A “Keeper” for 2009
I get lots of newsletters from all kinds of individuals selling all kinds of products and services. The one newsletter that I read very carefully is from Terry Bryan. Although Terry is a very successful and famous martial art teacher, most of his advice pertains to martial art qualities that have nothing at all to do with fighting or self-defense. Hope you find his latest offering as helpful and timely as I did. G.E.M.
With all the negativity in the market place, I thought it was important to discuss the mindset of prosperity for the New Year. With all the negativity it is important that we stick together and focus on making 2009 a good and prosperous year. Each and every one of us is going to have challenges but remember the past is the past and all we have control over is the future.
The other day I spent a hour on the phone with Lee Milteer and we were discussing what is working and what people are having problems with in the Dan Kennedy inner circle and surprisingly the main issue was some of them had lost focus. She sent me an article that I have modified to help you focus on your goals.
We get what we think about, like the red car scenario, where when you buy a new red car they seem to appear everywhere but before you owned one you never saw one. If you focus your mental energy on prosperity with laser beam focus you will see opportunities everywhere, however if you focus on the doom and gloom that the media is pushing then that is what you will see.
A common tendency during tough times is to start focusing on the next shinning object and start jumping ship… sometimes daily. The key is to look back and identify what has worked best and focus on doing it better. Focusing on where you need to head with laser focus will help you manifest your goals faster because of the intense energy and focus you will expend toward those goals.
Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice and what you focus on. Whether you are in a life and death battle, building a business or working on a personal relationship the key is focus. There is a universal law: what you focus on expands. This seems like common sense but clearly, by the results most people get, it is not common knowledge.
Most people have been trained to observe conditions. If you are observing good conditions you feel good and if you observe bad conditions you feel rotten. There is a problem with letting the outside world determine our inside attitudes because if we allow our attitudes to suffer, our external world will also mirror those thoughts and feelings.
I learned a long time ago that I could control my heart rate, mental and physical state only with the power of the mind. I have also learned that most things can be changed and influenced just with the power of thought. Our goal is to focus on what we want to create, not what outside conditions may exist right now. Our future will be determined by the thoughts and actions we take today. What we decide to focus on will show up in our life and work. Focus on what is good and more of that shows up. Focus in on what is bad and keep focusing on it and, sure enough, more bad will come! Right now you need to have the skill of awareness of how you are creating your reality and then start focusing on where you want to be.
The truth is that we have no control over the outside world, but we do have control over our thoughts and actions. Since you want prosperity in your life, now is the time to focus on prosperity and not lack of anything.
Many of you are feeling frustrated over the sharp economic downturn that the world is experiencing right now. This is not personal or about you. We cannot put our heads in the sand about it and we also do not have to be afraid. We are the creators of our future with our thoughts and actions. You have to take the attitude that when life gives you lemons‐‐‐you have the option to make lemonade! Don’t just sit around fussing about the lemons. It is a personal choice and decision about what to focus on right now. It is very important that you not take what is going on in the world personally but instead, refocus your energy on the fact that you have to be 100% responsible for the results you get in life with the actions you take.
Not everything we do will be successful, but all actions do leave you with results and knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work. That knowledge will always serve you. Remember that life is a journey not a destination and that our life story will always have ups and downs. We have to be proactive to look for opportunities in places we have not looked before and be open‐minded about new ways to live our life and do business. Maybe you have experienced loss of income or business. Many businesses are being challenged and sadly, have experienced loss of customers, clients, or patients due to the slowing economy. Maybe you feel spooked and are unsure of what is going to happen. Some people reading this report may have never experienced a downturn in the economy and may feel overwhelmed by it all. We too have had investor retreat and find ourselves looking for additional funding to launch our national franchise, but we know that this is indeed the best time ever to build wealth, for ourselves and our partners.
It’s time to look for new ways to do business and ways to attract new prosperity. It’s time to reinvent ourselves! In the long run, the challenging economy can force us to do things we know we should have done a long time ago but were in a state of financial comfort and just did not get around to implementing innovative things such as direct response marketing or introducing new services or product lines.
No one likes it, but it is important to understand the laws of nature. What goes up will come down. This is not personal; it’s the way the world works. So when things are not as good as we would want them to be, it’s time to do some serious brainstorming and invite prosperity back into our lives instead of sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. This is not a time for pity parties. What good does that do?
The truth is there is always opportunity if you look for it. Opportunity is out there and yes, you may have to knock on doors to find it, but it is there! We simply cannot allow the current challenging economy to best us. People have lived and thrived through more challenging times, such as the Great Depression and World War II. They learned to do things to boost their spirits as well as create new businesses and services, and use their skills and talents in new ways. The news media and our politicians seem to focus exclusively on gloom and doom. I refuse to go there and I urge you to give yourself permission to count your blessings and keep doing the things that bring you prosperity and success. If you don’t take this advice, your future will be filled with the gloom and doom that you focus on.
Over the years I have had the privilege of training with some great teachers and the biggest thing I was taught was that successful people “Keep on, Keeping On”. Inspired by others with challenges greater than my own, I was able to face a crucial injury in Viet Nam where I was told I may never walk again, and within 6 months was running 5 miles a day. As a disabled veteran, I went on to a martial arts competitive career winning over 300 1st place trophies around the globe. Diagnosed with terminal cancer and given less than a 10% chance of making it past 6 months, I handled 18 months of chemotherapy and went on only 6 weeks later to win to gold medals at an international event in a celebration of life. All that time, my wife Diana was at my side supporting me … how could I fail?
I say all that not to impress you, but to impress upon you the truths that I have gotten from my teachers, is simply creating the will to win, and staying focused on the goal in front of you is the foundational principle of success for anyone or anything.
I would like for you to do an exercise that will help you get clarity on where you want to focus your life energy. The exercise is: What is it you DO NOT WANT in your life and business?
Take some time and write out exactly what you do not want in your life. Yes, I said what you do not want. I am serious about spending time asking yourself what is it you do not want in life to help you get clear about exactly what you do want to focus on for new goals.
Clearly, you do not want bad health, poverty, loss of loved ones, loss of home or business, loss of social standings, loss of repetition, loss of good staff, loss of savings, loss of – you fill in the blanks. Focus on what you don’t want to happen, create checklists of what you need to do to make sure that doesn’t happen, and then focus on what you do want to come into your life. Together, the few, the real warriors will overcome and grow to higher levels of success. We always do.
To Your Success,
Terry Bryan and Lee Milteer