Treasure Your Dreams

Yesterday I was asked to drop everything on my schedule for the next 3 days to attend a “workshop” with two other leaders where we would learn a new method to test in building our businesses.

You read that right… I was asked. As in, I had a choice.

That’s probably one of my favorite things about being a Network Marketer — having choices, to do or not to do things when, where and how I want to. I’m all about choices!

I had a regular J-O-B for a couple of years, and I bet you can guess what my least favorite thing about it was. The work was pretty fun, the people were enjoyable (most of the time), and pay was even pretty good. What I absolutely hated though, was knowing that I HAD to be there at the office when they told me to be. I had no choices!

If I wanted to take the weekend off, I had to plan it weeks in advance. If I wanted to sleep in an extra hour, or leave a little early, I had to plan that too. Everything was dictated by someone’s schedule… and it wasn’t mine!

There’s another cool thing though –

When I was asked to drop everything to attend this workshop, it would have taken some pretty pressing engagements for me to say “no”. Why? Because attending this workshop means that I get to spend 3 days with two of my friends, gathered around the kitchen table having lots of fun and learning some pretty cool things too.

When you love the people you work with, and when you love the work you do, you will really never work a day in your life.

We had so much FUN yesterday — drinking our Life Shotz together between breakfast and lunch, pausing the CD every few minutes because one of us had a “great idea” and laughing almost nonstop for the majority of the day.

I know today and tomorrow will be full of the same activities — and better yet, I know that next week will be a powerful week in my business because when we leaders get together, we ALWAYS come up with something great!

The quote I leave you with today is this, by Peter Drucker:

“The best way to predict the future is to create it!”

When was the last time someone gave you a compliment. No, I don’t mean an insincere flattering remark — I’m talking about an honest, heartfelt compliment.

Who was that person? A close friend? A family member? A complete stranger?

Next question: When was the last time you GAVE someone a compliment. The last time you said something nice to a person for no other reason than to genuinely make them feel better about themself.

Do you remember?

The core desire of all human beings is to feel important. We can’t help it — it’s the way we are made! Everyone, young or old, rich or poor, famous or insigificant, strives to obtain a feeling of importance — that is the primary motive of virtually every action we take.

Think back to your graduation — from high school, or college. How did you feel that day?

Important! Like you had accomplished something great (which you had, of course) — and everyone you knew was recognizing that accomplishment.

Think back to the last time you were hired for a job you wanted — how did you feel?

Important! Like someone felt that your skills were valuable enough to benefit their company.

Think back to the last time you were asked out on a date — how did you feel?

Important! Like someone wanted to spend time on you, to treat you special. Of all the people out there they could of chosen, they chose you.

Seeing a pattern there? Importance is what we strive for. And what is one of the simplest ways to make anyone, anywhere feel important?

To give them a compliment.

Dale Carnegie, in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, said it best — each time you approach someone you should ask yourself “What is it about this person that I can sincerely appreciate?”

Their hair? Their dress? A particular skill they have, or maybe their pleasant attitude?

Think back to the last time a person gave you a sincere compliment — what did you do?

My guess is you smiled each time you thought about it. You went home and told your spouse, or your roommate, and your best friend about it. Maybe you even called your Mom and told her!

And can you guess what the person to whom you last gave a compliment did?

The exact same thing.

My challenge to you is this: Simply compliment someone! The next person you meet, find something you can sincerely appreciate about them, and tell them! Don’t make something up to flatter the person — they will see right through it and your words will do more harm than good. Find something genuine.

You’ll be amazed at how many friends you’ll make this way; how many interesting conversations you will have.

The quote I leave you with is this, by Brian Tracy:

“Look for the good in every person, in every situation.”

Would you rather have a penny, that will be put in a bank account with the total amount doubled every day for a month, or would you rather have 1 million dollars?

On impluse, most of us would probably choose the million dollars – however, I’m here to tell you… that would be a REALLY bad choice! You see, if you have a penny, and each day over the course of the month you double its value (Day 1: 1 cent, Day 2: 2 cents, Day 3: 4 cents, Day 4: 8 cents, etc…), by the end of the 30th day you would have over 5 MILLION dollars in that bank account!

Don’t believe me? Do the math!

This is the incredible value of what we call compound interest — and it works in ALL areas of your life; not just with pennies!

This was one of the many enlightenments I received while reading Jeff Olson’s incredible masterpiece, “The Slight Edge”

Everything we do in life is connected to compound interest — especially the little things! You know, those little things we do (or don’t do) every day that, when compounded over time, make ALL the difference!

It could be something like going to the gym — no, if you don’t go you aren’t going to die of a heartattack…today. But if make that little choice “not to workout today”, or this week, or this month, you will look up 20 years from now and find yourself overweight and out of shape. All of those “not todays” will have compounded over time to produce a very negative result!

But what if you choose TO workout today, and then you get up tomorrow and choose to workout that day too, and then get up the next day and choose to workout again?! Even if it is something as simple as spending 20 minutes jogging around your neighborhood, those 20 minutes a day, compounded over time, will produce a very POSITIVE result!

The same goes for eating healthy, putting a little money in a savings account, taking time to develop yourself daily, improving your performance in your career, enhancing your relationships, etc.

Most couples, when they are filing for divorce, cannot name “that one thing” that ended it all — normally, it’s “all the little things” that were… that’s right, compounded over time.

Take a minute to reflect on your day today, or even your last week — is your life heading up the success curve or down the steep slope of failure? When you look at the big picture, it can sometimes be hard to tell; but it’s those little actions (or inactions) each day that take you where you want to go.

Decide today to get on the success curve. No, you won’t see the results…today. You probably won’t even see them tomorrow, or the next day — or even the next week, or the next month. BUT when you continue to do those little things every day, in each area of your life, you WILL look up in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years and see a VERY positive result!

The quote I leave you with is this, by the author of “The Slight Edge”, Jeff Olsen:

“Time will either promote you or expose you.”