escalate and become huge issues that drain energy and resources.

Recognize that everyone (including you!) deserves a helping hand, for it is in supporting one another that we all benefit and grow.

Accept that you have nothing to lose except your fear. If the person you approach can help, youll learn from the experience. If they turn you down, you can approach another.

Go to someone you trust. If they dont have the answer, theyll likely know someone who does.

Be clear on what you need. The proven words are, I need your help. Simple and to the point!

Give the person as much detail as possible. Even if you dont understand what the exact problem is, document what you know about the circumstances as well as what you need.

Get a commitment. Ask if they are able to support you and in what capacity. Getting a commitment will set your mind at ease and alleviate a lot of stress. Even if they cannot help you themselves, they may offer valuable suggestions or refer you to someone who can help. Either way, youll benefit!

When you find the solution to your problem, document it for future reference. You might run into that problem again someday when no-one is around to help, or you might pass along the information to someone else in need.

Next time you feel exhausted and overwhelmed, ask for the help you need and deserve. Ask despite your fears and with a focus on the rewards. Doing so can provide you with much more than just the help you needed.

Copyright 2006 Ada Porat

Ada Porat facilitates personal development through the integrati3D6on of body, mind and spirit. She enjoys international recognition as an inspirational speaker, teacher, author and practitioner at the leading edge of personal growth and well-being. To sign up for Ada's inspirational monthly newsletter, visit http://www.AdaPorat.com

Self Empowerment

Two Letter Word That Is The Key To Time Management

We all know that we should be spending as much time as possible on important but not urgent activities. For example planning, preventing crises before they happen, building relationships and looking for new opportunities. However so many people seem to spend their lives swamped in urgent, unimportant things that they never get the time for the important stuff. If you have this problem, you need to learn a magic word

Creating time to control the crises

If you spend your life going from one crisis to another, or spending time on unimportant trivia, then you need to learn how to use the magic word - NO

Your time is the most precious quantity you have, you only have one chance at it and you need to use it wisely. You must allocate some of it to planning and developing your long term future.

The problem is in our fast paced world of instant communications and higher pressures at work and in the home, there are so many things that could claim some of your time. You will not have the time to do everything and you are going to have to learn to say no.

Learning to s5B4ay no

One of the key concepts of the 7 habits of highly effective people is that you should use principles to guide you. Using principles as a basis, you can develop a clear idea of where you are going in your life your life mission or purpose.

Once you know where you are going, you can work out how you are going to get there. This plan can include your job, your personal life, your life in your community Now you have a basis for evaluating each new request or opportunity as it arises. You can evaluate whether it fits in with what you plan to do and whether you can find the time to do it or not. You will know with reassurance whether to say yes or no.

Saying no can sometimes be difficult. For instance if your boss wants you to help patch up a crisis you might just have to put your other plans on hold for a while. However, you should have a clear plan that you have negotiated with your boss. If your goals will be compromised you can ask your boss which of the other things we have agreed on should I put on hold while I do this new task.

In fact, this approach can work well in lots of different situations. In other situations you are just going to have to find a way to say no as politely as possible.

The person that many people find it hardest to say no to is themselves. You will need to develop the self discipline to work on your goals rather than spend your time on unimpor5B4tant activities like watching the TV, minor interruptions from people around, you inconsequential phone calls and all the other ways that you have of distracting yourself from your true purpose.

No is the most important word in the language of time management in a world where you are bombarded by interruptions and time wasting activities.

The 7 habits of highly effective people teaches us that when you truly know what you want to do and you develop the ability to say no to anything that does not support your life purpose, you will find that you can succeed in reaching your life goals.

Do you want to find out more about the 7 habits of highly effective people

You can get a free e-course the success principle. Visit my website for more resources, articles, and support materials about success and personal growth.

Kevin John has spent many years helping businesses owners, aspiring business owners, and private individuals to develop the understanding and skills needed to achieve the success that they want.

Alexander Graham Bell

Building Your Coaching Business - Constant Flow of More New Clients

Here is an approach that keeps new clients coming without end. Ask for two referrals every time you signup a new client. Make it a part of your fee.

When you quote your fee in a proposal, or verbally, request 2 referrals as a part of that fee. It might sound something like this.

Always state that your fee is ...whatever it is plus 2 referrals...with the stipulation that "....as long as you are extremely happy with the results you get. My goal is for you to get _________ times more than you paid, and a referral is a natural outcome. In fact, my fee is (state a higher rate, by $500 to $1000) without the referrals and $_________ with the referrals. So, be thinking as we go through the program who you know that needs help moving their business forward at least as far as you will have moved." Always position yourself that you are so confident that he will be extremely satisfied, and you have to deliver on that promise to collect on the referral. Show him how confident you are and that you'll have to deliver to get those referrals.

Remind your client every week or so to be thinking about who they know that would like to et the same kinds of results they are getting right now. That will be an easy referral if you have made a significant difference in this client's business.

Also, coach your client how to make that referral. It should never be that coaching costs $________. It should look more like, "Wow, my coach has helped me get an additional $__________", or "This coach I'm working with has doubled my [department, workgroup, business] in just weeks, what are you struggling with where you'd like for that to happen?"

Now, let's look at what this would do for your business. If, for every client you get, you get 2 more referrals, and assuming you typically close at least 50+% of your sales, then you have a steady stream of clients, one behind the other. You'll close at least one of these two, resulting in one client added for every client you already have. Obviously adjust your figures based on your typical results. I also find that a referral is likely to result in something like 75% or more closure, but under one condition....that the referral really is to someone who needs you rather than blind referrals. It is up to you to coach your client who the right referral is, and this will become a steady stream of new clients.

Although this could keep a steady stream of clients, if you are also keeping existing clients, moving them into monthly coaching programs, and other opportunities, you should be building a larger and larger base of current clients.

A word of caution: if you only have one client at a time, make sure that you have other marketing going to build your client base large enough. At one client at a time, just one time not closing a new client will put you back to zero. Just one client not making the right referral can set you to zero.

This is an extremely powerful approach, and should be used with every client. But don't bet the farm until you have a large enough client base where the overall statistics will average out over time..

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Self Empowerment

How To Plan The Rest Of Your Life

Some people value spontaneity. Others crave structure. Still, it would help if you would go through life with direction, and with goals. Goals help in guiding your choices. Purpose underlines everything you do.

So youre in a new stage in your life. Either youve graduated from high school or college, decided to move on from a suffocating job, or just basically in a new stage in your life. You want to plan out the steps you want to take now, and you want to make the best choices that life has to offer.

Get a pen and paper; we have lots of writing to do.

On that piece of paper, put a heading in the center: Mission/Vision.

Take some time to think about this. Take hours. Days. Weeks. It doesnt matter, but give yourself a deadline. When you have thought it over, write down what you would want to achieve by the end of your life. What do you want to build your life around? Is it to attain certain educational milestones? Earn a certain amount of money? Be a philanthropist? State it under your Mission/Vision. This will be the center theme of your life. You can change it any time you want, but the entire list will be built around this.

Under Mission/Vision, divide the paper into two equal halves. One side will go to Short-term Goals. The other side will go to Long-term Goals.

Under the Short-term Goals, write down everything you want to get done within five years. Under Long-term Goals, write down the milestones you want throughout your life.

In the Short-term Goals, assign the deadlines by which you want these goals done. In the Long-term Goals, assign your age by which you would want to achieve these milestones.

Now rewrite the entire list in chronological order, then examine your list. Commit to memory your Short-term Goals, and the Long-term Goals you have for this year. If you have trouble remembering your list, use a calendar. A paper one will do, but you can also use a computer program if you have one, or an application in whatever handheld gadget you have (a PDA or cellular phone with reminder or calendar applications would do fine).

The purpose of this exercise is for you to have a visual representation of your goals. Having a visual representation of your goals heightens the chances that you will commit to seeing them done. Knowing that you have concretized your plans gives you more resolution to stick to these.

But even if you have your plans on paper, you will need to remember that you have to be flexible. Life is fluid, and seldom goes according to plan. But if you really want to reach your goals, despite the shifts in life, you will always revert to your blueprint (the paper outline you just made).

Your Mission/Vision, as said earlier, will be the theme driving your choices. This will be the anchor when storms rock your lifes boat. The chain links of your anchor will be your personal values, principles, and your growth in character.

It would help if you would keep a diary to outline the life lessons youve learned, and your driving values and principles. When faced with dilemmas, revert to these. It may not make the problems go away, but they will help in making decisions, especially if these decisions tempt you to compromise.

Sail through the sea of life, and remember, you have an anchor when storms come your way.

Matthew Roberts (the author of this article) has set you up with a special gift on his website.

In an exclusive personal interview he uncovered the secret success strategies of multi-millionaire John Di Lemme. For your FREE 18 minute extract of this interview, head on over to http://www.InspirationToAchieve.com

Different Names Of God

How To Set Goals And Create A Running Training Program

Training is an important aspect of being a runner. Whether you are a beginner and you are looking to increase your stamina or youve been running for a while and want to run faster or train for an event such as a marathon, training is something that is an essential part of the sport.

There is an art to choosing a good training program. The program you choose will depend on your goals and your needs. Here is some advice that will help you find a runner training program that will work for you.

Decide on Your Goals

The first step to choosing a runner training program is to decide on your goals. If you are a beginner, your training program will look a lot different than someone who is running their third marathon.

Sometimes a goal will be personal such as a desire to run five miles without stopping to rest. Other times a goal will be focused on an event such as running a 10K or a marathon. And often, people will run to help them lose weight or to build up their overall state of health.

Once you decide on your goals, write them down and put them in places where you can see them often. Turn the goal statements into affirmations and recite them a few times each day. For example, if you want to use running to help you lose ten pounds, your affirmation could be: Running is helping me lose ten pounds.

Choose a Program

Based on your list of goals, you are ready to choose or develop a runner training program that will work for you. If you need help, consult with someone who has more experience than you.

For example, if your goal is to run a marathon, you will want to choose a training schedule that will help you run a successful race. But, there are so many programs out there that it can be difficult choosing the one that is right for you. A beginning marathon runner will not follow the same program as someone who is racing in their fifth marathon.

In general, look for a runner training program that is a little challenging but not out of your reach. You dont want to get discouraged and then give up.

Stick With It

You can spend a lot of time setting goals and fining a training program, but if you dont stick with it, your efforts will not mean anything. Everyone has different ways of finding their motivation. Once you find what motivates you, sticking with your training plan will get much easier.

It takes a while to establish a routine. Before a routine is in place, you may feel disorganized or unmotivated. Give yourself a few weeks to establish a good routine before you start getting discouraged. Often, the routine will make you more motivated.

Gray Rollins is a writer for TheRunnersGuide.com - a great resource for distance runners. Be sure to visit us to learn about the benefits of running and also for a marathon training guide.

Making Your Thoughts Work

Become Wealthy Through Self Development

Almost everyone I know has a desire - whether in the back or the forefront of their minds - to become wealthy. The Universe is a place of abundance and every person has a right to and access to that abundance. So why isn't everyone wealthy?

People become stuck at levels of existence because of limiting beliefs they cling to in their daily work and living. Those limitations put the brakes on manifesting wealth and plenty in their lives.

And everybody - including myself - possesses and regularly uses limiting beliefs. Even Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey possess limiting beliefs but in their cases, probably far fewer than the average person.

The answer to removing limiting beliefs is self development.

By expanding your knowledge and understanding of the world and how it operates, you will become aware of your beliefs and their affect on your life. After becoming aware and developing greater wisdom, you will be equipped to make the changes in your work and life that allow wealth and abundance to enter freely into your life.

Want to become wealthy? Get off your duff and start educating yourself.

Make a commitment to setting up routines of study and learning.

I recommend setting aside 30 minutes each day to read. I've found in my work that outstanding leaders are readers. If you want more success and wealth, begin creating the habit of reading 30 minutes every day.

As you travel in your car, listen to educational CDs over and over again until you know the information they contain. Identify topic areas to build expertise in each quarter and focus on that content for three months.

Use your spare time to read important articles from the professional magazines you subscribe to. Learn about all areas of your life including health, spiritual, relationship or family, social, career, and financial.

As you develop yourself through the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, you will become motivated to make the changes necessary to allow wealth and abundance to flow more freely to you.

This doesn't happen over night so it's not a quick fix. It's a mindset, a habit of action that used consistently over time will change and enrich your work and life.

You choose! Stay the way you are or engage in life long learning. What is your choice?

Joe Farcht is the founder and president of Leadership Advantage, Inc. His purpose for living is to develop and coach leaders, executives, managers, and supervisors to new levels of performance and success in their work and life. He is the author of the book Building Personal Leadership: Inspirational Tools & Techniques for Work & Life. Learn more at Leadership Advantage, Inc. Please contact Joe at joefarcht@cox.net or at 602 996-1802.

Bodhi