Success Coach

What are your products or services worth

2011-05-04T09:42:00.005-06:00

Far too often I see businesses reducing the price of their products or services because they feel that this is the only way they can compete with their competitors. Nothing could be farther from the truth then this way of thinking. I call this Wal-mart thinking. Price is not always the reason customers buy. Are there customers who buy from price alone? Yes, but the truth is there are far better reasons for customers to buy then price alone. The first is quality of goods. Better made products cost more and customers understand this, but if the customer is not made aware of the differences then one is just as good as the other and price will win. Second is strength of company. Customers want to buy from a company that has been in business for many years and will be around if something should happen to the goods they have purchased. Third is expertise. Customers want to purchase product or services from experts. People who know their business and can help them solve their problems. If you lower your prices to compete the only message you send to customers is that your prices were to high to begin with and that you offer nothing more than your competition. Stop thinking in terms of cheap and sell the quality the customers desire.

How Do You Win The Soccer World Cup?

2010-07-06T10:38:00.004-06:00

I don't know how many of you have been watching the soccer world cup. The one thing that is very obvious to me, is the teams that are doing very well are the ones that are not relying on the star players to make every goal. In fact the star players are passing the ball for other to score. The way you win a world cup is to play as a team. One person cannot do it alone. Only by working as a team can you reach the ultimate goal, being world champions. When you are playing for personal glory you will always fall short. I believe that when it doesn't matter who gets the credit possibilities are endless. Selfishness will only lead to defeat. This is a lesson we can take and use in our personal and professional lives as well. Ask the questions; does it really matter who gets the credit if we reach our objective or are we controlled by our own personal needs and desires? If the objective is not reached are you then willing to take the responsibility for failure just as you would the glory for the success?

Crime and Punishment

2010-03-12T09:37:00.001-07:00

Prisons are over crowed. Inmates file lawsuits that clog up our courts. We spend money educating and rehabilitating people that will ultimately return to the streets and commit more crimes. The system is broken. The system does not work. We extend more luxuries to inmates then we do the homeless in this country. Human rights activists say treat them with dignity and respect, something these people never gave their victims. Prison should be a place that you do not wish to go. Not a place to get educated on becoming a better criminal and enjoying things like food, shelter, clean cloths, TV, internet, heat and legal protection that hardworking people struggle to pay for. Isn’t it time that we make punishment for criminal acts something to fear. When you chose to take away other peoples rights you in turn give up yours and I’m not talking about the right to walk free in society. I believe that prison should be a painful experience that imprints the severity of criminal behavior on future generations. Criminal behavior increases when punishments are not punishments but rather rewards for bad decisions. We spend billions of dollars caring for people who simply don’t care about us. What is the motivation for a person to succeed in life when everything they need is given to them? Throughout history people have feared punishment. When you take away punishment you take away consequences and open the doors for people to do whatever they want to. That my friends is a very dangerous thing.

Why not simplify

2010-01-28T09:56:00.006-07:00

All you ever hear about is how complicated this are. My question is why not simplify? Last night I heard the President address congress and the nation in the State of The Union speech. What wonderful ideas, thoughts, and goals. But nothing he said will ever come to fruition. Why is that? It will never come to fruition because we live in a world where everything is must be made far too complicated to work or to be achieved. Our thoughts have become clouded with the illusion that nothing can be or ever will be simple. So we make it complex. In fact we make it so complex and complicated that the solution becomes even more of a problem then original problem that we started with. Putting people back to work is simple. Quit importing more products then we export, but you see the answer is far more complicated then that. Health care has simple solutions. But the answers are complicated by greed. The national debt has a simple solution, but the answer yet again is complicated by greed. Everywhere you look in everything that must be done you have this thinking; If A then B. If B then C. Well if C then D. Well if A, B, C, and D then E, F, G, and H and so on and so on and so on. This will continue to happen until nothing is accomplished. Then we the people will be no better off then when we started. That’s politics. I believe that the easiest way to a solution is simplicity. It works like this; if you need to do A, then you do it. Wow, what a concept. Do what needs to be done. Imagine if the Founding Fathers of this great nation would have used our modern day ideology on getting anything done. Things would be so complicated that we would still be part of England today. How many pages is the Declaration of Independence? How many pages is the Constitution? If these documents were written today they would be 5,000 to 10,000 pages each and filled with earmarks. Please find solutions in the simplicity of the problems. You know what needs to be done, so just do it. Now is the time to get the country back on track and do the things that need to be done.

Competition and the Art of Winning

2009-12-29T13:03:00.001-07:00

There is nothing wrong with wanting to win. What's wrong is accepting and being content with never winning. Competition is a wonderful thing. It keeps our spirit hungry and motivated to achieve that which we desire. Is it wrong to want to be good or great at something? Remember that we have the opportunity to either get involved in life or be a spectator; the choice is ours to make. If you chose to be a spectator then don’t complain about the success of others. I believe that there are three types of people in the world. Those who make things happen, those who wish things would happen and those who wonder about what just happened. So begin by asking yourself, which one of these three types am I? Once you have identified that you can make the necessary changes to be the person you wish to be. Again remember that if you remain on the sidelines and only observe then that is your choice. So don’t be critical of the success of others. We now seem to live in a world where winning is frowned upon. We have taken away our children’s will to do better by taking away any motivation they had to achieve. We do this by rewarding little or no effort. We even find excuses for failure rather than solutions to success. This then carries over into adulthood. Rather than working harder to get ahead we simple blame our failures on others or circumstance. Those who are successful in life never blame outside sources for failure but rather look internally for solutions to improve. Failure in anything is never failure if something is learned, improvements are made, and you continue on. Failure can only be claimed if you just give up. Understand that competition shows us weakness and lets us know where improvement is required and needed. Without failure or competition we never have the opportunity to reach our full potential, because we never have the opportunity see flaws and correct them. I know that losing is never fun or easy but it is essential for improvement. So the next time you are confronted with failure look within and ask what could I have done better and then tell yourself what you will do next time to achieve the outcome you desire. Embrace competition and learn from failure it will make your life better in more ways than you could imagine.

Creating Jobs in the United States

2009-12-09T11:09:00.002-07:00

I wonder who the President is talking to and listening to when he believes that spending money on needless things will create jobs in this country. Recently the President proposed a tax break on making your home more energy efficient. People cannot spend money they do not have on making their homes more energy efficient. Would you spend hundreds of dollars to save a few dollars or spend it on things like food, clothing and shelter? The government is under the impression that spending money on these so called green jobs (who by the way employ very few people) and worthless projects will create jobs. The fact is these programs will only keep some people employed but will not create any new jobs. Here’s an idea bring back the jobs that have been lost to other countries. Bring manufacturing back to the United States. We keep losing jobs to countries that produce products or provide services at a lower cost. What’s wrong with this picture? Soon there will be less and less people in America who will be able to afford the products being imported. You cannot sell products or services to people who don’t have any money. I think it’s time to bring people to the white house who actually have their finger on the pulse of the American people, not just a bunch of multi millionaires who are out of touch with reality. It’s time to start encouraging companies to stay or come to the United States with their businesses rather than leave for higher profits. Through my program Corporation You I encourage people to eliminate needless spending in their lives in order to grow financial strength; the government needs to take a hard look at its needless spending and fix the problems this nation faces. Unemployment is the problem not people with excess money looking to spend it.

Tiger Woods

2009-12-03T12:42:00.004-07:00

What we need to keep in perspective is that Tiger Woods is human and no matter how much money he has he will face many of the same challenges as the rest of us. He must now try to rebuild his relationship with his wife and family. This is no different than anyone else who is in the same situation. Money doesn't separate you from the challenges in life. All money does is make it possible to have things and buy stuff. I believe that this is a lesson in the reality about the price of fame. When we chose a public life we give up the rights to a private life. This is a fact that many people who seek fame fail to understand. As a public figure who has build an image of perfection Tiger was setting himself up for failure. We look at Tiger Woods and expect perfection in everything he does. When we are confronted with the fact that the image does not reflect the reality then we are confused and demand answers. After all we gave him the lifestyle he enjoys, didn't we? Understand that this is a very difficult time for him and his family. He should be granted the time to get through this. I'm sure that he will still be a great golfer after all is said and done. The message we need to take away from this and any other celebrity incident is don't place people to high on a pedestal because sooner or later they will fall. How far they fall depends on how high up they are...

Patriots VS Colts on Sunday night Football

2009-11-16T10:03:00.003-07:00

Let’s talk about the Patriots call to go for it on 4th down against the Colts in Indianapolis. If you want to call it a crazy call then that’s your opinion, but what makes him a great coach and great leader is the ability to make calls or decisions where he is not afraid to fail. If they make the yard he is a hero and brilliant. People say that he had no confidence in his defense, but if you look at it he had confidence in both his defense and his offense. He felt his offense could get the yard and if they did not get the yardage he felt his defense could stop the Colts or at least hold them only to a field goal. What separates the average coach from the great ones is the ability to risk more then your opponent. Do you sometimes fail? Yes but the victory is greater when the risk is higher. I believe that Bill Belichick will learn from this and move his team forward like he always does. You cannot argue that he is a fantastic coach and knows what he is doing and the results that he gets. Well you could argue if you one of the few coaches with more superbowl rings then Belichick has or a better career win record. I’m not a Patriots fan, but I am a student of great leaders and Bill Belichick is certainly that. So ask yourself do you live safely or do you take the chances that very successful people do?

Why Create a Smarter Planet

2009-11-12T08:56:00.004-07:00

Everyday we seem to be bombarded by adds from companies trying to create a smarter planet. What are these people thinking? We don't need a smarter planet! What we need are smarter people on the planet. Somewhere along the line we have taken up the cause to allow people to become more and more lazy and dumber. The problem with creating a smarter planet is that when something goes wrong we (the human race) well be to stupid and complacent to figure out what to do. When we create technology we hand over control to a select few people who create these monsters. I was at a gas station a few months ago and the clerk could not sell me a pack of gum and a bottle of water because the stores computer system had gone down. Why did someone not teach this person how to do simple math and sell products without the use of a computer. It seems to me that we are losing the fundamentals of what got us here to begin with. You don't even have to be a alive to drive the cars coming in the future. These cars will do everything for you drive, stop, adjust speed, park, and so on. How lazy do you truly have to be. I know people who can even write a check to pay a bill. That's sad. Stop giving control of your life to technology and take back your mind.

Customer Service

2009-07-29T09:26:00.003-06:00

What ever happened to customer service? It seem as though many employees feel that the customer should be grateful that they are paying for a level of service that they are not getting. Since when is it the rule that the customer is wasting the time of the employee. If it were not for the customer the business would not exist. In these hard economic times I would think that more businesses would be doing whatever it took to keep the customers they already have. The greatest challenge in business is customer loyalty and employees and their attitudes are the key to this challenge.

Take Time to Set Goals

2009-06-05T11:11:00.007-06:00

Have your goals or dreams changed? Why have they changed? When was the last time you sat down and did some goal setting? Has life gotten in the way of achievement? Or have your achievements been directed by your life or job? I know that often circumstances can dictate our direction or the path in life. But is that truly what you want? Are you truly happy with the direction you are moving toward? If the answer is NO, do something about it. Sit down and take the time to map out your life. Make a plan for your life. Chart a course to your destiny. It is very difficult to take a trip or to begin a journey without knowing where you are going and how to get there. You may have heard the saying "people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan." Well goal setting is a plan for your life, the road map to destiny. But just having a goal is never enough you need to take steps to achieve them.

Write them down
Develop a plan on how to achieve them
Take action toward them
Review them often to check your progress toward reaching them

I hope you take the time to do some goal setting in your life. This is your opportunity to develop a road map to your destiny and plan for your future.

Diets and Losing Weight

2009-05-01T08:32:00.004-06:00

I know that many people are on the weight loss train. I also know that many people fail in their weight loss programs and weight loss goals. Understand that there is no diet that will be the fix all in weight loss. Diets can allow you to lose some weight in a relatively short period of time but it tends to be short term loss and not sustainable. The secret to sustainable weight loss is a change in lifestyle and eating habits. More exercise, eating healthier, and portion control. The problem is, as in most things in life, people want a quick fix. A magic pill that will have a profound impact on their lives today. Something that requires no effort, energy, or change in lifestyle. Just take the magic pill and your worries are over. The weight loss business is a multi-billion dollar a year industry that makes people promises that are in reality empty. Are there programs that work? Yes, but these programs deal with changing your behavior and beliefs, not a magic pill.

Fixing the Economy

2009-04-07T09:06:00.003-06:00

We have several problems facing us today. I believe that we can overcome some of these problems with this simple solution. Banks are sitting on toxic assets (bad loans made on houses that are now in foreclose and rotting away). We gave the banks bailout money to get rid of these toxic assets, right? So how about this.....

1.The banks use the money we gave them to fix up these houses so that people want them.
2. This puts local craftsmen to work.
3. Banks can then sell these houses and get them off the books for a small profit.
4. The real estate market starts to recover.
5. People are working and have money to spend in stores - bringing retail sales up.
6. when retail sales are up the markets recover.
7. When people buy products that creates demand for goods, so manufacturing companies start hiring people (again more people going to work and less losing their jobs).

and the cycle goes on and on.........

Beware of Predators

2009-04-06T12:34:00.002-06:00

In this type of climate you need to be very aware of predators. Understand that this is the time where people are very vulnerable to scams of all kinds. People are out there preying on your security and your financial needs. What will get you into a lot of trouble is greed. Remember IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS. Scams of all kinds work when people get greedy. They promise you the world and you believe it, then one day you find that you have lost everything that you have worked so hard to build. The truth is NOTHING IS FREE and Everything has a price. I would strongly encourage you to do all your homework before investing in anything or getting involved in any financial rescue operations or plans. Predators are taking people houses and savings accounts every minute of everyday. Don't become a victim of greed. Remember how you got to where you are and the common sense you used to get there. There is a reason we call it building wealth the only ways to get rick quick are to steal it, win it or recieve it in a will.

What Business Need Right Now

2009-03-23T11:01:00.003-06:00

If you are a business owner or manager of a business you have probably seen a decline in business over the last few months. Now is the time for creativity and innovations. This is the time to start introducing more value and services to your customer. Give people a reason to come to you. Give your customer more than they expect. In this market people are looking for more bang for their buck, so the question is "what are you doing to earn their business?" Your company and it's employees are the first place to look for creative ideas. If your not looking for improvement then your going to be looking for a new line of work. Remember that customers want a buying experience whether it's good, bad or Great is up to you. Three words for any business in any economy are Vision, Communication, and Implementation. See where it is that you wish to go, share you vision completely with your people, and then make it happen.

2009-02-26T08:32:00.002-07:00

Weight loss tips from Coach John. No matter what diet you follow the key to weight loss is lowering calories you take in and increasing movement (exercise). The more you move the more calories you will burn. The fewer calories you take in the more weight you will loose. How do you cut calories? Its simple just cut the portions you normally eat in half. See you can eat whatever you want to eat just the secret to loosing weight is portion control. So quit looking for that magic diet and use portion control and movement to achieve your weight loss goals. Try it and change your life. Weight loss is a Multi Billion Dollar industry in these hard economic times you need to keep the money you have. Don't throw your money away on some expensive quick fix. Follow these simple steps you have nothing to loose but weight.

Achieving Your Dreams in the New Year 2009

2008-12-31T13:06:00.006-07:00

Remember that when setting out to achieve anything you need to start small. We must crawl before we walk and we must walk before we run. I often reflect on a saying I heard many years ago, it goes "How do you eat an Elephant?" Answer; "One bite at a time." If the challenge is to overwhelming when you begin, the odds of you giving up are greatly increased. If you wanted to start training for the Boston Marathon and have never run a distance of over 3 blocks, do you start your training by running 26 miles a day? You must start small. You begin with what you can already do and add 1 block to your training. then you increase the distance as you build strength, stamina, and endurance. This same strategy holds true for whatever goals you set for yourself. Remember that small steps lead toward big accomplishments. You must build a routine that allows for small successes. Then as you are ready you add a little more and work toward the larger goal. If we break down our goals into smaller more manageable and achievable goals we will not get frustrated or discouraged and give up. I believe that we can accomplish anything we set out to achieve, as long as we take small steps to get there. Whatever your goals are for the New Year begin your journey with confidence and pride knowing that success is within your grasp. The ultimate power is within you, the question is will you use it?

The Economic Problems in the US

2008-10-27T08:38:00.006-06:00

Why is the United States in such a bad Economic State? Well the answer is quite simple. We the people have been far to busy enjoying a lifestyle that we simply cannot afford. Every where you look you have seen people enjoying themselves while sinking further into a debt that they simply cannot pay back. We have bought everything that our hearts desire big houses, luxury cars, the latest and greatest in technology, taken the family on wonderful once in a lifetime trips, we eat out so much that we start to wonder why we have kitchens in our houses and we have done all this on credit. I have often wondered how so many people can afford the lifestyles that they live. Well the answer is they can't. You see there was once a time when banks would only lend money to people who could afford to pay it back and people hated banks for that. Well things changed and everyone, who could fill out a credit application and show some kind of income, was given the opportunity to indulge themselves in whatever they wanted and they did. With their new found wealth (credit) they enjoyed the fruits of little to no labor. Now it's time to pay the piper and guess what they can't. The sob stories are endless, because people don't want to take responsibility for their actions. We couldn't wait to have the things we wanted and now somehow it's not our fault. When will people learn that everything has a price and one day you will be asked to pay that price. We have been so focused on closing the gap between those who have and those want what others have, that we have spent ourselves into this financial mess we are now in.

I remember a time when people had to save their money to buy what they wanted. The work and effort put into attaining that which we wanted made that prize all the more special and once we got it we took care of it. In this throw away society we value almost nothing. Why because anything and everything has become far to easy to replace. Ladies and Gentlemen this is our wake up call. We can fix this and we will get through this but it will take sacrifice and an understanding. We will be forced to give up all the things that we thought we wanted and we will have to understand that if we want it we will have to work and save in order to get it. There is a reason we call it building wealth. So far to many people have built nothing and enjoyed everything. Don't listen to the salesperson or million dollar ad on TV that stirs your emotions, instead follow that inner voice that guides you to true happiness and that which you know is right. You and your children don't need a ton of stuff to be happy. What you need is some money in the bank when times get tough, food on the table, cloths on your bodies, and a roof over your heads. Focus on the things that truly matter and life will be easier and you will be happier. Life is full of lessons will you learn from this one? The Choice is Yours...............

Don't Panic

2008-10-07T08:08:00.004-06:00

Look, I understand that times are very uncertain and for many of you quite stressful. So this month my message is very simple "DON'T PANIC." I think that the reason that we feel stressed and frustrated is that we feel helpless and not in control of what is happening around us, perhaps to us and the money we have worked very hard to save. Again Don't Panic. Things will get better, it may not happen right away like we would like but things will get better. Remember no situation is ever permanent. The only constant is our lives is change. And believe it or not we need change and uncertainty in our lives to keep our minds sharp and our lives interesting. We never learn anything from certainty. Stay strong, keep a positive emotional state and look forward with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement. That is after all what you can control. You have the power to control your emotions and your future. The reason we fall is so we learn how to get back up. Panic is a destructive emotion that will only hurt you and control your ability to make good decisions.

Quit Thinking "Get Rich Quick"

2008-08-18T09:16:00.003-06:00

I can't tell you how many people still fall for get rich quick scams, but the number is very high. Listen, the only people who get rich is the person selling you their so called proven system to making money. There is no system that will make you a millionaire over night, in a week or in a month. If you want to be rich it's going to take time, that's why it's called "Building Wealth" and in order for you to build wealth you cannot throw your money away. I know that it sounds tempting and that's why these scams work. The plain and simple truth is that making money takes work, a lot of hard work. Even the people scamming you out of your money work hard. There is a simple formula to building wealth and I reveal it in my book "The Choice is Yours." The reason more people are not wealthy is also very simple, they cannot follow the system. Why? Because most people want everything but are simply not will to do what it takes to get it. Energy and Effort = Rewards. So depending on how much energy and effort you put into something determines the rewards. You would be better off playing the lottery for one dollar a week then sending your hard earned money to some one who claims they have a system of getting rich quickly with little or no effort. If you put as much effort into building wealth as you do in getting rich quick you would be well on your way to achieving your dreams.

Getting What You Want "The Power of Attraction"

2008-08-11T09:45:00.006-06:00

Is it possible to get everything that you want in life? I believe that it is and what make it possible is the power of positive thinking and belief. By using the Power of Positive Thought and Belief you are also using the Power of Attraction. What is the Power of Attraction? The Power of Attraction is the force that draws us toward our desires or fears. In short, what we focus on most we will ultimately be drawn to. There are many examples of this Power of Attraction that manifest itself each and everyday, one example that had the privilege of witnessing was at the 2008 Senior Open Golf Championship. I noticed that this Power of Attraction was being used by every player. Now whether or not they were aware of the fact that they were using this power is another subject altogether, but it was clear that they were using this power. What they focused on either their desires or their fears seemed to come to pass. I remember hearing player say things like "that's the shot I wanted" or "I was afraid of hitting it there." You see how this law works when our focus is on the negative then we are drawn to the negative, if we chose to focus on the positive then we are drawn to the positive. Our language of thought will shape our beliefs and change our focus and what we focus on will be our direction. Now understand that I'm not saying that all you need to do is focus on something to make it happen. It takes action toward that focus to make things happen. If you dream about winning the lottery and you focus intently on it, you still cannot win if you don't buy a ticket. Without action all you are doing is wasting your thought energy and your time.
So let's take a look at how this Power of Attraction works. As we send out thought waves of energy either positive or negative we attract either positive or negative energy back to us. What we send out and receive back is what guides our focus. That focus moves us into a certain direction either positively toward our goals or negatively away from our goals and toward our fears. Then as we progress toward things either positively or negatively we develop a certain language of thought that either supports or rejects our beliefs. Leading us to failure or success in our lives. We can have everything that we want if we believe we can achieve it, that's the power of positive thought and the Power of Attraction.

Management Tip "Catch Them Doing Somthing Right"

2008-07-01T10:35:00.011-06:00

Catch your employees doing something right and give them praise for it. More often then not as managers we tend to be more involved when things are not going well or when things are not going as planned. So our attitudes tends to be one of enforcing policy or problem solving, rather then one of support and encouragement. Change this perception of who you are. Check on your employees and thank them for their hard work and effort. Now that doesn't mean that you should praise them for just anything. The praise should be in reference to their work performance. This does a few things like:
1. It lets them know that they are a valuable part of the work force.
2. It reinforces positive work performance and encourages more of the same.
3. It builds self confidence.
4. It causes others to step up performance.
5. It tells the employees that you notice more than just their mistakes.
6. It send the message that you appreciate them and what they do.
7. It gives you more respect from employees.
As a leader you are not just there when things go wrong but you also need to be there with powerful praise when things are going right. Building a bridge of respect and trust with your employees and they will perform for you in any circumstance and under any conditions. Remember that everyone is important to the success of a company no matter what job they perform. One person can be the difference between good and great, be the person that takes action toward great and catch them doing something right.

Having a positive impact in another's life

2008-06-02T11:17:00.002-06:00

People often ask me why I do what I do. So I thought I would take the time to answer this question in a blog. I believe that the most important thing we can do in this world is make a positive impact on people's lives. I have learned a great deal in my life from people who have experienced both failure and success at a very high level. Through out my life I have used this information to attain a great amount of success in my personal, professional, business, and financial life. I feel that the most important thing I can do with this information is to pass it along and help as many people as possible. As in the title of my book "The Choice is Yours" to either take advantage of this information or not. I personally would love to help everyone, but I understand that some people are simply uncoachable and unteachable. They for what ever reason believe that they know everything and can do it better themselves. Personally I'm OK with that. If your life is everything that you have hoped for then GREAT. I will be the first person to tell you that I am very happy for you and keep up the good work. Life is about being happy with what you have and have achieved, it that simple. But for many people there are things that they would like to change in their life and it is for those people that I do what I do. I feel that when we do things for others it brings us a fulfillment that we simple cannot get when we only pursue things that are self fulfilling. This is the reason I started The Giving Back campaign. I want people to get involved with something bigger than themselves. I believe that one person truly can change the world, maybe not in one lifetime but anyone can start a movement in the waters of life that can ripple for an eternity. I hope this gives you an insight to why I do what I do. Belive that all things are possible and they will be.

What is Insanity

2008-04-25T09:07:00.003-06:00

My definition insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result or outcome. Why am I writing about this? Well because a lot of people live life this way. They continue to make the same life decisions and expect a different outcome. If you spend your life running head on into a brick wall, don't wonder why your head hurts. If something is not working we must step back and focus on another path. Change the direction (decision) and you will change the destination (outcome).

Why we do what we do good or bad

2008-04-14T08:27:00.003-06:00

I often get asked this question about behavior "Why keep doing I do things that I know are bad for me?" The answer to this question is that we all have certain needs, I call them core needs, that we need to fill in our lives. These needs can be anything from excitement, love, adventure, security, control, power, importance, respect and so on. Each person has a different list of core needs that they want to fill in their lives. How we rank these core needs in our life determines the decisions that we make good or bad. The core needs at the top of our list (the top three) will be the most powerful needs that you will want to fill. Behavior good or bad will continue if they meet at least two of the core needs you have, especially if it meets the core needs on the top of your list. The more core needs a certain behavior meets the more likely you will continue this behavior regardless of the cost. For example; people who have a core need of excitement at the top of their list are more likely to jump from job to job and spend a lot of money looking to fill this need. They say things like "I had to quit that job because it was to boring or not challenging me enough." The problem come in when they are broke and unemployed looking to fill this core need of excitement. This could cause them to turn to things like drinking, drugs, and criminal behavior. I'm not saying that it will, but it could. So then the question becomes "How then do we determine the ranking of our core needs?" The stronger the emotions are to a certain core need the higher the ranking of that need. We are after all emotionally driven animals and our emotional states move us in any direction that we wish. So to change your behavior change the ranking of your core needs and the emotions that are connected to them.
I talk about this topic in more detail in my book The Choice is Yours so if you want to know more get a copy from my web site www,johntubiolo.com at $14.95 it's the best investment you could make to improve the quality of your life.

Overcoming Depression

2008-03-24T20:33:00.004-06:00

Why are so many people depressed or unhappy with their life? I believe that it is because we have become a culture of negativity. Somewhere along the way our focus has changed from what is and could be to a very negative what should have been. This way of thinking has taken a very firm hold in our society and culture. People spend far too much time and energy thinking about what they don’t have that they cannot see what is good in their lives. We focus on our problems and dwell on them, with thoughts of what we should have done instead of looking for solutions like what we could be doing right now to change our situation or position in life. I believe that people suffering from depression have simply become inactive in their life goals. They become depressed when their life does not mirror their ideology of what should have been. Instead of adapting and changing their vision and goals they become trapped by their thoughts of what they have not yet achieved. Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. I recently talked to a woman who was severely depressed. She told me that she had lost all motivation and desire to accomplish anything in her life. Just getting out of bed became a challenge for her. I started by asking her what she thought she was missing in her life. What did she think she should have accomplished by this point in her life? Who did she imagine she would have been and what did she think she should have had? What I discovered was that her ideology of what her life should have been was nowhere close to the life she was living. She believed that by the time she was 35 years old she would have had a flourishing career as an Attorney, would have traveled the world, had a fairy tale marriage, and had two children a boy and a girl. The reality about her life was she never finished college; she married very young; she was a stay at home mom to three boys; and her husband worked long hours so he could provide a good life for his family. Her lack of accomplishment had put her into a very depressed emotional state, she was on medication but as her depression deepened her medication only covered up the real issues. At this point in time she could have won the lottery and her emotional state would not have changed for very long. So how could we change her emotional state? I believe that there are 5 steps to changing your emotional state. They are;

1. We change our Body Language
2. We change our Mental Focus
3. We change our Language of Thought
4. We change our Belief System
5. We Find Purpose in life

Here’s how it works. There is a body language of strength; there is a body language of confidence; a body language of success; a body language of power by changing our physical state we also change our emotional state. Our body posture can literally change how we feel. When our shoulders are up, our heads are held high, we have a smile on our face, our hands and arms are at our side, and we stand tall and proud our brain chemistry changes. When we are depressed our bodies assume a very different physical state. Our shoulders are down, our heads are down, our arms are crossed, our bodies are tense, and we are certainly not smiling. It may not be the same for everyone but the changes in your body language are there and if you simply alter them your emotional state will change.
The next step is what we chose to focus on. When we are depressed we focus on negative thought like how bad things are, or what we haven’t done with our lives, or that we aren’t contributing enough, that our lives have no purpose, and so on. We need to change our mental focus, instead of focusing on the negative focus on the positive. Focus on what is going right with your life. Don’t worry about what you haven’t done there is always time accomplishment, but only if you allow for it. Give yourself permission to achieve what it is that you feel you are lacking in your life. The only limitations that we have in our lives are the ones we place on ourselves. So positive thoughts are that we have the ability to change our lives, we have health, family, love, a home, what ever it may be change your mental focus.

Now we must change the language of our thought. Why is language of thought important? Because the language of thought controls what emotions we feel and the emotions we feel controls our actions and inactions. This is where you challenge the beliefs that you have. When we are depressed and in a negative state we have a very specific language of thought. We reinforce how we feel by what we chose to say about ourselves. We chose thoughts and language like we don’t matter, or things would better with out us, or my life has no meaning, and so on. This language that we use gives us permission to stay in the depression that we are in. By making a decision to change this language we chose to take back control of our lives. But it will also challenge us to take responsibility for our lives. We all know that it is far easier to blame outside forces for what we have become or for where we are then it is to face our fears and take responsibility for our lives and possibly fail. The risk of making positive changes for most people out weighs the rewards. If we change the language of thought we can change the risks. The power of positive thought will change how we view the outcome of the changes we are making in our lives by changing our emotional state from negative one to a positive one. Therefore reinforcing the decision to change what we are, who we are, and the condition of our lives. Remember that the expectations we have can be changed to meet our lives and never determine the quality of our live.

All that we have done to this point will be for one purpose and that purpose is to change our belief system. The beliefs that you have will shape who you are and what you will achieve. So it becomes very important for you to change what you believe so that the limitations you have placed on yourself can be lifted. How do beliefs change our limitations? They change how we make decisions by changing what emotions we have connected with change. For example if we believe we cannot do something what is our emotional state? We don’t even try if we know we will fail, we lower our emotional state and level of commitment to meet our expectations. If however we believe we can succeed then what is our emotional state? We put everything we have into trying to accomplish or achieve this goal because failure is not an option. I firmly think that what you believe about the world around you will shape what decisions you make and ultimately what you will achieve. So how important are your beliefs? They are critical to your success. We need to have a belief system that allows us to know beyond all shadows of doubt that doing something will be better than doing nothing. That what you do matters and that the quality of your life is determined by the decisions you make. You need to understand that as human beings we need challenges in our lives. That’s what gives our lives excitement and variety. The trick is to not dwell on them for to long, experience challenges solve them and move on.

Lastly we must find purpose in our lives. Whatever that is for you, find a way to contribute, I believe that if you only do things for yourself you will never find the fulfillment and happiness that you seek. When we have purpose we are emotionally charged to perform and that brings us to accomplishment. Why is purpose so important because it gives our lives meaning, it makes us important. So find your purpose in life and experience the challenges that life offers you. Learn from the mistakes you make and don’t avoid taking risks. The rewards will be a better life filled with the knowledge that you have overcome all the diversity that life has given you. We need to understand that no one knows what lies over the next hill or around the corners of our lives but we need to experience all of it. Everything from challenges, accomplishment, disappointment, joy, pain, failure and success all of this makes us who we are. Without pain we can never understand joy, without failure we never appreciate success. If you believe that there will never be pain and disappointment in your life you are only lying to yourself. What happens to us in life is never as important as what we do about it. At the moment we make a decision to change our lives that is when we gain the ultimate power, the power to live.

An easy way out of financial hardships

2008-03-07T08:36:00.011-07:00

What I am writing about today is not easy for people to hear in these troubled times. But it is very important that you listen to what I feel needs to be said and more importantly understood. I'm sure that most of you will have a million excuses as to why you cannot or will not take the action necessary to get out of financial trouble. So remember that what ever happens to you, if you are not willing to change you behavior, there is no one to blame for your inaction's but yourself. Don't blame the government, your employer, your family, or anyone or anything else on your financial situation if you chose not to take action, OK. Now with that said, we can move on to the problem at hand. We live in a culture that relies on technology and convenience so much that we believe we need it to exist. We spend much of our hard earned money on these things that are in fact luxuries.
These luxuries are things like cell phones, cable TV, new vehicles, eating out, credit cards, Internet service, video game systems, entertainment, vacations, coffee from a coffee shop, the list goes on but I'm going to stop here because I think you get my point. When I look at many peoples expenses the overwhelming majority of their money is spent on things other than what they need to live. People will over spend on these luxuries rather then make a house payment. I find that to be very disturbing. Everyday I see people who live well above their means and give no second thought to the reality that life could change in an instant and not always for the good. They could leave their families with nothing but debt to them by. Why have we become a society of get it now and pay later? Because large companies spend millions of dollars in advertising to convince us that we cannot live without their products. People need to get a grip on life when they think their ten year old child needs a cell phone to call home to let their parents know where they are. If you have a ten year old child and you don't know where they are, then you don't need to have children, technology will not make you a better parent it just makes you lazy.
If we worked as hard to save our money as we did to spend it, would we be facing the financial challenges that we face today? I don't think so. Now is the time to cut out those things that keep us from reaching our financial goals. Did you know that you should have one years worth of wages in the bank to fall back on if times get tough. Today most people couldn't even write a check for $2000.00 if they had to. So how can we overcome this major challenge in our lives? We reprogram our belief system. We need to change our belief of what we need to be happy and our definition of success.
Understand that we all have this ideology and vision of what we believe our lives should be like. Far to often this idea or concept we have of the way our lives should be is unrealistic. So what can happen I believe, is one of two things.

One is that we try to buy the life we believe we should have (house, cars, vacations, and so on). So we spends ourselves into debt to find the happiness we are believe we missing in our lives. This leads to huge financial problems that many people never overcome. You need to focus on becoming a positive contributor to your families needs. This never involves buying and having stuff that you cannot afford or that you don't even need. Your family will be far better served by having money saved to fall back on when unforeseen circumstances arise. Your value as a parent or spouse will never be judged by things in your garage.
The second thing that can happen to us is that we become depressed. When our vision or concept of life does not fit the life we have depression sets in and we spend all of our time wondering what went wrong. We start to medicate our bodies and try to use these drugs to change how we feel. When in reality all we need to do is change our belief about what we need in order to be happy. You must understand that real happiness doesn't require certain conditions. We don't have to have everything we want in order to give ourselves permission to be happy. You can decide to be happy with the life you have, but only if you agree that not everything must be picture perfect and in a certain order.

If you are one of the thousands of people who are going to lose your home and you haven't been making your payments because you are short a few hundred dollars every month. I strongly encourage you to explore your spending and eliminate the luxuries that I know you can live without. For example I know that you want to stay connected but if you get rid of your cell phone, how much money would that save you every month? 50 to 100 dollars, maybe more? Now how much is that a year? I have said it before and I will say it again, if you are waiting for someone or something to bail you out of your problems then you will be waiting a very long time. Folks it's not going to happen (unless you have very rich relatives or family) and here's why. The only person responsible for your life is you. If you got into debt it is your job to get out of debt. But if your not willing to cut down your expenses to eliminate your debt then take a look in the mirror because the person stopping you from achievement is right there looking back.

Now is the time to develop a powerful system for change. The information that is provided to you in this blog is a stepping stone toward changing your financial state. Review your finances and trim what you can in order to achieve your financial goals. If you can eliminate bad spending you'll be on your way to creating a solid foundation in your life. So here are a few financial Goals that I want you to work on.

Pay off debt and eliminate some luxuries.
Put 10% to 20% of your monthly income into a savings account.
Stop needless spending.
Don't withdraw, transfer, or spend the money you are putting into your savings account.
Develope a positive belief system about saving money and building a secure financial future for yourself and your family.

I believe that you can accomplish anything you believe possible.................John Tubiolo

Should You Start A Business

2008-02-21T10:14:00.003-07:00

Have you ever thought about starting a business? Do you think you have what it takes to start and run your own business? Many people think they can start a business but let me tell you this just because you like to drink beer doesn't mean you should own a bar.What people often forget is that owning a business is not always as fun and exciting as you may think. It takes alot of hard work and often the reward is very little if anything at all. I know that there are many of you who look at the boss and think that you could do his or her job. but what you don't see is often the nightmare that many of you are not perpared for. I don't write this blog to discourage you from following your dreams. I am writting this blog because there are far to many business failures then there are successes in this world. People often call me for help when it is far to late and they are on the verge of closing their doors. They often think that I am a miracle worker that can in some way alter months or years of bad decision making and turn things around in a few days. Let me just say this there is never a magic quick fix. If it takes you months to put on 40 pounds then one day in the gym will not get rid of the extra weight no matter how hard you work in that one day. The entire reason I wrote the book Starting and Running a Successful Business was to give up and coming business owners an insite into what it take to be successful and that there is no substitute for hard work and research. You must become an expert in the business you are going to start and you must know who your competition is. The rewards to business ownership can be great but many times people are not perpared for the cost of that success. Remeber that there is no subsitute for being perpared.

Setting Higher Standards

2008-02-04T08:14:00.001-07:00

Why should we set higher standards for ourselves? The reason we set high standards is because we will ultimately perform to the levels or standards we set for ourselves and others. If we settle for low performance then low performance is what we achieve. So the question becomes what are you willing to settle for? If you find that getting to work late and that not performing to a high level at work is OK, then you shouldn't be upset when you are not promoted or given a raise. If you allow your children to be messy then don't complain when their rooms are not clean. If you allow your employees to slack off and waste time then they will more then likely let you down when you need them the most. The examples do on and on. People will, for the most part, perform to what is exceptable, the standards set by you. Understand that you cannot expect more out of everyone else if you are not willing to also go the distance. Lead by example. This is the key to achieving higher standards. Live up to the standards you set. Show others what is expected and they will follow your lead. Remember that we cannot expect more than we are willing to do.

Change is the only thing that is constant in life

2007-12-18T08:55:00.001-07:00

Nothing ever stays the same. We are always in a constant state of change and so is the world around us. Each day we grow older and time slips away. We need to understand that change is a part of life and as we understand this we must except change in our lives. Whether in our professional or personal lives we must except, adapt, and change with the world around us. If we don't then we are left behind and forced to wonder about what happened. Thirty years ago you couldn't do half of the things you can do today because technology changed our lives. I'm sure you would also agree that your life has changed within the past five years. The question is has your life changed for the better?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What have you done to improve the quality of your life or profession?
2. How have you handled the changes in your life or profession?
3. Have you excepted and embraced these changes or have you found fault with these changes?
4. Are you looking for any reason you can find to resist change?

You must understand that change happens with or without you and that through change we can learn and grow. The time you spend avoiding change is the time you waste resisting what you will eventually need to except. I encourage you to seek out change and improve the quality of your personal and professional life. Change is never easy but it is necessary for growth.

Why don't I have Success

2007-12-18T08:43:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Why are others successful and happy in their lives
Everyday we have choices to make, each day we make decisions that effect our lives and yet many people never consider the consequences of their actions. I'm sure you have asked yourself the question; why do other people always seem to succeed while I continue to stay in the same old routine and rut? Why has success eluded me? When is it going to be my turn? So my question to you is "if you don't like where you are in your life now, why don't you change it?" Did you know that where you are in your life right now is a direct result of every decision you have made up to this point. Did you also know that by simply changing the way you make decisions, by not getting emotionally involved and looking and the consequences of our actions or in actions, will change your life. Whether personally or professionally the choices you make effect where you will go in this world and what you will have. You can decide whether or not you are going to be happy or sad, rich or poor, successful or not. Understand that everyone has problems, no matter what their standing or position in life. All the people around you have problems, some may not be as complex as others but everyone has them. The difference between the people that are happy or successful and those that are not, is that successful people understand one very important concept that others do not. That concept is; it's not what happens to you in this world , it's what you do about it that matters most. If your not experiencing success in your life whether personally or professionally then you need to change the decisions you have have made and how you have made them. Let me give you a definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Now let me give you an example of how that translates to life. If you are the kind of employee that get by on doing as little as possible and you keep getting passed up for promotions, then you qualify for the definition given above. If you want to get further in the company you work for then you need to become more valuable to your company. That means going above and beyond the expectation of your job. Be the first one at work, do more when your at work, become an expert on the products or services your company provides, and be reliable and dependable when given tasks or assignments. I hope to some degree that this will help some of you if not all of you reading it. Don't just make today a good day, make it a great day................If you need more than just my monthly blogs then check out my web site for my success series of books at johntubiolo.com
The Choice Is Yours
Starting and Running a Successful Business
Successful Selling Made Simple

We are all in sales

2007-12-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

We are all in Sales
We are all in Sales and everyday we all sell something. How many people understand this simple concept? The answer is; not many. So let me explain what I'm talking about. There are many people in this world that feel that their job and life has nothing to do with sales. The fact is that we are all in sales, in one way or another we all sell something. When we go to work we sell our abilities to our employer. How well we perform determines if we get promoted or if we get raises. If we go out on a date we sell ourselves to a potential spouse or partner. Sometimes we try to sell others on a particular activity or event that we wish to do or attend. The products or services we sell depends on what we are trying to accomplish. The product or service can be anything from ourselves, our abilities, our dreams, our company, our wants, our desires the list goes on and on.I hope this gives you an understanding of what I mean when I say that we are all in sales. So that leads me into my next point. Which is, how well you understand sales will determine how much success you experience in anything you try to sell. Understand that there are right ways and wrong way to sell. Let's look at some fundamentals that must always be followed, and they are as follow:

1. Never over promise and under deliver
2. Never misrepresent a product
3. Always follow through
4. Keep the lines on communication open
5. You never get a second chance to make a great first impression
6. There is a difference between being confident and being cocky
7. The appearance of the product and the salesperson is very important
8. The customer may not always be right, but is not your job to make them always wrong
9. Learn when to stop talking and start listening
10. Understand that you will not close every sale - sometimes it's not meant to be
11. Knowledge is power - the more you know the further you will go

Understand these simple rules and you will experience success in sales. Hope this information helps you makes your day better then the day before.

Quit spending yourself into poverty

2007-11-19T08:34:00.001-07:00

Did you know that over 70% of the population will be dead broke by the time they are 65 years old? Every dollar you don't save will be the dollar you wish you had when retirement comes around, because most of you will not have enough money to retire on. We spend and spend thinking that money will always flow into our lives and never bother to think of what the future will bring or where we will end up. So why do we spend ourselves into poverty? Well there are several reason why we spend all that we make. In this Blog we will look at a few of them and hopefully you will gain some insight into your spending habits and make adjustments to start saving for the future.

Let's begin by looking at how we are being conditioned to spend money. Yes I said conditioned, believe it or not you are being conditioned or programed to spend money by one of the most powerful form of media that exist, your TV. Every time we turn on the TV we are bombarded with advertising that tells us we can save money by spending it. I know your thinking what is this guy talking about. Well think about this, how many times have you heard an advertisement for a car that promises you cash back for buying a new car. You can get up to 6 thousand dollars cash back just for spending 35 Thousand dollars or more on a vehicle that in two years will be worth half of what you paid. What a deal. Or how about getting a credit card that will put money into a savings account for you every time you use it. The more you spend the more you save right. After all there has never been a better time to buy right? Well the truth is there has never been a better time to save. You can save thousands of dollars by taking care of the vehicle you have right now or investing in a quality used vehicle that someone else has already lost money on. Buying something you don't really need just because your getting money back is not putting money into your pocket it's costing you money. You are alway better off putting that car payment into a savings account or other finacial vehicle that will pay you back over time.

How many times have you spent money on things that you really don't need. Here is an example of how controlling needless spending can put money in the bank. I had a client who could not find any extra money to put into the bank for her retirement. Every month she would struggle to find a way to save and every month she would come up empty. So we started with looking at her daily spending habits and discovered that everyday she would spend 10 dollars that could have gone into the bank. So what was she spending the money on let's take a look. Every morning she would stop off a buy a cup of coffee from a local coffee shop. This one activity alone was costing her almost 5 dollars a day. Over a period of one month she was spending over 100 dollars. So think about it how many times have you spent money on something small and said it's only 2 dollars or 5 dollars. Over time that small amount of money adds up to big savings for the future.

Now let's look at some other examples of needless spending. This section will probably upset some of you out there and create a fire storm of comments, but it must be said. I understand that many people have found a feeling of belonging and a sense of comunity in the world of organized religion. There is nothing wrong with having a relationship with God and finding a church that you like to go to. But it is another thing to give more than you can afford just because the church or minister says they need it. Understand that many churches have become big business and many miniters standard of living is far above the average church member. I have seen ministers go from selling people on the word of God to selling people on the idea that if they give 1 thousand dollars to the ministry God will repay them 10 fold or 10 thousand dollars. Understand this God will not pay you money for your faithfulness and devotion to him. He will only give you his love and mercy. If you want to give a gift of money to your church give them 5 or 10 dollars if that's not good enough for the church then find another church. Remember that Christ has already given up his life for you and he asks only for your love and belief in him in return. God wants you to keep what you have earned and live the life you have built and saved for. Never let anyone tell you differently, you don't have to buy your way into heaven for Jesus said the only way to the Father is through me. If your minister needs the money let him work outside the church to get it, Christ never took money from the people to live in a palace and enjoy fine living. God would have never given you the ability to earn money if he did not think you deserved it. Repay him with your love and by living a good life.

Get control of your spending and start saving for the future. Understand that it's not how much you make, what matters is how much you keep.