TipsForSuccess: 2008

TipsForSuccess: "What Will Happen to Your Finances in 2009?"

What Will Happen to Your Finances in 2009?

As you know, the world is having financial problems. The stock market and real estate market have crashed. Businesses are going bankrupt. More people have recently lost their jobs than in the past 26 years.

So when will the bad financial times end? Simple.

"Money: an idea backed with confidence." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Many people are not making their loan payments, so banks have lost confidence in borrowers. They do not want to give out loans that may not be paid back.

Investors have lost confidence in the stock market. They are worried they will lose their money, so they sell their stock.

Many workers do not have confidence in their jobs. To be safe, they do not spend much money. They do not borrow money because they are not sure they can pay it back.

Yet, for the economy to recover, people need to have confidence.

Workers need to feel confident that they will keep their jobs. Banks need to have confidence that borrowers will pay them back. Businesses need to have confidence that people will buy their goods and services.

For you to succeed, you also need confidence. You need to know your future will be successful.

What most people do not realize is that their confidence in the future can be created with a mental illusion.

The Future

"Future is the creation of a future illusion and the working toward that illusion to make it a reality." -- L. Ron Hubbard (from the book, Understanding)

If you imagine a bad future, you'll look for ways to make it a reality. If you think you'll lose your job, your money or your health, you probably will! You will certainly be miserable.

On the other hand, if you create an illusion of a prosperous future, you will also find ways to make it come true. You envision a future where financial conditions dramatically improve. You see everyone succeeding.

By replacing a negative illusion of the future with a positive illusion, you have new confidence! When you have confidence, people around you feel confident, as well.

Recommendation

Step 1: Create an illusion of what you want in the future. Anything you want at all.

Perhaps in your future you feel happier and more secure. Maybe you get more work done, earn more money, help more people or feel healthier than ever.

Hopefully, you also imagine a world without poverty, war, insanity, pollution, crime or suffering.

Once you have created your future illusion, notice how you feel. Do you have more confidence? If not, keep creating an exciting, prosperous illusion until you do.

Step 2: Start making that illusion into a reality.

What can you do in 2009 to make your illusion real? What can you do this month? This week?

What single thing can you do right now, that changes a tiny part of your illusion into reality?

Do that single thing now and you are on your way.

Happy New Year!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: "Why Give More than You Receive"

Why You Must Give More than You Receive

Life is not fair.

For example, you give more gifts and holiday cheer than anyone gives to you. You give great advice, but never get thanked for it. You donate more than your fair share to those who are less fortunate than you.

And that's a good thing!

"A human being feels able and competent only so long as he is permitted to contribute as much or more than he has contributed to him." -- L. Ron Hubbard

For example, you promise to give five hours of work to Joe. During those hours, you are focused, efficient and professional. You get so involved with the job, you forget to watch the clock and end up working for almost six hours, but still only charge for five. Joe is impressed and you are proud. Your future with Joe feels secure.

As another example, you tell Chris, "You don't need to work. We'll just give you money each month." At first, Chris thinks this is a great deal. But soon, she wonders, "Am I so useless that no one wants me to work? Can't I make a contribution here?" She feels unable and incompetent. If you then get Chris to do some difficult work for the money, she feels happy and secure.

As a final example, you encourage your children to contribute to the family. Your four-year old sweeps the floors each day. Your ten-year-old takes care of the pets. Your fifteen-year-old washes your car and the house windows every other week. Your family is happy as everyone feels able and competent.

"A man can over-contribute and feel secure in an environment. He feels insecure the moment he under-contributes, which is to say, gives less than he receives. If you don't believe this, recall a time when everyone else brought something to the party but you didn't. How did you feel? -- L. Ron Hubbard

Recommendation

Give a bit more to others than they give to you. Contribute excessive time, money or other forms of help to good causes or good people. Do not expect an extra exchange.

Continue to over-contribute whenever you can. Instead of having a fair exchange with others, arrange for an abundant exchange, with you always giving more than you receive.

As a result, you will feel more able, more competent and more secure. All three feelings are important ingredients to your success!

Happy Holidays!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: "A Fast and Easy Way to Be a Better Friend to Yourself"

A Fast and Easy Way to Be a Better Friend to Yourself

If you hate yourself, you will most likely fail. If you love yourself, your chances of success are much higher.

So what can you do to increase your love for yourself?

Simple!

"If you love others, you will love yourself."

"If you hate others, you will hate yourself."

"A healthy state of being is to be a friend to yourself." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Exercise

You can try this concept right now.

1. Take a minute to hate people. Look at a few people and just hate them. How do you feel about yourself?

2. Now love others. Look around and love everyone you see. Continue until all the hate dissolves.

How do you feel about yourself now?

3. Spend all day loving people. Find something you love about everyone you meet. Continue until your opinion of yourself improves.

Your road to success is much easier if you are your own best friend!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

TipsForSuccess: "A Powerful Success Habit"

A Powerful Success Habit

Your ability to learn, to educate yourself, is vital to your success. If you can learn new subjects and master new skills, your opportunities expand significantly. For example, you could write computer programs, understand and work in the international financial world or repair any equipment made.

L. Ron Hubbard discovered several reasons people have a hard time learning. Instead of placing the blame on teachers, society or the lack of education funds, his solutions revolve around study habits.

One of the most important study habits you can have is to use a dictionary.

The Misunderstood Word

This study technique involves the most important study habit you can form. This one habit will allow you to successfully learn any subject, no matter how advanced.

To use this tool, you will need a dictionary. If you do not own one, you must get one. The best dictionary uses simple, easy-to-understand words in the definitions. It's also important that the dictionary shows you the roots (derivations) of words.

Get out your dictionary and look at a few definitions. Are they easy for you to understand? If not, consider buying a simpler dictionary, such as a student or intermediate-level dictionary. If your dictionary is too simple, and does not give you derivations, get a more advanced dictionary.

You can also use the free dictionaries stored on the Internet, such as www.onelook.com.

Using a dictionary, you can now form the following study habit:

"The only reason a person gives up a study or becomes confused or unable to learn is because he or she has gone past a word that was not understood.

"The confusion or inability to grasp or learn comes AFTER a word that the person did not have defined and understood.

"Have you ever had the experience of coming to the end of a page and realizing you didn't know what you had read? Well, somewhere earlier on that page you went past a word you had no definition for or an incorrect definition for.

"Here's an example. 'It was found that when the crepuscule arrived the children were quieter and when it was not present, they were much livelier.' You see what happens. You think you don't understand the whole idea, but the inability to understand came entirely from the one word you could not define, crepuscule, which means twilight or darkness. (Note: Read the crepuscule sentence again now that you understand the word.)

"It may not only be the new and unusual words that you will have to look up. Some commonly used words can often be misdefined and so cause confusion.

"This datum about not going past an undefined word is the most important fact in the whole subject of study. Every subject you have taken up and abandoned had its words which you failed to get defined.

"Therefore, in studying be very, very certain you never go past a word you do not fully understand. If the material becomes confusing or you can't seem to grasp it, there will be a word just earlier that you have not understood. Don't go any further, but go back to BEFORE you got into trouble, find the misunderstood word and get it defined." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Which areas in life do people avoid? Government, taxes, investments, law, medicine, electronics, high tech and so on.

Which areas have the most difficult words? Government, taxes, investments, law, medicine, electronics, high tech and so on.

When people cannot understand the words, they hate the subject. When people understand the words in a subject, they can master the subject.

For example, if you wanted to learn how to form corporations, you could master the subject on your own. First, you could go to the library and check out books on forming corporations. You would then use your dictionary and slowly read the first page of the first book. You would use your dictionary to clear up every word that you weren't sure about. You would probably start with the word "corporation." (Do you know what "corporation" really means? Look it up!) (Corporation: "Something that represents a group of individuals, which is created by law, and exists independently of the individuals. A corporation can act as if it were an individual and own things, sell things, assume legal risks and so on.")

Knowing where words come from (the derivations) also increases your understanding. For example, "corporation" and "corpse" both come from the Latin word "corpus" meaning "body."

While reading your first corporation book you would never go past a sentence that didn't make sense. Never! You would look up the definition of every confusing word. If it still didn't make sense, you would look up every single word in the sentence. You would not read past the sentence until it was perfectly clear to you. As long as you were using the proper definitions for the words, the sentence would then make sense.

Learning about corporations might take a few days, but by the time you finished the first book, you would have a good understanding of corporations. By the time you finished the fifth book, you would know more about forming corporations than 99% of the population.

You could then form your own corporation. Instead of paying an attorney $2500 to put it together for you, you would pay an attorney $200 to check over your work.

What subject do you wish you could understand? Imagine what you could do if you understood all the words in that subject. You could read a book or manual and do anything!

You could build a web site, repair a car engine, prepare your own tax return, operate a bulldozer, understand diseases, do legal work and handle investments more easily.

Understanding the correct definition of every word in a sentence guarantees you correctly understand the sentence. Understanding every sentence you hear or read opens the door to mastering any topic.

So look up your words!

Your success depends on it.

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: "You Can Laugh about Anything"

You Can Laugh about Anything

If you cannot laugh, you are in trouble. Life is not fun for you. You take things too seriously and build stress.

If you cannot laugh, you set a negative example for others. People tend to dislike you. No one wants to help you get ahead.

If you cannot laugh, you may not sleep well. You might need drugs or alcohol to feel good. You probably have health problems.

Fortunately, everyone can laugh under any circumstances.

Health Benefits of Laughter

* Laughter strengthens the Immune System. According to Dr. Lee S. Berk from Loma Linda University, California, USA, laughter improves the quality of your blood.

* Laughter stimulates your circulation. Per Dr. William Fry of Stanford University, one minute of laughter is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine.

* Laughing massages your internal organs. It enhances your organ efficiency, especially with intestines. Experiments also show your blood pressure decreases after 10 minutes of laughter.

* Laughter increases the levels of the natural painkiller called endorphin. In Norman Cousins' book "Anatomy of an Illness," he explains how laughter relieved the intense pain of his spinal disease when no other painkiller would help him.

* Younger appearance. Laughter exercises your facial muscles. When you laugh, your face becomes brighter because your blood supply increases. Laughing people look more attractive.

How to Laugh

An effective method to find joy and laughter in life is to make your problems seem MORE serious!

"The mechanism* is to make it more and more and more serious until it becomes utterly and completely ridiculous and the person will explode the whole thing off in laughter." -- L. Ron Hubbard (*mechanism: system or process)

You exaggerate your troubles or expand your complaints to such hilarious levels that you and others end up laughing.

Comics get laughs when they make things extra serious. Remember Saturday Night Live television shows where John Belushi would get so upset that he would turn red, scream with anger and flop back and forth until he fell off his chair? He was so overly serious, the audience would howl with laugher.

You can use the same method to make serious people start laughing.

For example, you go into a bank to cash a check. The bank teller looks at you suspiciously and says, "May I see two forms of identification please?"

You say, "Sure. Here's my driver's license and my credit card."

The bank teller clerk examines your cards without comment. She seems unhappy.

So you pull out more cards and say, "And here's Star Trek Fan Club card, my video rental card and my Yo-Yo Association card."

The teller tries to stay serious, but has to laugh.

As another example, a serious waitress brings your food and says, "Be careful. The plate is very hot."

So you touch the plate, jerk your hand and yell, "OUCH!"

The waitress realizes you are exaggerating and laughs.

Make Personal Problems So Serious That You Laugh

If you are feeling sorry for yourself, write or say to yourself, "Oh, oh, oh! Woe is me! I suffer so much. POOR MEEEE!!! My life is a complete mess! I'm devastated! I will never be happy ever!"

If you don't start laughing, make yourself sob, even cry. Be as serious as possible until you feel ridiculous. If you aren't laughing, bawl as loud as you can.

If you feel depressed, act it out. Make your frown as ugly as possible. Curl up on your bed and act more depressed than ever.

When you feel afraid of something, exaggerate that fear. Make your body tremble and look terrified! Scream, wave your hands and hide in a closet.

If you feel stressed, act EXTREMELY stressed out. Pretend to have a heart attack. Fall on the floor. Give an Academy Award performance.

If someone gives you some alarming news, grab your collar and pretend to hang yourself. Pretend the world has come to an end until you both laugh. If you are a manager or parent, do this with serious employees and serious kids to get them to lighten up.

"Man, if sane, is a child of laughter." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Try it!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

TipsForSuccess: "Who or What Is Causing Your Problems?"

Who or What Is Causing Your Problems?

Is the economy, the banks or the stock market causing you problems? Did your parents do a bad job of raising you? Is your job or your government ruining your life?

When people fail, they often blame someone else for their failure.

"My parents argued all the time which is why I'm now divorced." "If I hadn't listened to my accountant's advice, I'd be rich." "This city has ruined me."

People blame others when they do poorly at work.

"My boss is such a jerk, I'm too stressed to get my work done." "I don't get paid enough to be nice to EVERY customer." "If everyone else wasn't so lazy, I'd be more energetic."

Blame is also used for personal problems.

"I'm depressed because of the tragedies on television." "I can't be faithful to my wife because I have a chemical imbalance." "I can't stop smoking because my father used to spank me."

Why You Can't Win the Blame Game

When you blame someone or something else, you actually make yourself weak and ineffective. You make yourself "effect" instead of being the "cause" of the situation. You give power to the person or thing you blame.

"Blaming something else makes that something else cause; and as that cause takes on power, the individual in the same act loses control and becomes effect." -- L. Ron Hubbard

For example, your business is failing and you blame your assistant. You are making your assistant more powerful than you. You might say, "My assistant messed up my business, " which is just another way of saying, "My assistant determines if my business succeeds or fails."

If you take responsibility for your business, you would say, "I need to train my assistant so he doesn't make mistakes" or "I'd better fire my assistant so he doesn't block my business success."

As another example, you might blame your parents for your stress and anxiety. This makes your parents responsible for your feelings. If you say, "My parents ruined my life," you are actually saying, "My parents are so powerful, they control my emotions. I have no control over my anxiety."

How You Win

Stopping the blame game and accepting responsibility for yourself gives you new hope. "My parents didn't ruin my life. I ruined my life by being lazy and unemployed. I need to improve my opinion about myself and get busy."

While blaming people for your problems is silly, blaming physical objects is even sillier. "My house is so ugly, I feel depressed." "The stock market crash makes me go crazy!" "My body has a disorder which makes me fat." In these cases, you are actually saying, "My life is controlled by _______."

If you wish to succeed, you have to end the blame game. You only get ahead when you become "cause" over the situation. " I'll stop watching TV and paint my house a nice color." "I'll work hard and increase my income so the stock market doesn't bother me." "I'm fat because I eat tons of junk food and don't exercise."

Five Steps for Ending the Blame Game

1. Make four columns on a sheet of paper.

2. In the first column, list all of the problems or conditions you blame on others or things. Example: "I can't stop smoking because I'm addicted to nicotine."

3. In the next column, write how you are responsible for each problem or condition. Example: "I am the one who decided to become a smoker."

4. Write how you can take more responsibility for each. Example: "I could be more determined to quit smoking."

5. In the last column, write down an action step you can take for each problem or condition. Example: "Each time I want a cigarette this week, take a 15-minute walk first."

Five Benefits of Taking More Responsibility

* Other people and things have less control over your destiny.

* Poor conditions start to improve.

* You make fewer mistakes.

* No one can control you without your consent.

* You become the most powerful force in your life.

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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FW: TipsForSuccess: "The Key to a Successful Marriage"

The Key to a Successful Marriage

Life is wonderful when you have a good marriage.

You can endure the difficulties at work more easily if you can go home to a happy marriage. You have more fun during your free time when you do it with your spouse. Insurance experts agree that happily married people are healthier and live longer than single people.

On the other hand, life is miserable when you are trapped in a bad marriage. You and your spouse either argue or avoid communicating. You and your spouse cannot agree on things and prefer to spend your time apart from each other.

The stress of a bad marriage makes your work more difficult. Your production and income suffer because you are miserable. Success in life is nearly impossible if your marriage is bad.

The Important Ingredient

"The successful sex relationship depends upon man and woman reaching a high degree of agreement on immediate and long-term goals . . . ." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Goals are a vital factor in a happy, healthy marriage. For example, a married couple shares the goal of raising their children; to help them grow up. They have a strong agreement on this goal which keeps them happily married while the children are living at home.

If after the kids are grown and on their own, the couple does not set new goals for themselves, they argue. They spend less time together. They finally get divorced for several "reasons." They never realize the real reason for the divorce is they have no goals.

Some couples work hard to start a business and then divorce after the business is a big success. They say, "We were happier when we were poor and struggling." The fact is, they did not set and agree on new goals after the business took off.

A personal disaster often unites a couple because they are forced to agree on a goal. For example, after five years of marriage, Jake and Sara argue every day until Sara finds out she has breast cancer. Suddenly Jake and Sara have a shared goal of beating Sara's cancer. Jake and Sara have a high degree of agreement and fall back in love to work together on this mutual goal.

Another example is with newlyweds. Some new couples fight during their honeymoon. Their goal to have a wonderful wedding has been achieved. Once the party is over, they have nothing to work on as a team. So they pick on each other.

If you counsel a couple before their wedding, tell them, "You need to spend your honeymoon setting goals for your marriage. You need to agree on immediate goals and long-term goals. Don't come home from your honeymoon until you have several goals worked out."

If the newlyweds follow your advice, they join as a team and jump into life with a mutual direction. They are happily married as they are connected in a common cause. They accomplish a great deal in their lives rather than waste their marriage with disagreements, conflicts and fights.

Disagreements, anger, upsets or "personality conflicts" are often resolved when the two people find and agree on goals. Each person can have other goals as well, but for the marriage to succeed, both parties must agree on some short- and long-term goals.

Recommendations

1. Have a goal-setting session with your spouse. Agree on as many short-term and long-term goals as possible. Write each goal down so you can review them on a regular basis.

The goals can be anything you and your spouse agree to set. Some examples can be: Help our son reach the top 10% of his class. Buy a big new house. Take a two-day vacation each month. Save $3 million for our retirement. Clean the house every weekend. Get Jack through medical school and Jill through law school. Improve our tennis game. Help our friend Fred win the election for mayor. Get rid of the roaches. Spend a month in China. Double the size of our computer company. Buy a horse ranch.

2. Whenever you and your spouse start to argue or avoid each other, pull out your goals list. Check your progress on each goal. Ensure you are still in agreement on the goals. You may have reached many of your old goals and must agree on several new ones.

Like magic, getting back in agreement on your goals will replace your angry, hurtful feelings with admiration, respect and love.

3. If you are searching for a mate, find someone who wants to set mutual goals. Love, attraction and good communication are never enough. You must determine if you and this person can agree on some goals.

4. Help other couples by encouraging them to agree on short- and long-term goals. Like magic, because of your advice, they will enjoy a happier marriage.

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

TipsForSuccess: "Get People to Support Your Success"

How to Get People to Support Your Success

Everything you want in life requires the support or cooperation of individuals. Your success depends on other people. Objects, the economy and governments do not make you successful.

For example, if you invented a better telephone, it would not make you wealthy. Your money would come from the people who bought this telephone.

A business does not succeed because it has a beautiful office space, fancy brochures or a brilliant plan. It succeeds because people buy your product or service. It also succeeds because the staff members do their work.

Human relations, not things, make or break your future success.

So when people ignore you, what is going on? Why do they break their agreements with you? Why won't they help you?

How People Decide to Treat You

"There is an interesting phenomenon* at work in human relations. When one person yells at another, the other has an impulse to yell back. One ... actually sets an example of how he should be treated. A is mean to B so B is mean to A. A is friendly to B so B is friendly to A." -- L. Ron Hubbard (* phenomenon = an observable fact.)

If you are honest with people, they are honest with you. If you encourage them, they encourage you. If you give them what they need, they will give you what you need.

On the other hand, if you are blunt with people, they will be blunt with you. If you try to cheat people, they will try to cheat you. If you push them down, they will push you down.

If you list all the bad things people do to you, you might discover you also do these bad things.

For example, you feel upset when Joe ignores you. So you think it over and realize you ignored Joe's question last week. So you corner Joe and answer his question. Joe no longer ignores you.

How this Principle Can Make You Successful

"When one is lucky enough to get to meet and talk to the men and women who are at the top of their professions, one is struck by an observation often made that they are just about the nicest people you ever met. That is one of the reasons they are at the top: they try, most of them, to treat others well."

"Now what do you suppose would happen if one were to try to treat those around him with justness, loyalty, good sportsmanship, fairness, honesty, kindness, consideration, compassion, self-control, tolerance, forgivingness, benevolence, belief, respect, politeness, dignity, admiration, friendliness, love, and did it with integrity*?

"It might take a while but don't you suppose that many others would then begin to try to treat one the same way?" -- L. Ron Hubbard from The Way to Happiness (* integrity = sticking to one's principles).

If people are not giving you the support you need, do not sit and wish they would treat you better. Instead, ask yourself, "How do I like to be treated?"

For example, insurance salesman John makes 150 telephone calls per day to sell insurance. Even though he leaves hundreds of messages, very few people return his calls. He does not make a living this way.

So he asks himself, "If I was a customer, how would I want to be treated?"

He answers himself, "Well, I hate getting sales calls and never return them myself. I would prefer a personal letter. I'd want the sales guy to take a little interest in me, to care about my real insurance needs and try to save me money. Hey! I'm going to give it a try!"

John finds he enjoys writing personal letters.

"Dear Chris, I thought you'd like a copy of this article about row boats. Also, if you want me to check your car insurance, I might save you some money. Yours, John."

"Hi Pat! It was great seeing you at the soccer game yesterday. I thought you would like this brochure about our new flood insurance. I think we have the best prices. Also, let me know if you change your mind about helping us coach the team."

Before he sends each letter, he asks himself: "Would I want to be treated this way?"

Two months later, John is earning a great income by selling insurance policies.

How to Improve the Way People Treat You

1. Make a list of everyone who influences you. Everyone you depend on. Everyone who can make you successful. Include your boss or employees, customers, coworkers and colleagues.

2. Write down how you want these people to treat you. For example, you want your boss to support your career. You want your spouse to patiently listen to you. You want your clients to honestly consider all of your recommendations.

3. Work out how to do these things first. For example, start giving more support to your boss. Patiently listen to your spouse. Honestly consider everything your clients say to you.

4. Persist until people are treating you the way you are treating them.

Remember, if you want help on your road to success, help other people succeed first.

Give it a try!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: "How to Produce Anything"

How to Produce Anything

No matter what happens with the economy, your success depends on your ability to produce a service, an object or a task that others want. They pay you for this production so you can buy food, shelter and so on. Let's call this service, object or task your product.

The more valuable your product the more money you earn. For example, a successful heart surgery is a product that earns more pay than a cleaned pool. A hand-made mahogany desk is a product that pays more than a painted wall.

But what if you cannot produce a particular product? What if you are a car salesman who cannot sell a car? A lawyer who cannot win any lawsuits? A school teacher whose students cannot apply what you teach?

With the solution in this article, you can produce anything at all . . . if you can produce the smaller products or subproducts.

Subproducts

"Things are produced in a sequence of subproducts which result in a final valuable product." "In other words, by getting many exact minor products, you then can achieve the valuable final product." -- L. Ron Hubbard

For example, a bricklayer who works for himself has decided his product is: "Completed brick projects that exceed requirements for strength and beauty at a fair price for which I earn a reasonable profit."

What are the subproducts that add up to this product? He needs bricks, customers, a project design, a bid and so on. Below is a list of his ten subproducts.

1. The bricklayer finds a customer who wants a brick project
2. The bricklayer gets a list of requirements from customer
3. The bricklayer works out the costs and design
4. The bricklayer presents the fee and design to the customer
5. The customer approves the design and agrees to pay the fee
6. The bricklayer gets the bricks and mortar
7. The bricklayer builds the project
8. The customer approves the job
9. The bricklayer gets paid
10. The bricklayer pays his costs and ends with a profit

Some products may have less than ten subproducts, such as a great hamburger or a haircut. Others have hundreds of subproducts, such as a legal contract or a website design. Some even have millions of subproducts, such as a jumbo jet.

Five Ways to Use Your Subproduct List

1. You can figure out why you are not making money. Simply check your list to see which step you are skipping. For example, if the bricklayer does not get his customer to approve the design or the fee, the bricklayer may not get paid.

2. You can find out why your products are poor. If you do a bad job with any of the subproducts, the final product will be poor. For example, if the bricklayer does not calculate the costs properly, he may lose money on the job.

3. You can use your subproduct list to establish a routine. For example, if the bricklayer jumps around and does not get each subproduct done in the correct order or sequence, he wastes a lot of time and may not get paid.

4. If you have problems with your job or business, you can review your subproduct list to see which ones are not being done properly. For example, the bricklayer realizes he's going broke because he is not getting his first subproduct, new customers!

5. Using this single concept, you can manage or advise anyone. For example, our bricklayer can use his subproduct list to supervise many bricklayers. He could also become a bricklayer business consultant.

Exercise

1. What is your product? What task, service or object do you produce? What will people pay you for? Write it down.

2. What are the subproducts that lead to this product? Ensure the list is complete and in the correct order or sequence.

3. Are you skipping any of these subproducts? Do any of these subproducts need improvement?

4. Produce your products in higher numbers and quality by getting the subproducts done.

If you are not getting the final product, either your list needs improving or you are not getting the subproducts. Find out which and fix it.

By creating your subproduct list, and getting each subproduct, you will get your final product, every time!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: Fear

Fear

If nothing ever scares you, success is easy. You never feel hesitant, shy or nervous. You take action.

However, when you do not act, it is probably because of fear.

Fear is the inability to face someone or something. You prefer to avoid it. When you cannot face an issue, it seems complicated or stressful.

For example, if you cannot talk about money with people, you have money problems. Whenever you need to ask for money or negotiate financial terms, you freeze. As a result, you earn less money.

If you are an employer, but cannot face staff conflicts, production statistics decline. Work becomes serious. Since no one resolves the staff problems, they persist while your business suffers.

Avoiding topics with your spouse is a common reason for marriage problems. Your fears block your communication. Hiding, withholding or suppressing your feelings and thoughts from your spouse is a giant leap toward divorce.

In a book called Science of Survival, L. Ron Hubbard explains how fears are like shadows. If you reach out and take action despite your fears, you will discover how thin and weak the fears really are!

To illustrate this point, he wrote, "On Lake Tanganyika* the natives have a very interesting way of catching fish. There on the equator the sun shines straight down through the clear water. The natives take blocks of wood and string them along a long rope. They stretch this rope between two canoes and with these abreast begin to paddle towards the shoal** water. By the time they have reached the shoals, schools of fish are piled and crowded into the rocks and onto the beach. The blocks of wood on the rope make shadows which go all the way down to the bottom of the lake and the fish, seeing the approach of these shadows and the apparent solid bars which they form in the water, swim fearfully away from them and so are caught." -- L. Ron Hubbard (* Lake Tanganyika is located in east-central Africa ** shoal: shallow)

Four Ways to Shine Light on Your Shadows

1. One effective method is drilling or role playing. You identify a circumstance that gives you fear. You pretend to face the situation in a role-playing exercise. Drilling allows you to discover which parts of the problem are really problems and which are simply shadows.

For example, you need to ask your boss for a raise. Before talking to him you practice the conversation with your friend. You work out some details, change your approach and work out your best possible presentation. Because you are prepared for the meeting, you are not as nervous.

2. Another method of reducing fear is to approach the problem with gradient steps. You cut the problem into smaller pieces. You successfully deal with the small parts and thus reach a full resolution.

For example, you need to fill out a 10-page government tax form. Instead of trying to take on the entire task in one day, you decide to just fill out the first page and then quit.

One page is much easier than ten pages! The next day, you decide to tackle pages two and three.

You continue like this and before you know it, you have completed the form. You have conquered your fear.

3. Talking about the fear can reduce the effects of fear. After you openly discuss it with someone who listens, the problem often feels less difficult.

For example, you are afraid of flying in an airplane. Your spouse agrees to listen to you and you spill your guts. You describe everything about flying that scares you. After a while, you decide you can fly.

L. Ron Hubbard discovered that talking and listening is a powerful form of therapy, when done correctly. He spent years developing an entire system that guides your communication in a counseling session. As a result, you can completely remove your fears. For more information, click the link at the end of this article.

4. In many cases, the best approach to dealing with a fear is to close your eyes and jump in. You face the fear without any regard for your feelings and emotions. You might get nervous or even terrified, but once you take the leap, you discover the big monsters are merely shadows.

Confronting a fear can be tough, but the reward is enormous.

Succeeding, despite a fear, means you have done something you could not do before. And that is real success!

Watch a video about resolving fears and other problems that block your success by clicking http://www.lrh-books.com/Dnintro.html

TipsForSuccess: Does Money Control You?

Is Money Controlling You?

Do you control money or does money control you?

10 Signs Money Is Controlling You
You constantly worry about having enough money
You often wish you could buy more things
Your only goal in life is to get rich, but you have no realistic plan
You spend money to feel better
You blame others for your financial problems (government, boss, spouse)
You judge people based on the amount of money they have
You lie, cheat or steal to get money; even a little lying or cheating shows money is controlling you
You take unnecessary financial risks
You use credit to buy things that decrease in value, such as expensive cars or expensive clothing
Money controls your mood-you feel good or bad based on your finances

10 Signs You Are Controlling Money
You decide to buy something, save the money, and get what you want
You buy things that increase in value
You invest in yourself, such as more education or personal improvement
You donate to causes you believe in, even if just small amounts
You keep your financial agreements
You have good credit
You pay your taxes
Cheating you out of your money is very difficult
Each year, your earning power improves and financial worth increases
You use money as a tool to follow your dreams and reach your goals

Five Ways to Control Money

1. Spend your money according to a plan.

"THE LESS AMOUNT OF INCOME AN ORGANIZATION OR AN INDIVIDUAL HAS, THE MORE CAREFULLY AND WISELY FINANCIAL PLANNING MUST BE DONE." -- L. Ron Hubbard

If you spend money as you get it, or to pay off squeaky wheels, you have no plan. You spend a few bucks here and a few bucks there until your money is gone. Instead, take control and write a financial spending plan. Decide in advance how you will spend your money.

When you plan your spending, you make better decisions. Examples: "If I buy these extra classes, I'll get a raise." "I want a new car and will set aside $60 per week until I have the full amount." "If I pay off this credit card with the minimum payments, it'll take me 23 YEARS to pay it off! I'd better pay $100 extra each month and cut the stupid thing in half!"

2. Never spend more than you make.

"Make all the money you can. Spend less than that. That's the simple ABC of financial control." -- L. Ron Hubbard

When planning your spending, ensure you follow the above rule. For example, "Each week I will set aside $______ for the house, 10% to education, 5% to savings, pay current bills and buy food. Anything left can be spent on fun things like movies and vacations."

3. Stop wasting your time trying to get money without earning it.

"One has to produce something to exchange for money." "One exchanges something valuable for something valuable." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Do not gamble, play the lottery or try to cheat others. Do not wait for your fortune to arrive or expect someone to hand you money. Count only on yourself.

Get rich the old reliable way. Create something valuable and exchange it for the money you want. You deserve it, because you earn it.

4. Increase your productivity and improve the quality of your work.

"Produce in abundance and try to give better-than-expected quality." -- L. Ron Hubbard

For example, if you give haircuts for a living, find ways to make your customers' hair look more beautiful. If you fix furnaces and usually fix two per day, figure out how to fix three furnaces per day . . . and then train and manage other furnace-repair people.

5. Make constant, steady progress.

"THE TOTALITY* OF POWER IS ORDERLY PROGRESS." -- L. Ron Hubbard *(Totality: quality or state of being total or complete.)

Keep track of your financial progress. For example, make a graph showing your total debts and total savings. Then make sure your savings go up every month and your debts go down every month, even if just a little bit.

When you know you are steadily improving your financial condition, you are controlling it.

Once you are in control of money, you can focus on your more important purposes.

TipsForSuccess: "The Whole World Stinks"

"The Whole World Stinks!"

While Grandpa is taking a nap on the couch, his seven-year-old grandson gets some Limburger cheese from the refrigerator and smears it on Grandpa's mustache. (If you've never smelled Limburger cheese, its smell is very strong!)

When Grandpa wakes up, he says, "This room stinks!" He goes to another room and says, "This room stinks." After walking throughout the house, he says, "The whole house stinks!"

Grandpa goes outside and takes a deep breath and says, "The whole world stinks!"

Have you ever noticed how the world seems to change according to your attitude?

Three Examples

1. You read about the bad economy and suddenly worry about your job or business, your lack of savings and your bills. You look outside and the weather seems uncomfortable, the sky seems darker. You notice the people walking by seem to look at the ground more than before. Everyone seems afraid.

2. After you have another argument with your spouse, you go to a movie. You notice that nobody seems to smile. Couples seem to be bored with each other. The movie's happy ending seems phony.

3. Despite the economy, your business made a healthy profit this month. You celebrate at a restaurant where the food tastes great and the waitress is cheerful. When you go outside, the sunset looks glorious. Everyone seems to be smiling.

Why Life Changes

In an article "Is it Possible to Be Happy?" L. Ron Hubbard writes:

"You remember when you were maybe five years old, and you went out in the morning and you looked at the day, and it was a very, very beautiful day, and you looked at the flowers and they were very beautiful flowers.

"Twenty-five years later you get up in the morning, you take a look at the flowers--they are wilted. The day isn't a happy day.

"Well, what has changed? You know they are the same flowers, it's the same world, something must have changed.

"Probably it was you."

"One's attitude toward life makes every possible difference in one's living."

"The day when you stop building your own environment, when you stop building your own surroundings, when you stop waving a magic hand and gracing* everything around you with magic and beauty, things cease to be magical, things cease to be beautiful." -- L. Ron Hubbard (*gracing = to give beauty, elegance or charm to something)

How can you start building your own environment? How can you make your surroundings more beautiful? How can you remove that Limburger smell from your world?

Suggestions for Adding Magic to Your Life

1. Look around you. Notice your immediate surroundings as they are right now.

2. Write down some things you can do to make your environment a little more cheerful.

3. Write down some things you can do to make your environment a little more beautiful.

4. Write down some things you can do to make your environment a little more magical.

5. Do these things until your world is happier!

6. Read the complete article, "Is it Possible to Be Happy?" at www.genuineauditing.org

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: Your Power to Make People Happy

You Have the Power to Make People Happy

If you make people happy, you can take giant leaps toward your goals.

If you think about it, all your success depends on other people. People can give you opportunities, money, contracts, praise, support, help and advice. They can recommend you to other people who also give you what you need.

People can also stop your success. They can criticize you, oppose you and close down your progress. Even if they do not actively oppose you, they can avoid you, hide your options or simply do nothing for you.

"If a person thinks he can be happy without making those around him happy, he's crazy." -- L. Ron Hubbard

When you make others happy, you own an important people skill. They want to help you. Even better, making people happy makes you feel great!

However, mastering the skill to making people happy can be difficult.

Does Changing People Make Them Happy?

Everyone has an identity. It's what they want to be. You can call it their "beingness."

Trying to make people change their beingness is a common activity. For example, a 10-year-old girl's parents are worried that she loves motorcycles. They are afraid she'll grow up and join a motorcycle gang. So they make her wear dresses and play with dolls. They forbid her from being around motorcycles. A happy girl becomes unhappy.

As another example, Fred is a computer geek. He likes to wear goofy clothes and tell silly jokes. Fred goes to a college where the popular students criticize him. "Fred, your jokes are so dumb I want to gag." "Fred asked me out to dinner once and I laughed at him." "Check out Fred's striped pants! What an idiot!"

Married people often try to change each other's beingness as well. "Jill, I wish you were not so talkative. You're on the phone all day." "Jack, you lazy bum. I wish you were more energetic so you would take me out dancing!" Jack and Jill's marriage is not happy.

How do you feel when someone tries to change your beingness? Perhaps you feel resentful. You might even want to attack the person. You certainly do not feel happier.

Granting Beingness

"The ability to assume or grant (give, allow) beingness is probably the highest of human virtues*. It is even more important to be able to permit (allow) other people to have beingness than to be able oneself to assume it." -- L. Ron Hubbard (virtue: good or desirable quality)

As you know, you must "be" before "doing" or "having." For example, before "having" a good marriage, you must first "be" a good husband or wife. You can then "do" the things necessary to then "have" a great marriage.

Per the above quote, a skill more important than assuming your own beingness is permitting others to be whatever they want to be.

For example, you need to let Fred the computer geek be exactly what he wants to be. You grant him beingness. You say to yourself, "It's completely okay with me for Fred to wear odd clothing and make bad jokes." You then realize Fred is actually a good person. You laugh at his jokes. You admire his purple ties. You become friends. A few years later, you get an executive job at his new multi-million-dollar computer company.

Granting beingness to marriage partners can seem very difficult, but anyone can do it. "Jack, if you want to lie on the couch each night, that's okay with me." "Jill, let's get another phone line so you won't be interrupted with other calls." If you sincerely grant beingness to your spouse, you are both much happier.

For most parents, ensuring their children are happy is their first goal. Granting beingness is essential to this happiness. For example, on Monday, little Joey wants to be a fireman. His mom says, "You'll be a great fireman!" On Tuesday, Joey wants to be a basketball star. "I think you'll be a wonderful basketball star!" And so on.

Later in life, Joey's mother still grants him beingness. "So you want to quit college to work for a rock band? You'll be setting up the stage? Well, I think you'll be the best stage manager they've ever hired!" One week later, Joey decides he should finish his education and goes back to college.

What if Joey's mother had not granted him beingness. "Joey, that's the stupidest decision you've ever made! You must quit this job and go back to college." Of course, Joey can't admit he is wrong about his decision and so sets up stages for rock bands for the next 25 years.

Change the World

Imagine how the world would be if everyone granted beingness to everyone else. No more discrimination because of the color of your skin. Women would be treated as fairly in business as men. Everyone could join whatever religion they preferred.

Career choices would come from the heart. You and everyone around you could map out their own lives. You could be whomever you wanted to be.

Such a world is possible. It starts with granting beingness. It leads to massive happiness.

Recommendations

Grant beingness to everyone you meet today. Let them be whoever they want to be. Make no attempt to change their beingness.

Grant beingness to someone you already like. Notice what happens to your feelings and your relationship with this person.

If someone irritates you, grant him or her beingness. For example, if another driver on the road makes you mad, grant him beingness. If someone appears odd or ugly to you, grant this person beingness.

If you hate someone, grant him or her beingness. You can do this right now, without even seeing the person. It may not be easy, but the rewards can be interesting, if not amazing.

Watch how others respond to you when you grant them beingness. You may discover you now have the skill to make anyone happy.

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

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TipsForSuccess: Why You Must Be Unreasonable

Why You Must Be Unreasonable

You succeed when you are unreasonable about your success. You neither give nor accept excuses. You insist on success.

L. Ron Hubbard defines reasonableness as "faulty explanations." When you agree with faulty explanations, you are too reasonable.

Examples of faulty explanations:

"I can't repair your furnace today as it might rain." The truth is, the repairman is going to a basketball game.

"None of the staff will work past 5:00." The truth is, the manager does not want to work past 5:00.

"I can't pay you as I promised as my wife is sick and can't fix our meals." The truth is, he is spending the money on a new boat.

Why Agree?

If you agree with faulty explanations, you agree to fail. Excuses, justifications and reasonableness produce nothing.

Yet disagreeing with failure, with problems and with excuses, helps you succeed.

"If you can't fix the furnace today because of the rain, I'll find someone who repairs furnaces, despite the rain."

"I believe lots of people will work past 5:00. You are the manager and need to handle the schedules. Do you need me to show you how to do it?"

"Well, I'm sorry about your wife, but don't see how that's related. You agreed to pay me today, so I'll have to get the money from you right now as you promised."

When you disagree with faulty explanations, when you are unreasonable about failure, the sun shines, the rainbows appear and everything improves.

Not only must you be unreasonable with others, you must be unreasonable with yourself. For example you think, "I'm tired because I work so hard."

You then say to yourself, "Too bad! I need to disagree with this silly explanation. I've worked harder than this and felt great! I'm tired because I'm working hard on the wrong things. I'm going to WAKE UP, stop wasting time and make this day a productive day!"

Statistical Justifications

The most important thing you must be unreasonable about is decreased productivity. When your statistics in life (how much you earn or produce) are going down, you fail if you make up excuses. You cannot accept faulty explanations for failure.

"Never JUSTIFY why a graph continues to be down and never be reasonable about it. A down graph is simply a down graph and somebody is goofing." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Justifications for failures are everywhere:

"Reading skills are getting worse in the United States because we have too many television channels."

"I had to close the business because of the economy."

"No one buys cars from Pete because he's too old."

If you are reasonable and accept these excuses, you cannot solve the problems.

However, when you disagree with explanations and find the truth, the solutions become obvious.

Examples:

"Television has nothing to do with reading skills. What else could it be? Oh! Are children taught to use a dictionary so they can understand what they read?"

"Your business didn't fail because of the economy. It failed because you didn't know what you were doing. Did you advertise? Did you deliver what you promised? Did you add new products or services that people wanted to buy?"

"People buy cars from salesmen older than Pete every day. Was Pete working every day? Has anyone trained him to sell?"

The barriers to your success are excuses, faulty explanations and justifications. As soon as you get unreasonable with these barriers, you find the solutions you need to become successful.

Exercises

In the examples below, decide which are reasonable explanations and which are the truthful statements.

"I have no money because (I spend more than I earn) (of the cost of gas)."

"I can't lose weight because (I'm too busy) (I'm lazy and addicted to chocolate)."

"I'm single and lonely because (I don't get out and meet people) (no one likes me)."

"I can't find a good assistant because I (am too busy) (am not taking the time to find one)."

"I let people boss me around because (I'm kind and caring) (I don't stand up to them)."

Recommendations

1. Write down a failure you have had in your life.

2. Write down all the excuses and faulty explanations you have invented or accepted for this failure.

3. Get unreasonable and disagree with all of them.

4. Accept full responsibility for the failure and find what you did or did not do that caused it.

5. Turn the failure into a success.

If you continue to be unreasonable with excuses, justifications and faulty explanations, you will make it go right and turn the failure into a success.

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

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