Warren Buffett: Advice for 2009

We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.

Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older.

This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.

Hard work : All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Laziness : A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

Earnings : Never depend on a single source of income. (At least make your Investments get you second earning)

Spending : If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.

Savings : Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.

Borrowings : The borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Accounting : It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

Auditing : Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.

Risk-taking : Never test the depth of the river with both feet.

(Have an alternate plan ready )

Investment : Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life

[Source: Indian Express Finance]

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How to Love a Task that You Hate?

Successful people make a habit of doing those things that unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.

Let's face it. If we are going to truly excel in our life and business, than there are certain tasks that we simply must do. Many of these tasks strike us as just plain unpleasant, even painful.

Unfortunately, we are wired to avoid pain. This means that unless we change our perspective on certain Peak Performance behaviors, we will avoid them, and sabotage our own success.

On the other hand, perhaps we will do our necessary tasks, but complete them with clenched teeth, furrowed brows and irritation coursing through our bodies. That state is not very pleasant, and will seriously hurt our productivity. What happens when we need to speak in that mood? We say ugly, unproductive things!

What is the ideal solution? It's simple.
Learn to love the task that you hate.
Yes, you can. Remember, it is not the task that makes your mood. It's what you tell yourself about that task.

Now, the first time I discovered this, I was in a moment of motherhood- vexation. Since then, I've applied this strategy to my business tasks with great success too.

Here's what happened...

I was in the mini-van driving all four of my children to all kinds of different places. I felt like I had a hundred other things that I should have been doing, and I realized that I despised the thankless job of taxi-driver. As I sat there scowling and driving, I realized that I needed help.

In a still agitated voice I shouted to the kids, "What is great about car time?"
All four glanced at each other, looked confused and asked "What?"
"What is great about car time?" I asked, a little nicer. "I know I need a new attitude and I'm feeling stuck."
Soon, they came up with some benefits:
"We get where we need to go."
"We get to listen to new music on the radio."
"We get to tell you about our day."
"We get to be together."
"We get to have our gratitude parties."
And on they went.

Somehow, after each idea, I felt better.
It was true. We so rarely got to be together at home to talk and sing, and laugh. What a great opportunity we had in the car. Why did I possibly hate it so much?
From that moment on, I have loved "car time." I've loved it on long road trips when we were stuck in traffic, and I've loved it when we were just coming straight home after school.
I find treasure in having all four of my kids in such close proximity to me. When their dad is around, it's even better.

I've learned to love a task that I once hated.

Since then, I've helped myself attach pleasure to all sorts of unpleasant tasks, and the result has been what we're all after anyway - greater peace, joy, and more profit.

What is it that you need to do? What is keeping you from doing it with a smile?

I once had a staff member who made his living as a tele-marketer. He totally hated it, until he used his acting skills and started making his calls with different foreign accents. He started setting records at his company because
he was having so much fun.

At that point, he got promoted to something he truly enjoyed.

What is one success-habit that you dread, but which could make you much more successful? Only you know the answer to that.

Whatever it is, here are three empowering questions regarding that task:
1. Why is this task important?
2. What is great about this task?
3. How can I do it in a way that is enjoyable?
Take a few minutes to answer those questions. We would love to hear what you come up with.

Nothing is impossible. You can think, act, and feel like successful people do, and achieve the same results.
You're already successful.
Now, play to win.

[Source: builttowincoaching.com, by Gina Parris]

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Power Shifting

Imagine how your life could improve if you could shift your state of being, attitude and mindset gracefully and easily anytime you choose. In this article I will show you how you can do this in three easy steps.

I was attending a convention recently that I have gone to for the last 5 years that has typically been excellent for my business. But this year as I stood sentinel at my booth, I felt tired. People smiled and said hello as they walked by, but few were stopping to visit.

My insecurity activated my doubt and I began to wonder why I was here. The internal dialogue kicked in as I began to convince myself I should skip the rubber chicken dinner, retire early and think about cutting the trip short.

Luckily, I was listening and caught myself in the act.

I asked myself why I was here and what did I want to create or make happen. That answer was simple. My intention was to book business, but since I had little enthusiasm about this at the moment, I opened to an intention that would support me in this moment.

I have written much about the intention but you can use this powerful principle quite proactively. I decided my intention was to have fun and create business opportunities, but to put the emphasis on having a good time. And the belief I choose to use to reinforce this was, "I have fun wherever I go."

Within minutes a woman I have known (at a distance) for many years stopped by and we had a light hearted chat. Previously, we had not exchanged more than a few words, but the conversation was quite enjoyable. Then, out of the blue, she invited me to a karaoke party, explaining that there was a whole, fun crowd who never went to the chicken dinner. Aligned with my new intention, I agreed to stop by.

I found a fabulous community of people who were laughing, singing and carrying on. I joined in for a few dances and a glass of Cabernet and honestly, this was one of the most fun times I ever had at a convention. And oh, by the way, that evening, without any effort whatsoever, I was booked for two big jobs with new clients, people I had never met before.

Forget trying hard. Learn to shift on a dime by choosing to set empowering intentions and beliefs. This will support you in changing life or better yet, allowing life to shift around you. Now that's powerful.

The 3 steps are:

• Choose an intention that will shift your reality including how you feel right now.
• Decide what is the highest/best belief you could choose to support this new intention
• Allow the shift to occur. It may start internally as you notice you feel differently. Or you may notice it first around you as your circumstances or the people around you shift.

[Source: dreamcoach.com, by Marcia Wieder]

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Tracking Your Progress

Even though you don't want to live in the past, it can be an invaluable tool to you.

Throughout our lives, every single one of us have had times where we did something great, or at least really good... someone gave us an approving glance, a promotion, a new client. Perhaps we dated someone hot! Wedding day, giving birth, scoring a touchdown, winning a medal. You simply helped someone out that needed it. These events made you feel good.

A very effective way to put yourself into a great mood any time you want, especially at times where exceptional performance is needed NOW is to create... Your victory log.

A victory log is merely a sheet of paper that you have nearby any time you need to be reminded of past successes of ANY kind. By reminding yourself about your successes, by pulling out that little sheet, you'll often be able to go on and reach down and grab your greatest performance ever even from the depths of despair. Often times, you just need to be able to REMEMBER that you can do it, when your thinking is really cloudy.

If you get depressed, pull out your Victory Log and you'll feel a whole lot better. I absolutely guarantee it. Yes, this is simple. That's why it works.

Do you think that the doers - the real winners in life - are that much different than you? Mostly, with exceptional people, they just keep their victories just below their consciousness, so that magical confidence is right there when they need it.

So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do this exercise. Don't put it off. If now isn't good, do it later today. It's easy. It's fun. And you'll feel great about yourself when you're done.

And... you'll have it forever.

What a great gift to yourself.

Please take a few minutes and do this! This silly little sheet of paper can pull you out of the deepest hole faster than anything you've ever seen.

Here's how. In the areas listed below we want to create a big list of even the tiniest successes. I often look at my list when I'm feeling not up to a task. Hey, no one can be at their best all the time.

Write down just a few words to jog the memory so that when you look at it, you'll know. Many people type these out afterwards. Go back to as far as you can remember. Even kindergarten is fair game.

Learning - tests, quizzes, semester averages, awards, scholarships, I.Q., diploma. Include all grades and college.

The opposite sex - dated a "hottie," got the glance in the mall, had a particularly romantic night/week/month, had 'em all after you, summer camp, phone call, poems, cards, got whistled at. Go back as far as you need to.

Sports (even backyard sports) - touchdowns, hits, baskets, goals, blocks, double plays, great shots. Include board games and cards, too.

Work - promotions, sales, raises, pats on the back, contests, trips, saved money for the company, teamwork, great days, winning, solving a problem, saving a life, got elected, a finalist for the job, made the big sale, got the
listing.

Personal - convinced someone to a new way of thinking, landscaping, painting, art, cleaning the house, new clothes, great dinners, children in plays or sports, losing weight, eliminating a bad habit, building/fixing something, tuning up the car, new car day, new home, getting a letter/notification, made dinner, helped a friend.

Social - kept your temper, you were elegant, gave a great speech, the party was a success.

Health - cholesterol is down, stopped smoking, lost weight, ran 100 yards/one mile/three miles, climbed the mountain, changed your diet, walked by the chips in the store, etc.

Do this for every area of your life. I have one for kicking a 50 yard field goal. Don't you believe I'll ever forget it. Not when NFL kickers have missed 30 yarders to lose games! But even the small ones like walking by the potato chips today. That's a victory and shouldn't be discounted. Because you were strong just then, and deserve recognition. No one else is likely to do it, so you MUST.

Don't think little things are not important. They're everything -- everything.

Watch during sporting events, when a player makes a mistake and the other team scores as a result. Momentum shifts.

Why?

Because after mistakes they begin focusing on what went wrong... instantly.

And the team that scored is focused on their scoring. They're pumped up. Confidence rises. You need that confidence, too, to do your best every day and every minute. So focus on what you've done right, and you'll develop it.

How can you do this?

Your Victory Log... the fastest way in the world to build your confidence and increase your skills.

[Source: thinkrightnow.com, by Mike Brescia]

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Gratitude is an Attitude

Think for just a moment of all the things that require practice: grammar, arithmetic, cooking, and even the guitar. Practice is probably something you think you're done with when you leave school or give up music lessons. But, have you ever thought of practicing the fine art of gratitude?

It's quite possible to attain great wealth, the best education, and an exceptional quality of life and still be unhappy. This occurs when people live with an absence of gratitude.

Once gratitude becomes part of your nature you begin to see the connections between your success and creature comforts, and the talents and contributions of others.

• The farmer plants, waters, fertilizes and harvests the tomatoes you enjoy.
• The truck driver delivers the food to the market that will soon feed your family.
• The baker kneads and bakes the bread for the sandwich you'll eat for lunch.
• The engineer and architect design the bridge that allows you to get to work.
• The furniture maker's handiwork creates the furniture in your living room.
• The plumber fixes your leak, clears your drain and plunges your toilet.
• The teacher educates and inspires your children to be the best they can be.
• The customer provides the support that enables everyone to receive wages.
• The performer engages the imagination and entertains your senses.
• The seamstress sews the beautiful clothes that make you look great.
• The physician and nurse help to bring your beautiful baby into the world.

It's quite humbling to think of all the roles that complete strangers play in our daily existence. The sheer ingenuity and effort required of others is one of the most compelling reasons why we must make gratitude a daily practice.

One of the best ways to cultivate gratefulness is to count your blessings by thinking of all the good in your life as well acknowledging the contributions of others. This is important for three reasons:

Positioning. By focusing on the positive things in each and every day, you position gratitude so that it has top of mind awareness.

Perspective. By looking for goodness and nobility in yourself and others, you are reminded that there are lots of good people with good intentions in the world.

Power. By being appreciative for challenging lessons and adverse situations you are demonstrating grace under fire. That grace results in greater personal power, self-confidence, momentum, and energy.

Practicing the fine art of gratitude is not only among our most important positive emotions, but one that links directly to physical and mental well-being. It's in our self-interest to feel gratitude because it makes us better people.

Like other attitudes, gratitude can be cultivated. We don't have to wait for someone to shower us with gifts before feeling thankful. We can develop gratitude by reflecting on the gifts that are already ours. This reflection can be done for a minute, a day, or throughout a lifetime.

Everything Counts!

[Source: personalstrategicplan.com, by Gary Ryan Blair]

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Are You Going to Finish Strong?

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Help or Harm

Anyone who attains a minimal level of success or even a degree of enlightenment understands that there is no true and lasting achievement without helping others and making a difference in the world around you. While most everyone would agree on the fact that they want to help others, the act of helping another person is not as easy to identify as you might think.

Abraham Lincoln said, "The worst thing you can do for anyone you care about is anything that they can do on their own." People who are given things, opportunities, and solutions without earning or paying for them often are harmed more than they are helped. Wealth without work, position without effort, and remedy without resource is seldom positive in the long run.

The majority of lottery winners are in worse financial condition five years after their winning number is called
than they were before playing the lottery. They suffer a much higher divorce rate and instance of drug abuse and alcoholism.

At some point in life, all mature people learn that actions have consequences -- either good or bad. The sooner we can learn this lesson, the more productive and peaceful life we will have. If you shelter a child from all consequences of their decisions, you may protect them temporarily from a few bumps or scrapes.

Unfortunately, you may relegate them to making a poor decision during a life or death situation. We all need to learn that the stove is hot--one time--the hard way. From then on, we are cautious around stoves and begin to consider the consequences of other decisions.

Any study of successful people in our society will reveal a disproportionate number of underprivileged immigrants achieving great success in a relatively short period of time. There is nothing innate about financial struggles, language barriers, and cultural challenges that make people succeed. It is simply that enduring problems and overcoming barriers is a habit that, once learned, carries over into every area of our lives.

That person that turned you down for help may have done you the greatest favor of all. Self-reliance and independence are critical parts of succeeding in life. All of us have received a hand up at one time or another, and hopefully have offered the same to those coming along behind us; but it is important to be sure that we are helping and not harming those that we care about.

As you go through your day today, look for ways to assist others, and eliminate any harm you're doing by trying to help in ways people can perform on their own.

[Source: jimstovall.com, by Jim Stovall]

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Four Ways to Accelerate Your Goal Achievement

Most everyone has goals. And even if you don`t have them clearly defined and written down (if that`s you, why not?), you likely have some sense of where you want to go.

If you have neither, this article isn`t really for you. But if either of the first two things is true for you then this article is absolutely for you; because if you have goals, I`m guessing you`d like to reach them faster.

The sole purpose of setting a goal is reaching the goal, and in most instances, getting to the goal faster would be a good thing! It doesn`t matter if you are behind on your goal plan (or the deadline is coming up quickly), if you are overwhelmed by the amount you have to do, or whatever your reason is for wanting to "pick up the pace", the four actions that follow will accelerate your progress and move you towards your goals faster.

1. Remind Yourself Why

You set the goal for a reason. There is some purpose or series of benefits that will come to you when the goal is reached. You know what these reasons are, right? If you don`t, stop here and determine them before you do anything else.

Here are some examples.

Your goal is to lose weight so you will have more energy, feel better about yourself or attract a mate (or wow them at your class reunion). Your goal is to complete the project on time in order to better serve Customers or earn a bonus (in order to take that Mediterranean cruise). Your goal is to complete the reorganization so that Customers will be happier, productivity can be improved and people can get settled into their new jobs quickly (so the lives of those you lead can become more normal again).

There may be many "reasons why" for any goal you set. You must know them, you must remind yourself of them, and you must recognize that all "whys" aren`t created equally. Notice how powerful and personal the above ones in parentheses are? Those are the why`s that will keep you moving forward towards your goals when you are frustrated, tired or discouraged.

Keep your whys clear, and if you are leading others, find ways to keep the whys clear and top of mind for them too.

We can achieve much more and achieve faster when we have a clear and compelling reason why.

2. Take Daily Action

I really can`t say it any clearer than this. If you want to accelerate your progress towards your goals, you simply must take more of the actions required to reach those goals. Take at least one tangible action towards the ultimate goal every day. Cleaning your desk or organizing your files doesn`t count. If you need to do these types of things, great, but that isn`t progress towards your goal (unless your goal is a consistently clean office). Forget the busy work, and get to work. One task every day.

Want to move even faster? Take more action! Do two or three tasks every day. Make them tangible and directly related to the goals. As you take action, and see progress and have success, you create more energy. The greater energy you create allows you to take more action and have more success.
This virtuous cycle is a major key to accelerating your progress towards your goals.

Want to reach your goal faster? Take action today, and every day. Start now.

3. Learn Something

There is a complete and direct linkage between goals and learning. The achievement of every goal requires learning. If you already knew everything required, chances are a goal wouldn`t be needed. In fact there are two major components to the achievement of your goals - action (which we just talked about) and learning (which we`re talking about now).

When you choose to learn things required for achieving your goals, you create:

* New abilities and skills you need for success.
* New insights or mindsets that create success.
* New information that causes you to be inspired and creates energy.

All of these things create speed in goal achievement.

When you combine steps two and three you have even faster achievement. Note: One of your daily tasks could be to learn something. This is a great daily action. But be forewarned, learning something every day, by itself, isn`t enough.

Learning is a cornerstone to goal achievement, so as you learn more you accelerate your progress.

4. Get Help

There is no such thing as a self made man (or woman). We all need help and support to reach our goals, if even indirectly. Even if you could reach your goals completely alone, why would you want to? Get your ego out of the equation and you will speed up your progress. Other people can provide:

* Support
* A pair of hands to help
* Knowledge
* Experience
* A referral
* Encouragement
* And a thousand other things.

There is no need to go it alone, to do so is silly and non-productive.

To reach your goals faster, get help and build a team.

These four steps will help you reach any goal faster. They also will help you as a leader in helping teams and individuals do the same.

Start today by looking at any current goal you would like to achieve faster, then put these ideas in place. Rest assured your future success will come much faster than if you don`t.

Potential Pointer: If you want to accelerate progress towards your goals, remain clear on why you want to reach the goal, take daily action towards it, continue to learn things that support your goal and enlist the help and support of others. When you take these four steps, you are on your way to greater success sooner!

[Source: www.kevineikenberry.com, by Kevin Eikenberry]

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Good Things Come to Those Who Ask

Asking for what you need is probably the most underutilized tool for people. And yet, amazing requests have been granted to people simply because they've asked for it!

Whether its money, information, support, assistance, or time, most people are afraid to ask for what they need in order to make their dreams come true.

They might be afraid of looking needy, ignorant, helpless, or even greedy. More than likely, though, it is the fear of rejection that is holding them back. Even though they are afraid to hear the word no, they're already saying it to themselves by not asking!

Do you ask for what you want? Are you afraid of rejection?

Consider this: Rejection is just a concept. There is really no such thing as rejection! You're not any worse off by hearing no than you were before you asked. You didn't have what you asked for before you asked and you still don't, so what did you lose?

Being rejected doesn't hold you back from anything. Only YOU hold yourself back. If you are told no, ask for what you'd have to do to get it, or ask again at another time when the circumstances have changed.

Ask if they know someone else who might say yes. When you realize that there's no merit to rejection, you'll feel more comfortable asking for things. But you may need a bit of help learning how to ask for what you want.

First, ask as though you expect to get it. Be confident in your request coming from a perspective that there's no reason why you wouldn't get it. Or they say no, you can ask them why, or what you would need to do to get a yes. You might need to form a better business plan before you will get a loan.

You might need to take a course in computers before you will get a promotion. You might need to spend more quality time with your family before you will get the loving support you need. By getting this feedback you are able to make adjustments and ask again with better chances of getting a yes.

Second, assume you can get what you want if you only ask for it. You want a window seat? Assume all you have to do is ask for it. You want an ocean view? Cheaper tickets? A scholarship? A better deal? Just ask for it as if that's all you have to do to get it.

And finally, be specific about what you want or need. Do you want to make $5,000 more a year? Then don't just ask for a raise. Ask for $5,000 more a year. Vague request produce vague results. Don't just ask for more time with your spouse, ask for a date on Friday night. Don't ask for help on a project, ask for what you want that person to take care of.

Getting a good perspective on rejection and learning how to ask will make a world of difference for you as you work toward your goals. Practice asking and you'll get very good at it! You'll even speed your progress by getting what you need, or improving yourself in order to get it later.

Make a list of what you need to ask for in all areas of your life, then start asking!

[Source: www.JackCanfield.com, by Jack Canfield]

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Bill Gates Helpful Lessons

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 Rule they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem.The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

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