TipsForSuccess: December 2007

TipsForSuccess: How to Be More Motivated in 2008

How to Be More Motivated in 2008

As you know, you cause some things and you are the effect of other things. You could say that when you are causing things, you are CAUSE. When someone else causes an effect on you, you could say that you are EFFECT.

Thousands of people buy motivation tapes because they want the tapes to make them be EFFECT. They want the speaker on the tape to fire them up and get them going. They believe the tape gives them energy.

Other people believe drugs will motivate them. They want to swallow a pill and then be energized. They want to be EFFECT of the drug.

Employees who sit around waiting for the boss to motivate them are also EFFECT. Bosses hate the burden of having to motivate everyone. These lazy employees prefer to be EFFECT of the boss and wait for him or her to make them work.

The truth is, everyone can be the source of their own motivation! They can be at CAUSE.

"Motivation is in the future. It's 'What do I want?' 'What do we want?' That's cause. And if it's interesting, it sort of pulls us forward to it." -- L. Ron Hubbard

For example, you may have heard the story about three men who were building a stone church. When asked what they were doing, the first man said he was breaking stones, the second said he was making a living and the third said he was building a cathedral.

Which of the men do you think had the most motivation?

What is the in the future for your activities? What do you want in your future?

If you're not sure, you won't be motivated. If you're afraid you'll get something other than what you want, you won't be motivated. If you have little hope you'll make it, you won't be motivated.

If you doubt your ability to get what you want, you won't be motivated. If you have nothing you want in the future, you will not be motivated. If you do not find it very interesting, you will not be motivated.

On the other hand, if you spell out exactly what you want, you are CAUSE. If it's interesting, you are motivated!

Of course, you need to have hope that you will make it as well as confidence that you can make it happen. But the first step is to decide what you want.

For example, Jill wakes up and thinks, "I'm going to run my own very successful company some day!" She jumps out of bed and races off to work. Chris wakes up and thinks, "I'm going to be late if I don't get out of bed."

Recommendations

1. Stop expecting anything or anyone to motivate you. No longer think, "I'll really get excited after someone gives me a . . ." "I won't work hard until . . ." "My life will change for the better when someone else . . ."

Instead, take responsibility for being CAUSE and for motivating yourself. "I'm the one who will get me excited. I'll work hard to reach my goals. I'm changing my life for the better."

2. Write down everything you want in the future. What do you want today? This week? This year? This lifetime? Keep writing down what you want until you start to feel motivated.

3. Look for things you want that are also interesting to you.

For example, "Pay off my debts" may not be as interesting or as motivational as "Become a debt-free millionaire!"

Happy New Year!

For more details and examples for setting your goals in 2008, check out www.tipsforsuccess.org/goals-link.htm.

To gain more hope and more confidence in your ability to reach your goals, check out www.dianetics.org.

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TipsForSuccess: Paradise on Earth

Paradise on Earth

What do you postulate?

Postulate: to assume, assert or decide something is true; a prediction. For example, if you are sure you will exercise today, you postulate that you will exercise today. If you expect someone will succeed, you are postulating their success.

What do you postulate for others?

Think of someone at your work. What do you hope or postulate for him or her? Do you hope he or she will succeed? Fail? Stay out of your way? Do just a little worse than you?

When someone accidentally upsets you, what do you postulate for them? For example, while driving down the road a car cuts in front of you, scares you and makes you slam on your brakes. What do you postulate? Do you hope the driver has a rotten day? That the driver gets a speeding ticket?

When you look at strangers in a store, what do you think of them? What do you postulate? For example, when you see an overweight person, do you think, "What a lazy slob. I expect he will never be successful." Or do you think, "I hope he does well in life."

If you see a teenager covered with tattoos, what do you think? "She coordinates her tattoo colors with her shoes very nicely. She'll go far." Or maybe you think, "What a slut! She'll end up in jail."

What you may not know is that the postulates you have for others affect you.

In an article from November 26, 1954, L. Ron Hubbard wrote,

"Sit down at a public place where many people are passing by and simply postulate into them, above them, around them, perfection -- no matter what you see. Do this person after person as they walk by you or around you, doing it quietly and to yourself."

"This is simply a demonstration of a fact that he who lives believing wrong of all his fellow men lives, himself, in hell.

"The only difference between paradise on Earth and hell on Earth is whether or not you believe your fellow man worthy of receiving your friendship and devotion." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Does life seem like paradise or hell to you? If it's a little hellish at times, do you believe your fellow human beings deserve your friendship?

Take some time today and postulate perfection for others. Decide they are wonderful and perfect, just as they are. Look at them and expect they will succeed.

Try it with the people you know as well. Make a decision that your family members will all be happy and healthy. Postulate perfection into your friends and coworkers. Just decide.

Give it a try today. Give everyone around you a gift -- your postulate for their perfection.

If, as a result, life becomes more of a paradise for you, make this into a habit and you'll live in paradise every day!

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TipsForSuccess: Get Anything You Want with ARC: Part 4

Get Anything You Want with ARC
Affinity, Reality and Communication

"Understanding is composed of affinity, reality and communication." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Affinity: how well you like or love a person
Reality: how much agreement you have with a person; what you agree to be real
Communication: your exchange of information and ideas

(See the links below for Parts 1, 2 and 3.)

Part 4: ARC in Sales and Negotiations

Even if you are not a professional sales person or negotiator, you do sell and negotiate every day. For example, you might sell an idea to your boss, negotiate dinner plans with your spouse, sell your value as a worker to get a raise, negotiate a lease, convince someone to work for you, negotiate with your son to clean up his room and so on.

Unfortunately, many salespeople and negotiators are taught to treat prospects like the enemy. "Strip off their objections! Make them afraid to buy from anyone else! Push them into a corner! Take away their choices! Nail them to the wall! Push them hard until they agree!"

With the ARC Triangle, you put the relationship first and the sale second. You communicate with the person, have affinity for the person and then reach an agreement with the person. ARC is so powerful, it even makes bad salespeople into wonderful salespeople.

For example, if you try to sell something without first establishing good ARC, the prospect is not going to tell you how he or she feels.

"So are you ready to buy?"
"No, I want to think about it."
"What's there to think about?"
"None of your business."

If you are in good ARC, you get a different response.

"So are you ready to buy?"
"Well, I'm concerned about the price. Can you tell me again how your payment plan works?"

Salespeople with high ARC even get sales because of their excellent ARC! "She was just such a nice person, I couldn't say no."

Because ARC makes your relationships genuine, you do your best to reach an ethical, helpful agreement or sale. People then tell you, "I'm so glad we worked out a deal where we both win!" "If you hadn't helped me, I would have bought the wrong insurance policy." "You really helped us solve so many problems with our finances. Now we can move into this wonderful home. Thank you!"

How to Establish ARC with New Contacts

This sentence from The Problems of Work is very effective in sales and negotiations.

"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

For example, if you are a smart car salesperson, you silently find something to like about the prospect as you approach. "I like how clean he keeps his car and how straight he stands." Because you have created a little affinity for the prospect, he or she will find it easier to have affinity for you.

Then, you find something on which to agree. "Quite a nice day we're having, would you say?" "Do you like the look of that new model?" "Can I show you around?"

When you attend business or social functions, you can make several new contacts with ARC. Simply walk up to someone, find something you like about him or her, then discover a point of agreement. "What do you like best about these gatherings?" "What is your opinion about _____(the meeting topic)_____?" "What business are you in?"

As a negotiator or deal maker, you have greater success when you first establish ARC with all parties. For example, when you first sit at the negotiation table, you look at each person and find something you like about each. "I like his suit, I like her hair, I like how bright he looks and I like how organized she is."

You then discuss something of which everyone can agree. "Does everyone agree that our goal today should be to find a deal that makes everyone happy?" "Is it okay with everyone if I control the discussions?" "Can everyone work on this for two full hours without interruption?"

Magically, because you start with ARC, you get more done in less time with greater results!

Recommendations

1. Write down a deal you would like to make or an item you would like to sell this week.

2. Write down how you will establish ARC with the people involved.

3. Go do it!

Get Anything You Want with ARC (Affinity, Reality and Communication), Part 1

Get Anything You Want with ARC (Affinity, Reality and Communication), Part 2

Get Anything You Want with ARC (Affinity, Reality and Communication), Part 3

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TipsForSuccess: How to Become a Leader

How to Become a Leader

According to October's TipsForSuccess survey, 72% of those who completed the survey want more information on how to be a leader.

Becoming the leader of a project, group or business is very thrilling. You get to make the decisions, help more people, earn more pay and have more fun. The technology described in this article outlines exactly how you can do this.

"THE K-R-C TRIANGLE"

"The points are K for KNOWLEDGE, R for RESPONSIBILITY and C for CONTROL."

"It is difficult to be responsible for something or control something unless you have KNOWLEDGE of it."

"It is folly to try to control something or even know something without RESPONSIBILITY."

"It is hard to fully know something or be responsible for something over which you have no CONTROL, otherwise the result can be an overwhelm."

"Little by little one can make anything go right by

"INCREASING KNOWLEDGE . . . ,"

"INCREASING RESPONSIBILITY . . . ,"

"INCREASING CONTROL . . . ."

"If one sorts out any situation one finds oneself in on this basis, he will generally succeed."

"By inching up each corner of the KRC triangle bit by bit, ignoring the losses and making the wins firm, a being at length discovers his power and command of life." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Examples

Terry and Joe work for Dan's Auto Repair. They both want to succeed, but Terry uses the KRC Triangle.

For example, when Joe makes a mistake, he hits the car part with his tool. When Terry makes a mistake, he slows down, adjusts the tool and carefully does the work again. He increases his control.

At 5:00 each night, Joe puts down his tools and walks out the door to get a beer. Terry cleans up his area, oils his tools and puts them away. He increases his responsibility.

During the weekends, Joe watches football while Terry reads auto repair magazines and shop manuals. He increases his knowledge.

Joe gets frustrated when he can't pay his bills, can't get along with his wife and can't get ahead at his job. He complains about all the losses he has had in life to his buddies at the bar every night.

Terry also gets frustrated, but he ignores the losses and rarely talks about them. Instead, he makes his wins firm by sharing them with his family and friends and looks for new ways to succeed.

When Dan, the owner of the shop, decides to add a partner to his business, who does he choose?

Who are the most successful people you personally know? How much knowledge, responsibility and control do they have in their fields?

How often do they increase their knowledge? Their responsibility? Their control?

Do they talk about their failures or their successes?

To become a leader and achieve success, just remember these five things: increase knowledge, increase responsibility, increase control, ignore losses and solidify wins.

Recommendations

Raise your KRC for the activity faster and more thoroughly than anyone else and you will become the leader.

1. Decide on the group or project that you want lead. If you are not yet a part of that activity, take a small position in that group or project.

2. Increase your knowledge: Learn more about the activity than anyone. Do more research than anyone. Figure out more innovative solutions than anyone.

3. Increase your responsibility: Be a great supporter to the current leader. Volunteer to do extra work and take on extra duties with no pay. Consider the success of the project or group to be your personal responsibility.

4. Control: Invest more time and interest in the activity than anyone else. Take control of every aspect of the project or group, when the opportunity presents itself.

5. Losses: Do not dwell on any failures, regrets or mistakes you encounter. Fix them, when possible, but otherwise, ignore them.

6. Wins: Focus on your successes each day. Write them down, think about them and talk about them. Make them a permanent part of your life.

7. Because you have the most knowledge and responsibility for the success of the project, an opportunity to take control of the project or group will eventually appear. When this happens, do not hesitate. Take the reins!

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TipsForSuccess: How to Prevent Catastrohphes

How to Prevent Catastrophes

One of the most stressful aspects of managing your life, job or business are those darn SURPRISES.

For example, you are going along, believing everything is fine, then WHAM! Your son gets arrested. Your neighbor cuts down your tree. Your car is stolen.

Any job can include surprising catastrophes. You get demoted or transferred. Your co-worker falsely accuses you of theft. Your boss screams at you.

Management surprises can be the most stressful of all. A key employee suddenly quits. A government agent walks in to do an inspection. Some crazy guy screams at your receptionist and won't leave.

Odds are good you will get hit with several surprises in your life. As a result, your forward progress can be stopped. Your production can be blocked. Your success can be ruined.

Even worse, the more successful you are, or the bigger your business becomes, the more often you might be hit with surprises.

Bad Solutions

You might be so afraid of catastrophes that you take them too seriously. You decide to stop succeeding. To earn less money. To be less aggressive, less intense or less passionate.

You believe that if you are small and insignificant, people will leave you alone. But of course, they just hunt you down.

Another bad approach is to get upset when a catastrophe occurs. You act like a victim or a coward. Yet this often makes the problem even worse. You seem to attract even more surprises.

Getting numb is another bad solution. You might want to use drugs or alcohol to deaden your feelings. You try to turn off the world. But this hurts your success as you need to perceive and think with clarity if you wish to succeed.

Constantly worrying makes your life miserable. You spend so much time thinking about problems and potential catastrophes that you are blind to the opportunities that surround you.

Luckily, you can reduce your stress and worry by planning ahead.

Surprise Insurance

"A catastrophe occurs by lack of prediction of a possible circumstance. Those things planned for do not become catastrophes." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Your best insurance is to predict and plan for catastrophes IN ADVANCE. Once you have a plan for handling every conceivable surprise, you can relax.

When you have a plan for a disaster, you are ready for it. Instead of reacting to the problem, while upset and prone to making mistakes, you take command of the situation. You resolve it with your plan. Your prosperity continues.

For example, as a boss, you learn a former employee is suing you. If you planned for this possibility in advance, you would know exactly what to do. Your paperwork would be filed and organized. Your lawyer would send a copy of your paperwork to the employee's attorney. The employee's attorney would see you had done everything right and drop the case.

As another example, you can't sleep because you MUST get to work on time to give a presentation. So instead of tossing and turning in your bed, you turn on the lights. You write down every reason you might be late. You plan how to handle each. You set two alarm clocks and a wind-up alarm in case the power goes out. You figure out another way to get to work in case your car won't start. You lay out your clothes and set up your coffee maker. You are now prepared! You get in bed and instantly fall asleep.

The same principle works on a personal level. For example, Joe is worried his wife will be angry when she finds out he quit his job. He plans a way to explain it to her so she can understand his reasons. He also plans on how to respond to anything she says to him. Joe stops worrying and goes home. When he first gives her the news, he is ready for a bad reaction, but she is fine. Because he planned for a catastrophe, it does not happen. They discuss their finances and make plans for his job search.

Recommendations

1. Make a list of all the catastrophes you expect may happen to you. Include everything that makes you worry. Small things, big things, anything you can think of.

2. Next to each item on your list, write up a plan to handle it. Some potential catastrophes require a single preparation step. Others need a detailed, 20-step plan.

3. As you do this exercise, you may feel uncomfortable and nervous. Just keep working on it. As you plan out more solutions and get prepared, you will feel more relaxed and confident than ever before. You become ready for anything!

4. After you finish, you will probably think of more things to add to your list. So keep it handy.

5. Each time you feel stressed or worried about a potential problem, add the potential surprise to your list. If it's already on the list, simply add more preparation steps until you are no longer worried.

6. Review the list every few months. When you review old solutions, you think of new preventive steps and better solutions.

Biggest Benefit

"A catastrophe occurs by lack of prediction of a possible circumstance. Those things planned for do not become catastrophes." -- L. Ron Hubbard

That's right! Because you have planned for the surprises on your list, they won't happen to you. Most people don't believe this is true. However, write down your plans and see for yourself.

For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here.

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TipsForSuccess: How to Be More Motivated in 2008

TipsForSuccess: Paradise on Earth

TipsForSuccess: Get Anything You Want with ARC: Part 4

TipsForSuccess: How to Become a Leader

TipsForSuccess: How to Prevent Catastrohphes

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