TipsForSuccess: How to Make Yourself Happier in Five Minutes or Less

 

How to Make Yourself Happier In Five Minutes or Less In 1982, L. Ron Hubbard wrote a poem called, "The Joy of Creating" "Force yourself to smile and you'll soon stop frowning. "Force yourself to laugh and you'll soon find something to laugh about. "Wax* enthusiastic** and you'll very soon feel so. "A being causes his own feelings. "The greatest joy there is in life is creating. "Splurge on it!" -- L. Ron Hubbard (*Wax: to gradually increase in size, strength or intensity.) (**Enthusiastic: having or showing enthusiasm.) You can find dozens of ways to use this poem to become happier, smarter and more successful. The suggestions below take five minutes or less to try. Four Fast Ways to Make Yourself Happier 1. "Force yourself to smile and you'll soon stop frowning." A. Force yourself to smile. B. Relax your face. C. Repeat steps A and B above until you are cheerful. Some people feel happier immediately while others take longer. Try the exercise in front of a mirror for an extra boost! 2. "Force yourself to laugh and you'll soon find something to laugh about." A. Force yourself to laugh. B. If you cannot force a laugh, say, "ha ha ha ha ha." Then say, "ho ho ho ho ho." Then say, "he he he he he." Repeat until you can force yourself to laugh. C. Sooner or later, something funny will come to mind. Just keep forcing your laughter. A reason to laugh will show up! 3. "Wax enthusiastic and you'll very soon feel so." You have the power to motivate yourself. You do not need a bonus, an energetic boss or a seminar to get you excited. When you make yourself enthusiastic, you make better decisions, get more done in less time and produce better results. To motivate yourself, simply "wax enthusiastic" or increase your show of enthusiasm and you will feel interested and excited. For instance, you can motivate yourself to do a difficult task or project. A. Select a task you are avoiding or hate to do. Put the task in front of you. B. Pretend to be slightly enthusiastic about a small part the task. C. Act a little more enthusiastic about another small part of the task. D. Show even more excitement about another part of the task. E. As soon as you feel enthusiastic and motivated about the task, do it! Example: You walk into the dirty bathroom that you need to clean, but hate to clean. You pretend to be a bit enthusiastic about cleaning the mirror by doing a little jump. You act a little more enthusiastic about emptying the bathroom garbage can by clapping your hands and smiling. You gradually show more enthusiasm until you are jumping up and down with a big smile on your face. Suddenly, you grab the toilet brush and start scrubbing! 4. "The greatest joy there is in life is creating." What are your greatest joys in life? Being a parent? Starting a company? Finding new customers? Forming new relationships? Notice how each activity creates something new? You can add creation to each part of your day. A. Write down something you can create right now. Examples: A fabulous meal. A redecorated room. A new section of your garden. A new friendship. A new way to boost your income. B. Write down something you must keep as a routine. Reword it to emphasize the creative aspect of it. Examples: Continue to show up at work each day so I can finance my new home business. Keep exercising so I add a few extra years to my lifetime. Protect my time with my kids so they grow up to be happy, useful members of society. C. Write down something you must stop or destroy. Reword it to be a creation. Examples: Stop smoking so I can live a healthy lifestyle. Throw away the junk in my garage so I can create a place to store my car at night. Stop worrying about my problems so I can learn how to do a better job at work. Add these activities to your plans for today or this week. When you do them, stay focused on the creative aspect of the task. The happiest people in the world are those who create things. You and you alone will create your success. "Splurge on it!" To read other poems by L. Ron Hubbard, go to www.ronthepoet.org.   Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Success Through Speed

TipsForSuccess: How to Boost Your Power Base

 

Success Through Speed How long do you wait for a haircut? For a table at a restaurant? For your car to be repaired? How long does it take before you get irritated? On the other hand, how do you feel when you receive instant service? "You need your car fixed? We can do it in five minutes." "Hello, you're right on time! Dr. Smith will see you now." "You need a new driver's license? Okay, stand here for your photo. Here's your license. Have a nice day." One of the fastest ways to hurt your business is to make people wait. After five minutes they become uncomfortable. In ten minutes they are unhappy. In fifteen they are irritable. After twenty, they decide to leave. There is no benefit in making people wait. They do not think, "Boy, these guys are really important, really busy, really in demand!" Instead, they think, "These idiots aren't very organized." "Maybe they don't think I'm very important." "To prosper, service must be as close to instant as possible." "Anything which stops or delays the flows of a business or delays or puts a customer or product on WAIT is an enemy of that business." -- L. Ron Hubbard Businesses that provide fast service or fast products take over their industries. For example, McDonalds gives you hot food in one minute, Jiffy Lube changes your car oil in ten minutes and Lenscrafters makes your glasses in an hour. All three companies have made their owners and executives wealthy because they provide fast service. The same principle works for you. Each time you make a customer wait, your boss wait or even a coworker wait, you are hurting your income. For example, a lazy waiter makes a hungry customer wait for ten minutes before taking his order and gets a $1 tip. The same customer gives a $5 tip to a waitress who takes his order within thirty seconds. With 40 customers per day, the fast waitress earns $800 more in tips each week because she gives fast service. The restaurant also makes more money as customers use a table for 45 minutes instead of 60 minutes; more meals are sold. If you own a small business, you can use this principle to beat the big boys. For example, you open a small print shop, but cannot get enough work to pay your bills. You advertise, "We will finish any print job in 24 hours." Within a week, you have ten new jobs. Even though you work 15 hours per day for a week, you steal a few of your competitors' big customers and make a small fortune. As another example, your boss asks you and two of your co-workers to gather your production numbers for the past six months. You bring it to your boss in an hour. One of your co-workers brings his numbers at the end of the week. The other co-worker forgets all about it. If you are consistently fast, who will the boss want to give more responsibility and pay? Who might get laid off? If you wish to succeed and prosper, you must be fast! Action Plan #1 1. How do you make money? List every step of the process you use. 2. Look for every delay. Where do things slow down? 3. How can you speed up these points? How can you provide nearly-instant service or a nearly-instant product? Action Plan #2 1. Who waits for you? 2. Of these people, who has influence over your success? 3. How can you break all speed records and give these people what they need instantly? Write down your plans and act!   Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

How to Boost Your Power Base To succeed you need a power base. What is a power base? It can include the money and property you control. The number of people who you influence. The groups or businesses you control. The number of people who listen to you. The size of your game. So how do you get more power? In most cases, you have to get your power from others. People give you (or don't give you) control, credibility, money, property, authority, influence and so on. How you act with people often determines the amount of power you get. For example, Mr. Green is the CEO of a successful book publishing company in New York City. He is retiring and needs to recommend a new CEO to the Board of Directors. Mr. Green's two best managers are Steve, who runs the printing division, and Melissa, who runs the editing division. Steve has wanted to run the company for years. He tells his staff, "Someday, I'll be running things and we'll come out of the dark ages. Mr. Green's a nice guy and all that, but he's old." Melissa is also interested in the CEO job. She tells her staff, "Mr. Green is an outstanding leader. He's taught me a great deal. If I run things, I'll try to be like Mr. Green." Steve likes to disagree with Mr. Green. "You don't want me to be a yes-man do you Mr. Green? We can't always do things your way. I have better ideas." Melissa prefers to support Mr. Green. "Tell me what you want done and I'll take care of it for you." Steve is shocked when Mr. Green recommends Melissa for the CEO position. Your Power Sources Who are your "powers"? Who do you depend on for your success? Certainly your boss, but also your customers, colleagues, advisors, leaders of your groups, influential friends and others. Everyone depends on others for their power. Bosses depend on their staff. Fathers depend on mothers. Young politicians depend on senior politicians as well as voters and financial contributors. Who do you depend on? Who are the people who can help you? These are your "powers." Now examine how you treat these powers. Do you build them up or drag them down? Do you make them more powerful or less powerful. Do you give them ease or stress? How you treat these people may have more to do with your success than you realize. Pushing Power "Always push power in the direction of anyone on whose power you depend. It may be more money for the power or more ease or a snarling defense of the power to a critic." "If you work like that and the power you are near or depend upon is a power that has at least some inkling* about how to be one and if you make others work like that, then the power-factor expands and expands and expands and you too acquire a sphere of power bigger than you would have if you worked alone." - L. Ron Hubbard (*inkling: a slight idea) Some movie actors find it hard to share the spotlight. They think they will get ahead if they criticize others. When talking about a movie director, they say things like, "He was the toughest director I've ever worked for" or "She and I had artistic differences." These actors are often out of work. When John Travolta was promoting his movie Pulp Fiction, he spent most of his time complimenting and thanking writer/director, Quentin Tarantino. John praised Quentin during dozens of national television interviews. Who was John flowing power to? What happened to John's career? It exploded! He became one of the busiest, best-paid actors in history. Have you heard about assistants, secretaries and clerks who become millionaires? These workers flowed power to their bosses. When these bosses hit it big, they took care of their staffs. Since most bosses have an "inkling" of how to be a power, they love to share their success with those who help them succeed. Employees who bite the hand that feeds them are soon looking for work. Staff who do not defend their bosses when their bosses are attacked see their workplace become stressful and unpleasant. Managers who do nothing while the company owners suffer with financial problems may lose their bonuses and job security. On the other hand, if you flow power to your powers, you make them happier and more successful. These powers then have the means and desire to help you. They can give you promotions, raises, freedoms, responsibilities and opportunities you would not otherwise receive. They can help you succeed in more ways than anyone else you know. Ten Suggestions for Flowing Power to Your Powers 1. Do a better job for your power than he or she expects. Surprise him or her with fast completions, incredible production and amazing results. 2. Support the power's ideas and requests whenever possible. 3. When the power offers you more responsibility, grab it. Do not hesitate or worry about the pay. 4. Give your powers the information they need. Hide bad news you are sure they don't need to know. If you need to tell the power about a problem, include a solution as well. Better yet, solve the problem so you can relay the problem and the fact that it is now solved. 5. If you see your power is making a mistake, try to help him or her. Provide the information he or she may be missing. Offer suggestions and solutions. 6. Never miss a chance to make a gesture of support. For example, insist on paying for the meal you share with a power, even if he or she is wealthier than you. Never forget the power's birthday. Be generous with your time and favors. 7. If you hear criticism about one of your powers, jump in and defend him or her. Change negative attitudes that others have about your power. Encourage them to support your power. 8. If your power is under stress, do what you can to reduce that stress. Help him or her become cheerful and optimistic. If the boss is happy, everyone is happy! 9. If one of your powers is being attacked, take some of the heat. Get in front of your power and fight back. 10. If one of your powers does not have an inkling of how to be a power, find another power to support. If you work like this, sooner or later, you will find you are a bigger power than ever before.   Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Are You Blameless?

 

Are You Blameless? No one succeeds with attitudes like these. "I don't want to make the decisions." "I don't want to make waves." "I don't want to get in trouble!" To succeed, you must be willing to stir things up! Cause or Effect You are either at Cause over things or you are at the Effect of things. For example, if a computer problem confuses you, you are at the Effect of the computer problem. As soon as you solve the problem, you are at Cause. If you want to be wealthy, and your income is increasing, you are at Cause. If your income is stuck or decreasing, you are at Effect. If you make steady progress toward your goals, you are at Cause. If you are stuck in a rut, you are at Effect. If you could care less if someone blames you, you are at Cause. If you worry about being blamed, you are at Effect. "You should not minimize* yourself as CAUSE. It is your greatest ability. "Being blamed sometimes blunts** being CAUSE. But if one's total ambition is to be blameless, the best situation is to get one's name on a tombstone. And it's no fun being dead." -- L. Ron Hubbard (*Minimize = lessen, reduce. **Blunts = weaken, make less effective) Who Blames You? If someone blames you for a mistake or a problem, you might decide to be at Effect and try to hide. You want to keep out of trouble. You blunt yourself as Cause. For example, a shoe sales clerk named Mary had an upset customer. He wanted a refund for a pair of shoes that did not fit, but the shoes had scuff marks on them. So despite store policy, she gave a refund to the customer. She decided it was the right thing to do. When Mary's boss saw the shoes, he said, "You idiot! You know it's against store policy to pay refunds for worn shoes! I'm taking the refund out of your check." Mary decides, "I'm never making a decision again!" She blunts herself. She stops being at Cause and becomes a clerk who never makes decisions. The next day, another customer asks for a refund for his slightly-worn shoes. Mary says, "I'm sorry sir, but store policy won't allow me to give you a refund. See here? The bottoms of the shoes are scratched up." The customer says, "But they don't fit! I can't wear them! Here, give them to the homeless." He starts to walk away. Mary decides the store policy is wrong and she's not going to be Effect. She says, "Sir, wait. Never mind. I'm giving you a refund." She feels good. She is at Cause. Mary then walks up to her boss and says, "I gave another refund. It's the right thing to do. Go ahead and take it out of my pay." Her boss is flabbergasted! He says, "I will!" But then he thinks it over. The next day the boss finds Mary and says, "You know, I thought it over and I think you're right. We should give refunds for shoes that don't fit. After all, we're supposed to help them find their correct sizes. I'll talk to the General Manager about changing this policy." Recommendations 1. List the things you would do if you had no fear of blame. 2. Take the easiest item on the list and rise to Cause. Do it, say it, stand up and take the action! 3. Do the next easiest item on your list and so on. Soon, you will find it's okay to take risks and, when necessary, accept the blame. If you do not worry about being blamed, you do not blunt yourself. You are at Cause! Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: How to Form a Relationship with Anyone

TipsForSuccess: Your Golden Goose

How to Form a Relationship with Anyone You can only succeed with the help, interest and support of others, and this requires the ability to form business and personal relationships. A powerful tool you can use to break the ice and form new relationships comes from the book, The Problems of Work: "The way to talk to a man, then, would be to find something to like about him and to discuss something with which he can agree." -- L. Ron Hubbard You can use this simple two-part system to talk to anyone! For example, you want to form a relationship with a neighbor. Where do you start? 1. Find something to like about the neighbor. You look him over and decide he has a nice smile and good looking boots. This step is done. You don't have to say anything unless you feel like it. 2. Discuss something with which he can agree. You have to ask some questions to determine this. What has he been doing lately? How's his family? What do they do for fun? For example, he talks about a fantastic vacation he and his family just enjoyed in Florida. You love Florida, too. You discuss and agree on Florida's fun spots. As another example, you are waiting for your flight to Chicago at an airport. You decide to establish a relationship with the business woman sitting next to you. First you find something you like about her. You like her red-leather briefcase. So you say, "Nice briefcase!" She smiles and nods. You then find something with which she can agree. "Are you from Chicago?" She starts to communicate. You find you both agree that Chicago weather is too cold. You then find other things of which you both agree. A car salesman is very successful because he knows how to use this technique. He establishes relationships within seconds of meeting people. People in elevators, workers in restaurants, clerks in stores, even people on sidewalks. He instantly finds something he likes about each person and then finds something the other person can agree on. He never lacks new customers. Everyone likes being around him. Forming relationships is priceless when climbing the ladder to success. You establish valuable contacts wherever you can. Parties, work, church, business events, conventions, anywhere. Simply walk up to someone, find something you like about the person, then discover and discuss a point of agreement. Just keep asking questions. "What do you like best about these meetings?" "What is your opinion about _____(the meeting topic)_____?" "What business are you in?" You can use these two steps to form relationships with anyone. For example, you get on a train and sit next to a body-pierced, tattooed, pimply-faced teenager with hamburger breath. You follow the formula and find something to like about him: he has a beautiful sunset picture on his shirt. You feel better about the fellow and start to find something with which he can agree. "Where did you get that great shirt?" Before long, you actually enjoy the relationship. Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Self-criticism Does Not Help You Succeed

Your Golden Goose Do you think your most valuable asset is a possession? Your home, your car, your stereo or your savings? No, none of these things are your most valuable asset. Even if you have millions of dollars. The money is not your most valuable financial asset. In fact, it might become a liability if you get obsessed about keeping it and protecting it. Your life becomes controlled by your cash. The most valuable financial asset you own is not a possession, but your personal golden goose. The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs The Greek slave Aesop told this story 2500 years ago. A man and his wife owned a goose that laid a golden egg every day. They decided they were not getting rich fast enough. They believed the bird must be full of gold and so decided to kill it. When they cut open their golden goose, they found it was just like any other goose. They not only failed to get rich all at once as they had hoped, they no longer enjoyed the daily golden eggs. Because you have probably heard this story, you would never think of cutting a goose that laid golden eggs for you. You would take special care of that goose. You would buy it the best goose feed, the most comfortable goose nest and the nicest goose pond available, right? The truth is, you own a golden goose. Conditions of Success "The conditions of success are few and easily stated. "The ability to hold a job depends, in the main, upon ability. "One's intelligence is directly related to his ability. There is no such thing as being too smart. But there is such a thing as being too stupid." -- L. Ron Hubbard from The Problems of Work Your ability to make money IS your golden goose. Your ability to work and produce something valuable is the goose that lays golden eggs for you. The more ability you have, the more golden eggs you can earn. You can kill your golden goose by taking drugs, committing crimes, self criticism and so on. Or you can make your goose lay bigger golden eggs. The Best Investment in the World Professional investors are constantly searching for investments (golden geese) with three qualities: 1. The investment must be safe and secure. 2. It must produce above-average income. 3. Opportunities to buy the investment must be everywhere. Your ability to make money, fits all three qualities. 1. Your ability to earn money is safe. Some idiot might try to kill your goose with criticism, attacks or backstabbing. Yet once you bounce back, your skills start to produce golden eggs again. Your skills do not easily disappear. 2. By investing in your golden goose, you can earn a huge income. For example, a doctor spends $90,000 on education and then earns $180,000 per year. He or she earns twice the education cost every year. How many other types of investments can do that? As another example, you decide to take a sales class. You pay $5,000 for the class and travel costs. You come back to your business and increase your sales by $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year. By investing $5,000, you get back $12,000 the first year. This is a return of 240% which any investor will tell you is an incredible return. You can expect an excellent return on your investment by obtaining any skill: people skills, computer skills, speaking skills and so on. Even better is improving your personal power base -- your ability to confront difficult situations, to make correct decisions, to work harder, to accomplish more. 3. Skill-enhancement opportunities are all around you. Professional investors spend most of their time looking for golden geese. They are happy if 60% of their investments make money. By investing in your personal abilities, you can expect 90-100% of these investments will help you succeed. Because you get some improvement from everything you learn, you have no real risk. Recommendations 1. Make a list of all the abilities you have that make you money. For example, "My ability to handle customer's complaints." "My ability to fix desktop computers." "My ability to build garages." 2. Next to each item on your list, write down how you can improve each ability. For example, "Learn how to make people happy." "Study how to fix laptop computers and computer networks." "Learn how to build houses." 3. Add new abilities to the list. What would you like to know how to do? What ability would help you earn more money? For example, "Ability to help people lead happier lives." "The skill to write software programs." "The skill to manage a construction company." 4. Next to each of these new abilities, write down what you can do to obtain them. Examples: "Read every book I can find on helping people." "Take classes in my spare time on computer programming." "Find a successful construction company owner who is willing to train me." 5. Now using the list, write your ability investment plan. 6. Take action. Invest your spare time and energy into yourself. Do one thing today, and every day, to enhance your golden goose.   Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Does Too Much Affection Spoil Children?

 

Self-criticism Does Not Help You Succeed "You are treating yourself in present time much as you were treated by others in the past. And you punish yourself far more than anyone would ever punish you." -- L. Ron Hubbard How have people treated you in the past? Have you ever noticed that you treat yourself the same way? Unless everyone has always treated you with respect and kindness, you might criticize yourself from time to time. And self-criticism or self-invalidation, ruins your success. False Ideas At some point, you may have accepted these ideas to be true. "If I cut myself down before anyone else cuts me down, I win!" "I respect Joe's opinion. Joe thinks I'm an idiot. So I must be an idiot." "If I punish myself, maybe others will leave me alone." "I've heard it's sinful to like myself, so I'd better hate myself." "No one knows my deep, dark secret: I'm actually a bad person." Of course, all of these ideas are nonsense. True Ideas To succeed, you need to treat yourself with respect and admiration. To succeed, you need a high opinion of yourself. You need to remember that you are a good person. "Actually you are a giant tied down with cotton lint. You tied the knots and furnished the string and said where you'd lie." "The cold, basic truth is that you are a vital and necessary part of this world." -- L. Ron Hubbard Three Tips for Improving Your Success 1. Every time you criticize yourself about something, add a solution. Decide on a way to fix the weakness. Focus on improvement instead of problems. For example, "I'm so stupid! Why didn't I ask him about his other company when I had the chance? No wonder I'm such a loser . . . wait, how can I fix this? From now on, I'm taking five minutes before each important meeting and writing a list of things to do so I don't mess up again. Great idea!" 2. Write down things about yourself of which you are proud. If necessary, start with small things, such as good personal habits. Keep writing until you improve your opinion. For example, "I might be fat, but I brush my teeth regularly. I'm eating more vegetables these days. I haven't gotten angry at my kids for a month. I'm earning more money this year. I'm helping Joe with his drinking problem . . . ." 3. If you cannot improve your opinion of yourself, the solution lies below your consciousness. Read Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science (free online copy at www.dianetics-theevolutionofascience.org) to learn how you can find and erase the roots of irrational thoughts. Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

Does Too Much Affection Spoil Children? People who feel they failed as parents usually share a common regret: "I did not show my kids enough love." On the other hand, no one ever regrets giving their children too much affection. "Affection could no more spoil a child than the sun could be put out by a bucket of gasoline." -- L. Ron Hubbard Giving a child an unlimited supply of toys and presents makes it difficult for a child to return a real exchange. But giving a child an unlimited supply of love and affection is something a child can happily return to you . . . in abundance. This advice applies to marriages as well. A lot of affection might put your spouse into a happy state of shock, but he or she won't be spoiled. Go try it! Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Tear Apart Complicated Problems

Tear Apart Complicated Problems You decide to start your own t-shirt business. You get excited about working for yourself and making a lot of money. So you decide to take the plunge. You then wonder, "What do I do first?" You suddenly feel fearful and confused. You ask a few friends, "I want to start my own t-shirt business. What do I do first?" and they give you several different answers. You ask a lawyer who tells you that you need to fill out a lot of forms and pay him $2500. Your accountant says the same thing. You decide to study up on the subject. You check out Amazon.com bookstore and find over 300 books on starting businesses. You call your local college, but find they don't have a class on starting a business. The more you research the subject, the more confused you feel. You feel like giving up on the idea. Why? "THE DEGREE OF COMPLEXITY IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE DEGREE OF NONCONFRONT." -- L. Ron Hubbard If you can't face something, it gets complicated. It scares you, confuses you, upsets you. Your inability to confront the problem makes it complex. Starting a business gives you stress. It makes you nervous. Because you cannot confront every part of it, it seems to complicated. As another example, Pete wants a girlfriend, but every time he talks to a woman, he looks at his feet, sweats and stammers. He is terrified of women. His nonconfront is a big problem. Simply chatting with a woman seems very confusing to Pete. So he decides to face his fear of talking to women. He starts talking to any female he can. He talks to his sister, an older woman in a store, the librarian, a few of his female coworkers and his friend's wife. Sooner or later Pete realizes women are just people and not out to hurt him. He enjoys chatting and laughing with them. As soon as he can confront women, finding a girlfriend seems easy to Pete. "THE DEGREE OF SIMPLICITY IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE DEGREE OF CONFRONT." -- L. Ron Hubbard People who can take on complicated subjects are not afraid of them. For example, your roof leaks. To you, it's complicated: Which shingle should I remove? How do you remove shingles? Where do you buy new shingles? But to a professional roofer, the problem is simple. You watch him fix the roof. By watching the process, you confront it. He pulls a few nails, digs out the bad shingles and installs the new ones. Simple! How to Take Apart Problems "To take apart a problem requires only to establish what one could not or would not confront." -- L. Ron Hubbard All you need to do is figure out exactly what you cannot confront and you slice apart the problem. For example, you want to start the t-shirt business. But instead of swimming in the confusion, or hiring someone to confront it for you, you ask yourself this question: "What about this problem is difficult for me to face? What can't I confront about it?" You write down five things you can't confront. 1. Signing a long-term store space lease is scary. 2. T-shirt manufacturers seem like mean people. 3. What if the banker laughs at my loan application? 4. I'm afraid I'll hire bad employees. 5. My advertising ideas might make me look stupid. Just making the list makes you feel better. Starting a business appears less chaotic. Then, you confront each individual item on your list. You ask dozens of questions about leasing store space. You use a dictionary to figure out every paragraph of the lease. You change a section so you can cancel the lease, if necessary. Next, you meet with a few t-shirt manufacturers. You discover they are very nice people. You meet with a banker. You interview a few potential employees. You find out the kind of advertising you need to attract customers. After facing all five items on your list, you realize it's not hard to make a t-shirt business succeed! Solve Any Problem What are the problems you face on your road to success? What seems too complicated? Take this solution even further. What is complicated about life? Business? Law? Marriage? Politics? Death? What causes complications in this world? Nonconfront. Take each problem apart by establishing what you can't confront. Write down everything that makes you afraid, anxious or angry. Everything about the problem that is difficult for you to face. Then confront each piece. Get in there and deal with it. Persist until you can comfortably face each part of the confusion. If a piece of the puzzle seems too big or complex, break it down as well. Eventually, through courage, you solve the complexity. Success, and life itself, becomes simple!   Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Hate

 

Hate Have you ever hated someone without knowing why? Perhaps before you hated the person, you tried to help him or her. For example, Jill says, "Can you give me a $3000 loan?" You say, "No, I won't give you a loan, but I can show you how to get a raise." Jill says, "Forget it! If I wanted your advice, I'd ask for it." You suddenly feel mad at Jill. "If you think of somebody you hate, you can probably remember a time when you tried to help him or a man like him. Your hatred, actually, is based on the fact that you flopped." -- L. Ron Hubbard You tried to help someone and you flopped. Perhaps you gave some bad advice. Maybe the person didn't want the kind of help you offered. Does someone hate you? Did that person ever try to help you? Was it useless help? Did you reject his or her help? It's a rotten feeling to try to help someone and fail. How to Resolve This Hatred "Pick a person that you've tried to help and get a discussion going on the subject of help. I'll guarantee that if you had a bad time trying to help that person, you're going to enter into one of the wilder discussions that you have been in for some time." -- L. Ron Hubbard So instead of ignoring the person or talking about problems, talk about the subject of "help." Discuss giving help, receiving help, problems with help and so on. Ten Sample Questions to Open the Discussion 1. Do you like getting help? 2. Do you like helping others? 3. How do you feel about me helping you? 4. How do you feel about helping me? 5. Have you ever tried to help me, but couldn't? 6. Is there a time I tried to help you, but I couldn't? 7. Do you wish you could help more people? 8. Do you wish more people could help you? 9. In the future, how can I help you? 10. In the future, do you want to help me? In what ways? "Help is the most acceptable subject you ever discussed with anybody." -- L. Ron Hubbard Give it a try! Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Two Simple Steps Anyone Can Take to Earn More Money

Two Simple Steps Anyone Can Take to Earn More Money "Money flows toward points which attract prosurvival attention. You make as much money as you get attention." -- L. Ron Hubbard (prosurvival: something that aids or assists you or others) Step One First of all, your work, your service or product, needs to be prosurvival or beneficial to as many people as possible. What is the most beneficial thing you can do or create or produce? You can attract attention by committing a horrible crime, but instead of getting rich, you go to prison. You attracted contra-survival attention. By contra-survival, we mean you are hurting people, not helping them. You attract prosurvival attention when you help people live a better life. If you show how you can help people with their survival, happiness and success, you make money. For example, not long ago, computers began helping people and businesses in many incredible ways. As a result, thousands of people in the computer industry became millionaires. Advertising proves this point about attracting prosurvival attention. For example, "Buy this gizmo because we're a big, successful company" doesn't work. "Buy this gizmo! It will clean your bathtub for you" does work because it's helping people survive a little better in life. On an individual level, you need to show how you are prosurvival. How you help people. How you help your company, your co-workers, your clients or customers. How you help the world! Step Two Now you attract attention every way you can. Businesses that attract attention succeed. For example, McDonald's and Wal-Mart dominate their industries, but they continue to spend millions in advertising. You, as an individual, can also attract attention. You simply tell people about your prosurvival product or service. You brag it up! For example, a friendly, helpful car salesman always wore a green hat. Like many salesmen, he truly helped people. All his customers remembered and recommended him, not by his name, but as the "guy in the green hat." The hat got him attention and he wore it every day for decades. According to car sales legend, he sold more vehicles than anyone in history. Unfortunately, when you start to attract attention, you might get kicked in the teeth. Certain people will go out of their way to make you shut up. They hate the idea of you succeeding. So what? If you respond to criticism by getting quiet, the bad guys win. If you respond by attracting even more attention than before, you win! Ten Tips For Attracting Prosurvival Attention While the best ideas for attracting prosurvival attention will come from your own imagination and successes, the following ideas can help you get started. 1. Spread the news about your good work to everyone at your job, especially your boss. 2. Strike up conversations with strangers whenever possible. 3. Show something unique about yourself, like the man in the green hat. Stand out from the crowd. 4. Go to social events and meet as many new people as you can. 5. Share stories about your happy customers with other customers. 6. Get your family and friends to talk about the many ways you help people. 7. Learn how to speak in public and give speeches at every opportunity. 8. Post your prosurvival ideas on the web (blogs, bulletin boards, forums, your own website). 9. Look and act like a professional at all times. 10. Do things that are so beneficial that others are compelled to spread the news. You'll soon see more money flowing your way. Start! Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: The Root of a Successful Marriage

 

TipsForSuccess: Joy for Your Job

The Root of a Successful Marriage "You want to know why somebody is failing consistently in his marriage. It's because he's unwilling to take responsibility for others than himself." -- L. Ron Hubbard People who do not take responsibility for others have failed marriages as well as failed jobs, failed businesses and failed friendships. Because they are unwilling to take responsibility for their mates or spouses, they say things like: "I was so stupid to marry you!" "He's your kid, not mine." "That's the dumbest career choice you've ever made." "You're really getting fat." "I'm reporting you to the authorities." "If you had checked the car's oil like I said, it wouldn't need all these repairs." "You can't communicate." "My husband didn't show up for work? Not my problem." "My wife maxed out the credit cards, so she can pay them, I won't." A marriage is miserable when the husband and wife are unwilling to be responsible for each other. They argue, fight, blame, criticize, scream and cry. The marriage ends in divorce. The Responsible Marriage "The willingness to take responsibility for somebody other than yourself is at the root of every successful marriage." -- L. Ron Hubbard When you take responsibility for someone else, you accept their actions as your own. You care for the person, guard the person, help the person and are interested in the person. You accept the person as he or she is. When you are willing to take responsibility for your mate, you say things like: "We made a good decision to get married. I think we'll make it better and better." "He's your kid and I love him." "If that's the career choice you want to make, I'll support you on it." "Should we work on losing weight together? How about if we both start exercising and eating better." "We'd better fix this problem before someone reports you to the authorities." "Oops! We forgot to watch the car's oil. I'll get it fixed tomorrow." "We need to fix our communication. Is it okay with you if we turn off the TV and listen to each other." "My husband didn't show up for work? I'll find him and one of us will call you right back." "We maxed out the credit cards and we'll pay them off." A marriage is joyful when the husband and wife take responsibility for each other. They create a happy home for themselves and their children. They stay in love. Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

Joy for Your Job "Work is only as good as it's enjoyed, not as it's paid." -- L. Ron Hubbard (from The Problems of Work) When you do what you love, your odds of success are much greater. You have more passion, more energy and more fun. When you enjoy your job, you look forward to Monday mornings. Your days fly by. You make steady progress. Work enjoyment is contagious. The people around you get along better. They follow your example and get more done. So what if you do not enjoy your work? The Parts You Hate Every job, every profession and every business includes distasteful aspects--the complicated, boring, dirty or difficult parts of the job. Yet conquering these difficulties, and enjoying your job anyway, is how you succeed. To get rich, simply find and perform an important job most people can't do or won't do. For example, drilling tiny holes in people's teeth or performing surgery on people's stomachs is very tough work, but it makes dentists and physicians wealthy. If you have no love for your job, the difficult parts become unbearable. You hate going to work. You hate the people. You want to quit. When you love the purpose and results of your work, the difficulties are easier to deal with. You take pride in conquering them. The benefits of the job outweigh the liabilities. Five Steps to Getting More Enjoyment from Your Work 1. List what you like about your work. What makes it worth doing? For example, working with good people, improving your customers' lives, doing a technically perfect job and so on. 2. List what you dislike about your work. What makes you want to quit? For example, working long hours, customer complaints, health risks, mean bosses and so on. 3. List your purposes for this job. Why did you start? What is the big picture? Why do you do this work? 4. Review and add items to the above three lists. Continue until you feel more joy for your work. When the lists are balanced, your passion takes over and you love your job. 5. If the four steps above do not help you find joy for your job, you need to make some changes. Change your routine. Work with different people. Do a better job. Transfer to a different department. Change directions, get a new job or learn a new profession. Change a negative attitude. Learn to accept help. Stop cutting corners. Keep making changes until the joy of your job is greater than its difficulties. If you own a business that gives you no joy, change it as well. Make it into an operation that makes you happy. Replace difficult employees. Delegate more responsibilities. Improve the quality of the service or product. Make the operation bigger or smaller. Sell out and start another business. Go! When you love your work, you recognize opportunities and make better decisions. You know where you are going. You are on the road to your major, significant success. Take your foot off the brakes and floor it! Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Your Unlimited Power

Your Unlimited Potential A "potentiality" is defined as the capacity for growth or improvement; a possibility; a power. For example, if you were sitting on a box of dynamite, you would be sitting on a potentiality. The dynamite isn't exploding . . . but it could. The fact is: You ARE sitting on a box of dynamite; and it's big! "Your potentialities are a great deal better than anyone ever permitted you to believe." -- L. Ron Hubbard Right now, you are capable of making improvements in your career, your finances and your life that are more significant and satisfying than anything you have ever done. You can potentially shatter your past achievement records, eliminate your worst problems and feel absolutely great. Everything you have done in the past becomes minor compared to what you can do in the future. Most people have the wrong idea about success. They believe "you can only do so much," or "you just need to keep on trying" or "success takes time." Such thinking slows you down and limits your lifetime achievements. Instead, simply take a new view of yourself, your habits and your thinking. And then ACT! To make a significant, instant improvement in your career and life, you must jump out of your rut. Overcome your addiction to safe, conservative plans. Break out of old patterns and find new attitudes. Don't settle for small improvements. Do something bold and exciting. Find a destination you passionately want and make it happen! Your Destination When you plan a vacation, you don't start by examining the route. You start by choosing a destination. The route becomes obvious when you focus on the goal. And the bigger the destination, the more exciting the trip. What is the most exciting destination you can imagine for yourself? What objective makes your heart pound? What goal lifts your mood? These are your potentialities. These are your dreams. These are what you can believe in! To get there, start by concentrating on the end result. Put yourself in the picture your dreams. Create a vision of you reaching your goals. Then act. Take a small step, a large step or a leap. Any progress will lead to more progress, as long as you remember to think of your ultimate success. The time to start is now. Focus on a goal and light the fuse!   Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: You Have the Power to Control How People Treat You

TipsForSuccess: Brilliant Ideas Are Old Ideas

You Have the Power to Control How People Treat You You can make people like you or hate you; respect you or criticize you; support you or chop you down. You can also get people to trust you, support you and help you succeed. The way you do this is outlined by L. Ron Hubbard in The Way to Happiness. "Try to Treat Others as You Would Want Them to Treat You" "Just figure out how you would want people to treat you. "You would possibly, first of all, want to be treated justly: you wouldn't want people lying about you or falsely or harshly condemning you. Right? "You would probably want your friends and companions to be loyal: you would not want them to betray you." "You would want people to be fair in their dealings with you. "You would want them to be honest with you and not cheat you. Correct? "You might want to be treated kindly and without cruelty." "You would probably prefer to be given respect, not insulted. "Possibly you would want others to be polite to you and also treat you with dignity. Right? "You might like people to admire you. "When you did something for them you would possibly like people to appreciate you. Correct? "You would probably like others to be friendly toward you. "From some you might want love. "And above all, you wouldn't want these people just pretending these things, you would want them to be quite real in their attitudes and to be acting with integrity*." "It requires no great stretch of imagination for one to recognize that if he were to be treated that way regularly by others around him, his life would exist on a pleasant level." -- L. Ron Hubbard (*integrity: honesty, truthfulness) Three Steps to Get People to Treat You the Way You Want to Be Treated 1. Make a list of each person you wish to influence: spouse, children, parents, employees, bosses, co-workers, colleagues and so on. 2. Next to each name, write how you want them to treat you. 3. Then write how you will treat that person, in that same way. In some cases, you might be amazed at how quickly this works. In other cases, you may need to persist for a long time, so don't give up! You can learn more about The Way to Happiness, or download a free copy of the complete booklet, at www.twth.org. You can also buy a copy of the booklet from TipsForSuccess at www.tipsforsuccess.org/way-to-happiness.htm Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

Brilliant Ideas Are Old Ideas George was tired of being broke. Every day was a struggle. "How will I pay my bills? I'm going deeper into debt. I can't afford to buy anything." So George constantly worked on new ways to make money. "If I could invent a new can opener, all my money problems would be over." "Maybe I could sell funny hats on the Internet." "If I found some investors, I could open a new underwater restaurant." George had tried a few ideas, such as manufacturing a razor blade that never got dull, building the world's largest tree swing and a selling lamps made of salt. All his new ventures had failed. To survive, he had to work at McDonald's as an assistant manager. George felt he should solve his money problems with new ideas. Unfortunately, unproven ideas are often wrong. Affluence "Affluence* Attainment, consists of: ... Doing the things that won, not new things untried as yet." -- L. Ron Hubbard (Affluence: abundance; wealth) You enjoy affluence, not from new ideas, but from things that have already worked. George decides to try out this approach. He asks himself, "What has made me money in the past?" He lists the following: * Selling shoes at a store paid $350 per week. * Selling sunglasses at weekend festivals paid $1000 per weekend. * Buying old cars, fixing them up and selling them. The last car he restored, a 1961 Ford Mustang, earned $1500 profit with two weeks of work. * Working at McDonald's pays $560 per week. George realizes he can go back to his two best-paying jobs immediately: sunglasses and car restoration. He convinces the sunglass company to give him 200 pairs on credit so he can sell them at an outdoor market that weekend. He then finds a wrecked 1988 Mercedes and makes a deal to buy it for $500, on credit. George quits his McDonald's job. He makes $800 selling sunglasses that weekend. He spends three weeks on the Mercedes and sells it for $4500. George uses old, proven ideas to boost his income. How Businesses Achieve Affluence When a business sticks to proven ideas, and avoids untried methods, it usually succeeds. For example, the owner of an auto dealership notices his car sales are dropping. His marketing director says, "We need a new TV commercial. Let's use elephants! We've never tried it before. It'll be great!" The smart owner says, "Let's wait on the elephants. Instead, find which of our old commercials worked best. What made our sales jump up?" The marketing director comes back the next day and says, "I hate to tell you this, but our best TV commercial is that one of you wearing diapers and crying. You swore to never show that commercial again." The owner says, "I hate that commercial. Oh well, show it again. In fact, buy twice as many time slots! And schedule the film crew to shoot a new commercial with me in the diaper. I'm really going to cry this time!" Car sales and income jump to new levels. Doing things that won is essential to good business. Copying Ideas If you do not have anything that has made you succeed in the past, you must still avoid new ideas. Instead, do things that worked for others. For example, you want a career helping people and making a decent income. You write down the careers of everyone you know. You realize your uncle Jay, who is a dentist, helps a lot of people and makes an excellent income. You take your uncle to lunch and ask how he became a successful dentist. As another example, you want a successful marriage and family. You find who has been happily married for a long time and has a successful family. You learn all you can about what helped them succeed and then copy their ideas. If you want to succeed in any kind of job or business, interview the people who are succeeding. Find out what worked for them. Use these ideas as they are proven, not untried as yet. Luckily, most successful people enjoy talking about their success secrets and do not worry about competition. Doing things that won for you or others is reliable route to success. Four Steps to Boost Your Income 1. Make a list of income ideas you are using that are new and unproven. 2. Work out a plan to drop these idea. 3. Make a list of income ideas that have worked for you or others. 4. Next to each item on both lists, write down how you can use these ideas to boost your income. Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

Fw: TipsForSuccess: What Makes You Happy?

 

What Makes You Happy? What makes you satisfied and content? Why do you get bored? Where is the joy in life? "Happiness could be defined as the emotion of progress toward desirable goals. There is an instant of contemplation* of the last goal in which one is content. But contentment becomes boredom immediately that new goals do not come to view. There is no more unhappy thing than a man who has accomplished all his ends in life." -- L. Ron Hubbard (*contemplation = thoughtful observation; meditation) Let's examine three parts of this definition. 1. "There is an instant of contemplation of the last goal in which one is content." Think of goals you have reached in the past. How did you feel right after your wedding? When you got your first job? When you graduated from school? Take a fast second to contemplate the last goal you reached. Perhaps you now feel content? 2. "But contentment becomes boredom immediately that new goals do not come to view." For example, planning a vacation is exciting. But toward the end of a vacation many people are bored as they no longer have a goal. Arguments during honeymoons are common, if the newlyweds do not set goals for their marriage. Planning your retirement and the first day of retirement is a thrill. But the joy of freedom quickly turns to boredom and early death if you do not work on new goals. "There is no more unhappy thing than a man who has accomplished all his ends in life." Think of a time you were very bored. Had you completed a major goal without starting a new one? 3. "Happiness could be defined as the emotion of progress toward desirable goals." We can use this definition to understand unhappiness as well. When were you last unhappy? In each case, you probably 1) had no goal, 2) were trying to reach an undesirable goal, or 3) you were making no progress toward a goal. Making yourself happy is not difficult. Simply chose desirable goals and make progress toward them! Give it a Try! First, select a desirable goal. If you don't have a desirable goal, make one up. What do you really desire? Second, write down ONE SINGLE THING you can do right now toward this goal. It has to be an action step. Not thinking about it or talking about it. Actual physical motion. Next, do it! Take that one step right now. Make some small, but real progress. You might be surprised at how easy it is. Finally, notice if making this little bit of progress makes you happier. Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.