TipsForSuccess: Make a Fresh Start

 

How to Make a Fresh Start Nothing can ruin your success faster than personal conflicts. Upsets between business partners or battles between bosses and staff ruin productivity, reduce income and build up stress. Bad marriages can also ruin your success. A stressful marriage can put you in a bad mood at work. You cannot think as efficiently and tend to dislike others. Bad work relationships can also hurt your marriage. You come home in a bad mood and take it out on your spouse. Most people have good intentions most of the time. They want to get along, do their work and succeed. Yet personal upsets can make good people into monsters. Office politics, backstabbing, covert and overt attacks, jealousy, rumors and revenge are the result of personal conflicts. Conflicts are major blocks to your success. How Do You Deal with Personal Conflicts? Imagine you get promoted to a management position at work. You now have five staff who now answer to you. Four of them are supportive and friendly. Yet the fifth person, Dick, is a problem. Dick is not cheerful around you. He jokes and smiles around the other staff, but frowns and gets serious when you show up. He never looks you in the eye. He avoids you whenever possible. One day, a customer complains about Dick. After you make the customer happy, you call Dick into your office. You say, "So why did you mess up with that customer?" Dick sneers and says, "He's just a jerk. Take his side if you want. I don't care. Can I get back to work now?" What do you do? Let Dick leave your office and pretend there is no problem? Get angry at him and chew him out? Plead with him to be nice to you? Demand he tell you what is wrong? A Better Approach The real problem is you have not formed a working relationship with Dick. You need to apply the Non-Existence Formula. "The Non-Existence Formula is: "1. Find a comm [communication] line. "2. Make yourself known. "3. Discover what is needed or wanted. "4. Do, produce and/or present it." - L. Ron Hubbard Since you already have the communication line as Dick is sitting in front of you, you can now do steps 2 and 3. You say, "Dick, before we deal with this customer, I'd like to get our relationship off to a good start. As you know, I'm now in charge here and you are working for me. What do you need or want from me as your boss?" Dick looks startled. "What do you mean?" "I want to know the best way to work with you. I also want to tell you what I need and want from you, but let's start with what you need or want from me, okay?" Dick shrugs and says, "Okay. I like to know what is going on. For example, nobody told me you were taking over." You say, "Oh really! That's not good. I'm sorry no one told you. As your new boss, I'll be happy to tell you what's going on. I have no secrets. What else do you need and want from me?" Dick relaxes and says, "I like to handle customers myself. If a customer complains, I'd like a shot at handling him before you step in. No one lets me do this." You say, "No problem. From now on, when a customer complains, I'll give you one chance to fix the problem yourself." Dick starts to look interested. "I want to go to lunch at 12:30 instead of noon. I want a better chair for my back. And I want someone to listen to my new ideas of how we can make more sales." All of this is fine with you. You say, "Now let me tell you what I need and want from you. I need a daily update on what you are doing. I want you to see me if you aren't sure what to do. I want you to beat your own sales records. I also want you to be friendly to me. Can you do these things?" Dick's eyes sparkle as he says, "No problem!" He smiles, sticks out his hand and you shake on it. You and Dick then discuss the customer complaint. Dick says he'll call him and make sure everything is okay. Dick gets back to work and tells a coworker, "No one from management has ever asked me what I wanted. We might have a good boss here!" Ten Great Uses of the Non-Existence Formula 1. You start a new job of any kind. You meet with everyone you will be working with. You tell them your new position and follow the steps of the formula. You are in control of your job faster than ever. 2. You are in a conflict with someone. You realize neither of you are doing what the other needs or wants. You arrange a meeting (comm line) and do the next two steps. "Joe, as your assistant, I want to do a perfect job. Can we go over specifically what you need and want from me?" With a coworker you say, "Jill, we're stuck with each other. I think we should work things out so we get along. What do you need and want from me as your coworker?" "Can I tell you want I need and want from you?" 3. You want to be hired for the perfect job. During the job interview you ask. "If you hire me, what will you need and want from me?" Since no one else has asked, the boss is a little startled by the question, but really enjoys answering it. You explain how you can deliver these needs and wants . . . and more. You get the job on the spot. 4. You want to rent a building space or apartment, but there are several other applicants also want the space. So when turning in your application, you ask the landlord, "If you select me as your tenant, what will you need and want from me as my landlord?" The landlord thinks it over and tells you her needs and wants. No one has ever asked her and she's delighted someone cares. You assure her you can deliver. You are selected above all other applicants. 5. You want your boss to sell you a partnership in his company. You say, "I think you have a great operation here. If you were going to sell a partnership, what might you need and want from a partner?" The boss starts to think about it and mentions a few things. You start to do things he would need from a partner. After a while, he makes you an offer to become a partner. 6. You're dating someone and want to take your relationship to the next level. You find out what this person needs or wants from a mate. You decide if you can do those things or not. If you can, you start to deliver. He or she feels a strong attraction to you and wants to take the relationship to the next level. You make it clear to this person what you need and want from the relationship. You observe if he or she can do those things for you. If not, you break it off. If he or she can deliver, you go for it! 7. Your marriage is not going well. You ask your spouse, "I want us to have a really good relationship. I think we need a fresh start. Do you agree?" If your spouse agrees, you ask each other, "What do you need and want from me as your spouse?" 8. Your child is starting in a new school. You visit the school and ask the teacher, "What do you need or want from me?" "What do you need and want from my child?" Your child starts off on the right foot. 9. You are constantly looking for the needs or wants of your customers. For example, a superior cab driver not only finds out the passenger's destination, he asks, "Are you comfortable? Would you like to see today's local newspaper? Can I tell you anything about our city?" An electronics store surveys its customers every month to find out what they want to buy. An orthodontist asks each new patient for his or her needs and wants. A computer programmer constantly asks users what they need from their computers. Any successful business finds current data on its clients or customer's needs and wants. 10. You want to form a great relationship with the new leaders of your group. You say, "Hi. I'll be working under you as the ______ and want to know what you need and want from me." You find you get the best treatment from the new leader.   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you. Copyright © 2005 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: Enjoy the Good Life!

 

Enjoy the Good Life! The good life! What does it mean to you? Does it mean you live in the penthouse of a beautiful apartment building in London? Are you splashing around in your private swimming pool? Or are you just eating in better restaurants? Your lifestyle, also known as your standard of living, is the material comfort of your life: your clothing, house, possessions, luxuries and so on. What is the ideal standard of living for you? Take a minute to write what lifestyle you would most enjoy. So how do you get the good life? Quiz Check the items below that determine your standard of living: Your employer Computers or machinery Your parents Luck or destiny Big business Chanting or meditation The government Your productivity If you chose the last factor, you can improve the quality of your lifestyle. "Products are the basis of a standard of living. They don't appear from midair. They come from work truly done." -- L. Ron Hubbard When you produce enough valuable products, you earn the standard of living you want. What Is Your Product? Everyone needs to produce products. If you build houses, your product is a "house." If you publish books, your product is most likely a "published book." If you cook food, your product might be "a healthy, delicious meal." If you produce a service, such as a hotel clerk, your product might be "a happy hotel guest." If you are a doctor, your product is "a healthy patient." If you sing operas, your product might be "an emotionally effected audience." As L. Ron Hubbard writes, the work must be truly done. Employees who exaggerate or lie about their productivity do not stay on the job for long. For example, a lazy computer technician might say, "Don't worry about it, boss. I'm sure those machines work fine. The problem is probably with the software company." The computer technician is not producing a product. Businesses who do not truly do the work are also on the road to failure. "You will make millions with our guaranteed stock market investment system. Just send $999 for this book today!" "Apply our Super-Duper cream to your forehead every morning and you'll soon feel cheerful." "We can install your new roof at half the cost of your other bids if you give me a check for $10,000 right now." "Factually one normally has to work fast and expertly and in high volume to bring about any acceptable standard of living for himself and his group." -- L. Ron Hubbard These three production factors determine your standard of living: 1. Speed: how quickly can you produce your product? 2. Expertise: do you know what you are doing? 3. Volume: how many products can you produce? Working fast is important. A restaurant whose customers wait 45 minutes for their meals makes less money than a restaurant that prepares meals within 20 minutes. An auto mechanic who can replace an engine in six hours enjoys a better standard of living than a mechanic who needs 20 hours to do the same job. Your expertise determines the quality of your product. If a computer program you write makes computers crash, your standard of living will crash. A horse trainer who produces a calm, friendly obedient horse earns a higher standard of living than a horse trainer whose horses bite or kick their riders. And of course, the more you produce, the better your standard of living. For example, if you are a high school teacher, you might decide your product is "an educated student." So to teach more students, you might write books, produce documentaries or create e-learning websites. Instead of producing 30 educated students each week, you produce hundreds or thousands of educated students. A Little-known Fact about Achieving the Lifestyle You Want Successful business owners and executives find that you never get back the same amount you produce. You need to produce much, much more than most people realize. "At a personal level one must produce in excess of his standard of living just to retain and maintain it." - L. Ron Hubbard To reach the standard of living you desire, you need to work faster and with more expertise than you currently do. You can then produce the amount or volume of products you need. For example, you want a standard of living that costs $1000 per week. However, you need to earn more than $1000 per week to do this. You need to pay for transportation, work clothes, gas, child care, taxes and other expenses before you can buy the lifestyle you want. So you need to earn $2000 each week to enjoy a $1000-per-week standard of living. If you own a business, the extra costs you must pay are even higher. Business taxes, insurance, equipment, building rent, supplies and so on means you need to produce many times more than the cost of your standard of living. For instance, an accountant may need to produce $6,000 in services each week to afford a $1000-per-week lifestyle. A toothbrush manufacturer may need to produce $100,000 in toothbrushes each week before the company owner can afford the same $1000-per-week lifestyle. Five Tips for Improving Your Standard of Living Because you control your standard of living, you can improve it with these steps. 1. Identify your product. What is the final result of your work? What will people pay you for? 2. Find three ways to increase your production speed. Use your ideas until your speed has increased. 3. Find three ways to increase your expertise. Use these ideas to increase the quality or value of your product. 4. Find three ways to increase the amount of production you get done per week. Use these ideas until your production volume increases. 5. Continue to increase the speed, quality and volume of your production until you have more than enough money to raise your standard of living. Once you have earned the money for your new lifestyle, go for it! Buy that new car. Move to that new house. Eat at those nicer restaurants. You earned it. You deserve it. So enjoy it!   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you. Copyright © 2005 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: Five Quotes from "The Way to Happiness"

 

 

Five Quotes from The Way to Happiness More than 63 million copies of The Way to Happiness have been distributed around the world. The booklet, written in 1981 by L. Ron Hubbard, is a common sense guide to success and happiness. The booklet outlines 21 recommendations for successful living. The following quotes are from The Way to Happiness. The page numbers are for the free download version of the booklet. 1. "One can feel at times like a spinning leaf blown along a dirty street, one can feel like a grain of sand stuck in one place. But nobody has said that life was a calm and orderly thing; it isn't. One isn't a tattered leaf nor a grain of sand: one can, to a greater or lesser degree, draw his road map and follow it." (Page 63) 2. "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." (Page 58) 3. "The test of true competence is the end result." (Page 39) 4. "You are important to other people. You are listened to. You can influence others." (Page 3) 5. "One can feel that things are such now that it is much too late to do anything, that one's past road is so messed up that there is no chance of drawing a future road that will be any different: there is always a point on the road when one can map a new one. There is no person alive who cannot make a new beginning." (Page 63) You can learn more about The Way to Happiness or download a free copy of the booklet by going to www.twth.org. You can also buy a paperback or hard cover copy of the booklet from TipsForSuccess at www.tipsforsuccess.org/way-to-happiness.htm.   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you. Copyright © 2005 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. The Way to Happiness is a Trademark owned by L. Ron Hubbard Library in the USA and in no other countries and is used with its permission. 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: Indecision and Inaction

 

Indecision and Inaction Right now, you can make a decision or take an action that will make you prosperous and proud. However, if you find it hard to make decisions or take action, you miss the opportunity. Indecision costs companies millions when they fail to decide or fail to act. An opportunity comes and goes while management sits on its hands. For example, IBM could have controlled the personal computer market if it had acted on Bill Gates' offer to handle their computer operating software for them. Barnes and Noble was the world's biggest bookseller until Amazon.com took over. By the time Barnes and Noble started selling books on the Internet, Amazon.com had taken the number one spot. When you as an individual fail to make a decision or fail to act, you can also ruin your success or happiness. For example, you could have started a business when you were in your twenties. You could have formed a partnership with a very successful person. You could have made better decisions regarding your ex-spouse. You have probably seen big opportunities, knew they were big opportunities, and failed to act on them. In fact, you probably have one or more opportunities in front of you now. So what makes you hesitate? The Answer Is Simple "Inaction and indecision in the present is because of fear of consequences of the future." -- L. Ron Hubbard Because you are afraid of certain consequences, you do not act or do not decide. You can see this principle at work with the following exercise. Five Tips for Conquering the Fear of Consequences 1. Write down an opportunity that is available to you right now. 2. Write down the decision that is difficult to make or the action that is difficult to take. 3. Write down the consequences you might be afraid of. 4. Of these consequences, identify your biggest fear or fears. 5. Take action to resolve this fear or fears. You should now be able to make the decision or take the action necessary for your success. Example Richard has always wanted to be a business owner. His brother Alan calls one day and says, "How would you like to be partners with me on a Crazy Chicken franchise? It's the best fast-food chicken in the world! It'll be worth millions some day. Just give me that $20,000 you have in savings, quit your job and we'll start!" Richard likes the idea, but feels frozen. "I'll think about it." He then spends 80 stressful hours during the next two weeks trying to decide. Everyone has an opinion for him and he listens to them all. His wife says, "Do what you think is right." His mother says, "Don't be stupid." His father says, "Go for it!" He still can't decide. Finally, a friend at work gives him this article and Richard does the five steps as follows: 1. "I have the opportunity to be a partner with my brother Alan in a Crazy Chicken restaurant." 2. "I can't decide if buying the Crazy Chicken franchise will be successful or not." 3. "The future consequences I might be afraid of are that I'll lose my savings. I'll look like a fool. I'll regret quitting my job. I'll be cleaning a kitchen for the rest of my life." 4. "What's the biggest fear? Well, I can always save more money, so I'm not too afraid of losing my savings. I don't care if I look foolish. I doubt I'll really regret quitting my job. But I can't stand cleaning kitchens! I'm terrified I'll live my life cleaning kitchens. I'd rather beg on the street than clean a kitchen." 5. Richard calls his brother. "Alan, if I do this deal, will you be in charge of kitchen cleaning forever?" Alan says, "Sure!" Richard says, "I want it in writing. I'll serve the food, take the money, sweep the parking lot or anything else. But if I have to clean the kitchen, even one time, you have to agree to buy me out immediately, okay?" Alan says, "No problem. You will never, ever clean a kitchen at Crazy Chicken." Richard laughs, makes the deal and quits his job.   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you. Copyright © 2005 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: New Ideas vs. Old Ideas

New Ideas vs. 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 telephone, 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. Like most people, George felt he should solve his money problems with new ideas. This idea is almost always wrong. The Best Income Ideas Lie in the Past "Affluence Attainment, consists of: ... Doing the things that won, not new things untried as yet." -- L. Ron Hubbard 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 festivals paid $1000 for one weekend. * Buying old cars, fixing them up and selling them. The last one, an old 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 jobs immediately. He convinces the sunglass company to give him 200 pairs on credit so he can sell them at a flea market show that weekend. Meanwhile, he finds a wrecked 1988 Mercedes and makes a deal to buy it for $500. George then persuades the seller to wait for one month for payment. George quits his McDonald's job. He makes $800 selling sunglasses that weekend. He spends three weeks on the Mercedes. After George fixes the car and cleans it up, the seller decides to buy it back for $4500. George uses old, proven ideas to boost his income. Business Uses When a business sticks to proven ideas, and avoids untried methods, it usually succeeds. For example, the owner of a popular Chinese restaurant says, "I want to try something new! Let's add Mexican food to the menu. I like Mexican food and I think everyone will like having the choice." Unfortunately, the smell of Mexican food does not mix well with the smell of Chinese food. The restaurant is soon empty. As soon as the owner goes back to the successful formula of providing Chinese food alone, the restaurant fills up again. Smart business owners and executives also find ways to expand past, proven ideas to make even more money. For example, the owner of an auto dealership notices his new 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, "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 was from two years ago. It's the commercial that shows you wearing diapers and crying. You swore to never show that commercial again." The owner says, "Show it again! In fact, run it twice as much. And schedule the film crew to come to make another one. I'm really going to cry this time!" New car sales 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. Do things that won 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 has won for them. Use those 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. For example, you get a job selling insurance. You find out who has the best sales and buy each of them dinner during your first week on the job. You take notes of everything they did right. You then copy their actions as closely as possible. Some of these top sales people even help you out with some prospects. Within a month, you are making a good income. If you want a big source of income, you do not copy the actions of people who are broke. You copy the actions of high-income producers, especially if you agree with their methods and purposes. As a final example, you decide to start a new software company. Before you start, you find out who owns successful software companies and read everything you can about them. You meet with any of the owners or managers who will talk to you about their success. Even though they are very busy, they feel flattered. They may have learned from other experts as well and want to help new entrepreneurs, so they give you several hours of time. You learn exactly what they did and copy it. Your new company prospers. Doing things that won for you or others is a safe route to success. If you want to try new things, only do so AFTER you are succeeding with ideas and methods that you or others have already proven to be successful in the real world. Recommendations 1. Make a list of income ideas that worked for you in the past or present. 2. Make a list of income ideas that worked for others in the past or present. 3. Next to each item on both lists, write down how you can make each of these ideas work for you now. 4. Do these things and nothing else.   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you. Copyright © 2005 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.