"We need someone to believe in us -- if we do well, we want our work commended, our faith corroborated. The individual who thinks well of you, who keeps his mind on your good qualities, and does not look for your flaws, is your friend. Who is my brother? I'll tell you: he is the one who recognizes the good in me."
Elbert Hubbard
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EXPERIENCE LIFE - THROW OUT THE THINGS THAT NO LONGER SERVE YOU
by Mark Victor Hansen

Everyone has a past – both good and not so good. Everyone has personal "stuff" they have gone through that has helped to create the person they are today.

And while you can be grateful for your life experiences, you don't need to hang on to the "stuff" – the emotional, mental and spiritual pains you have experienced - that brought you to this point.

Sometimes the "stuff" stays with us longer than we need it to. It sticks to us like invisible sticky notes. Your parent's divorce – it's on a yellow square stuck to your stomach. That high school sweetheart who broke up with you before prom – it's a fluorescent green sticky note over your heart. Your 4th grade teacher who called you "stupid" when you answered a question incorrectly – it's written in all caps on a purple note, stuck on your throat.

Say – as a protection device, etc. But, at the same time these things have prevented you from living your life to the fullest, from experiencing everything deeply.

The day has come to take off the training wheels. It's time to live life without a safety net.

You become what you affirm: positively affirm your greatness, genius and fullest potential.
Mark Victor Hansen
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"The only thing that you can never have too much of is love."
Brian Tracy
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Connected
You are alive in this moment. And you are connected to all of life. You cannot take undue advantage of others without also hurting yourself in some way. You cannot help others without also lifting up your own life.

The connection is strong and impossible to break. When you give your best to life each day, you experience the best that life has to offer.

When you think and act respectfully, you are respected. When you offer real, unconditional love, you are loved.

When making your choices in each moment about what to say, what to do, what to value, what to discard and what to work for, remember this. You are connected to it all.

Value, appreciate, honor and make the most of that connection. What is good for all of life is very good for you.

Ralph Marston
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"Love is an attachment to something or someone that eventually welds itself to the heart..."
Doug Firebaugh

"Don't tell people how to live, demonstrate by example."
Denis Waitley
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"Attention Health Club Shoppers"

People often ask if I ever worry about running out of story ideas for our wwi ezine. At first I was definitely concerned. However, the longer the publication was in existence, the more I saw that too many things happen in daily life to ever run out of examples (both good and not-so-good), and lessons.

For example, the following took place months ago while on the road speaking. I decided to visit a local health club since the hotel where I was staying didn't have the equipment I needed. The gym I visited was very nice, with modern equipment and a bunch of nice people.

When I was about ten minutes into the treadmill, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The message had a somewhat - no, actually, it had a very - condescending tone. And the words weren't much better:

"Members, please show common courtesy by not staying on the cardio machines for more than 30 minutes at a time when there are people waiting. It's very rude to keep other members waiting."

Now, it was obvious to my observing eyes and ears that this immediately rankled many of those in the gym; not the least of those being the ones presently working out on the cardio machines (except for me, of course, who knew I now had a good article idea for a future issue of wwi) :-).

Let's do a quick dissection:

#1 Did the club employee who made the announcement have a valid point? Sure, the 30 minute time limit is very practical and, according to others, well-accepted by all. And, if some people were not honoring that, an announcement would need to be made. And, a public announcement would, in fact, be quite appropriate in this case as a good reminder.

#2 At the time of the announcement, however, the cardio machines were only at about 50 percent capacity, which made the members (cardio machine users and otherwise) a bit curious regarding the timing. Judging by the sarcastic laughter and shaking of heads, a bit perturbed by such, as well.

#3 Both the tone and the wording of the announcement were very negative and insulting, as though those being addressed were a bunch of irresponsible children; not paying members who support the operation of the facility with their consumer dollars (and had choices of other health clubs which they could patronize).

Now, how could the announcement have been more effectively worded and delivered? Well, those of you who've been wwi subscribers for a while now could probably do that quite easily. As a thought, however, how about...

"Attention members. Good morning. As always, we're glad to have you with us, and it's inspiring to see you working out so hard. Congratulations on your effort. An important point to bring up in order that all of you are assured an excellent (Name of Facility) workout experience. During those times when the cardio machines are at capacity, please be sure and not stay on more than 30 minutes. This will ensure that none of you will ever have to wait too long and you can get your workout in at your convenience. Thank you for your attention, and for being a member of (Name of Facility). Have a great workout!"

The above message sets a very positive "matrix" and dramatically increases the odds that the message will not only be appreciated, but adhered to. There's even a "W.I.I.F.M." ("What's in it for me?) element for those listening; "If I respect this rule, I won't ever get stuck waiting too long for one of the machines."

Same intent as the first message; most likely, much different results.

A good wwi practice exercise is to, from now on, when hearing someone say something in a way similar to the employee announcer, simply ask yourself how the message could be made much more digestible and effective. The more you practice when you don't need to know, the better at it you'll be when you *do* need to know.

Bob Burg
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"See and think of yourself as a leader and then do what leaders do. Dare to go forward."
Brian Tracy
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KNOW YOUR INNATE, NATURAL TALENTS by Lisa Jimenez, M. Ed.


You have all you need to make your life work. Look to your natural talents to guide you in life. You know, those things you do so well that you don't even have to think about it. It is those abilities that come naturally to you that will help you build your confidence in other areas of your life. Begin with your strengths! Too many times people focus on what they need to work on – their weaknesses. And get burned out. How much better it is to begin with your talent. Your God-given talents can give you the courage to bridge over to the areas you need work on.

Do you even know your innate talents? Can you name seven of them in less than a minute? Try it. Take a minute right now to list seven innate abilities you have.

I bet if I asked you to name seven things about you that you need to improve, you would come up with all seven in seconds! What's wrong with this picture?

Rethink how you think! Okay. Now, write down seven one-word positives about you. What are you just naturally good at?

Are you using those talents every day – in work, at home, in your relationships? If not, why not? You are missing out on a powerful process of building courage, cultivating faith and conquering fear!

Know Your Innate, Natural Talents and Use Them Every Day!

Have a great day! Lisa Jimenez M.Ed.
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"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
John Quincy Adams