SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 7)

Sub-Topic: DRAWING POWER FOR SUCCESS.
It has been estimated that we think more than 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts every day, more than half of which are negative. Periodic mental house-cleaning to get rid of the negative `garbage’ that otherwise becomes ingrained. Charging the atmosphere with positive thinking is what it’s all about. Stopping self-destructive thoughts is like stopping any other bad habit—it takes time and effort. We control our feelings and thoughts both consciously and subconsciously. It is within us to be positive or negative, lively or unsociable. One of the most effective ways to come out on top is by the affirmation of all that is positive.
👉Affirmations are positive statements about yourself that you repeat over and over until they’re programmed into your subconscious. If we think unhappy thoughts, it will be impossible to feel either positive or be happy. As thinking is an unconscious habit, good habits, such as talking positively to yourself, focusing on positive thoughts and being positive with other people, gets good, positive results and peace of mind. While no one can be positive all the time, there are ways to develop a positive “mind set” so that positive thinking becomes a habit. Like positive thinking, worrying is a habit-albeit a bad one. Constant worrying is destructive and self-defeating. Try to eliminate negative self-talk. It only underlines our poor self-image and makes us lose confidence in ourselves. Catch and kill that negative thought.
👉Develop a three-pronged approach-Commitment, Control and Challenge. Make a commitment to yourself and to people and things that matter to you. Be enthusiastic and dare to dream! Keep your mind focused and set your goals and priorities. Take everything in your stride—success and heartbreak. Be courageous. Do not be afraid of change. Do your best and have no regrets. See learning and change as opportunities and never let go of your optimism. Boost the positive and you will find that you are a success during good times and a survivor during the hard!
Absolutely nothing, as they say, succeeds like success! Nothing sells like it either! Nothing motivates better or attracts more. Yet there is a lot more than hard work that goes behind creating success stories. To really succeed, you will have to define it differently! One of the keys to success is a belief in yourself. An abiding faith in your capacities makes you a self-assured individual ready to succeed. Such a person is open to honest self-evaluation and can change his negatives into his most positive features. An understanding of your personal and professional wants will make up the right ingredients for your life’s success recipe. Don’t use the accomplishments of others as a yardstick to measure your own progress. Admire, don’t envy others. Envy is an incurable disease of the heart and mind that will stifle your flow and growth. Applaud the sacrifice and gains of others, instead of displaying your anger or resentment. Don’t become a hater! This is actually a word with a wide meaning and negative consequences.
The attribute of admiration will help you not only personally but also probably in all spheres of your life. An understanding of the people around you and a cultivation of a positive attitude along with good manners will be an added feature. Control does not imply having everything in hand. Actually control is a state of being. It is a state of `cool collectedness’, which leads to a composed self, which thinks and works better. You should be able to effectively convey your ideas for their proper execution. For this, the most important ingredient is communication. A proper implementation of plans is necessary for the desired level of success. To never give up even in the face of the gravest opposition till the goal is achieved needs this energy. This is perhaps the toughest aspect of success. An important aspect of all success is sincerity, the honesty to analyze yourself in a realistic manner. Sincerity is what makes those plans that put you on the road to success. Success is not just a matter of chance, but it is the right combination of characteristics that makes achievement possible. Personally, I am in awe of how fluid my life became when I realized that I wasn’t in control of anything outside of me. It’s a beautiful place to inhabit.
##SAM#WHATSAPPTEACHINGFORUM#

SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 6)

Sub-Topic: RECOVERY OPTION.
The basic difference between self-employment and entrepreneurship is that self- employment is usually a one person venture operating from home like consultants, programmers, graphic designers, freelance content writers, web designers and copywriters. Enterprising men and women have done quite well for themselves working right from their home. Though self-employment might sound appealing, it requires tremendous amount of discipline, confidence and effective time management. First and foremost, you will have to inquire about any required business permits. Then buy or lease and set up the equipment you need for the venture. Most importantly, since you are working from home you have to establish a very good networking system to get in touch with people who may offer you assignments. Can anybody start a small business? Yes, provided you know what you are getting into and provided you feel comfortable with your state of knowledge about the business you have chosen. A logical first step for the undecided is to list potential areas of personal background, special training, educational and job experience and special interests that could be developed into a business. You should also have a strong drive to succeed even when the hours get long and the decisions difficult. All types of people make it in small businesses and all types sometimes fail. It is a choice that should be made only after serious study, self- examination and counseling. Detailed preparation and a long term planning is your key to success.

Self-employment Basics: The perfect idea Often the simplest of ideas which when realistically developed can be converted into profits. From gourmet popcorn and designer T-shirts to a bar-b-que sauce recipe to software programming, it all depends on the ingeniousness of the entrepreneur. Consider service-oriented ventures ranging from providing house-help, gardening services and pet care are fields that have not yet been fully explored.
👉Finances You will need to maintain two different capitals. One to pay for the things you need just to get your new business started the other to pay your operating costs until your business breaks even. Make an estimate of all the things you will need to just get started.
👉Writing the business plan. The business plan is nothing but organizing your dream scheme into a blueprint for easy execution. The finished written plan is an operational tool which, when properly used, will help you manage your business and work toward its success.
👉Firm eye on competition No business, big or small operates in a vacuum. Get to know and respect the competition.
👉Target your marketing plans. Identify direct competitors (both in terms of geography and product lines) and those who are similar or marginally comparative
Market analysis For a small business to be successful, the owner must know the market. Analyzing the market is a way to gather facts about potential customers and to determine the demand for your product or service. The more information you gather the greater are your chances of capturing a segment of the market.
👉Execution After writing the business plan, then follows the stage of execution. Detailed planning can sometimes be severely upset by practical problems, which can plague the project. A day to day schedule, listing the tasks to be completed and pending jobs, which need follow-ups, will help in completing the process for accounts payables and receivables.
👉Time management During the first year of operation, continue to chart post and check off tasks on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It is important to keep both a planning and an operating log. These tools will help avoid oversights and provide vital information when memory fails.
👉Promotion and Advertising With the marketing strategy and clear objectives outlined, use advertising to get the message out to customers. Try to reach the largest number of people with the money allocated to advertising and promotion via Internet or several different methods of advertising.
👉Remember to be creative and implement ideas. A razor sharp mind, a visionary outlook and a knack to weather stormy situations go a long way in making any business venture a resounding success.
Self-employment is a career alternative for people, who are mentally and physically strong, who can effectively implement the same skills and talents on their last job to become budding pink slip millionaires.
##SAM#WHATSAPPTEACHINGFORUM#

SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 5)

Sub-topic: ECONOMIC EMERGENCY.
In the context of tremendous change in the economy many people are deciding that self-employment is the right choice for them. People work for themselves when there are too few jobs, or not the right kinds of jobs. They work for themselves because they want to have more control over their working hours or their working conditions. People become self-employed when employer discrimination stifles their potential. In short, people work for themselves when they want and need what self-employment can offer that other employment cannot.
Being self-employed is a way of life radically different from anything you’ve ever done before. To be successful at it, you will have to make a real turn-about in how you both think and act. Entrepreneurship has become a viable alternative in our history when economic self-sufficiency and independence has gained popularity. Throughout the ages, the maverick approach of being ones own boss and shaping one’s destiny has appealed too many at various stages of their lives. Quite often, it is precisely that segment of the population which has limited economic mobility that selects entrepreneurship as a means of family survival and financial growth. The Black American tradition of self-employment is back. My great great-grandmother financially secured and fed her children by running home based laundry service. In past times and today, the economic emergency solution to “no employment” is “self-employment/entrepreneurship.

If you should choose self-employment, the more you learn about it, the more convinced you are that it offers many of the things you appreciate: independence, personal satisfaction, unlimited earning power. Start with a sideline business that will allow you to grow gradually make the transition, but if you go full blast into a business of your own, you will be quickly pressed to making sweeping changes in how you do things. You will find out soon enough that in running your own business there’s no waiting for the go-ahead. In a job, you wait for the next assignment, the next instruction, the next permission, the next applause. In your own business, you make all happen from start to finish. In deliberating over whether to seek self-employment or another job, you will likely suffer great doubt and apprehension. Your first impulse may be to seek outside counsel. However, if you are trying to decide whether to start a business of your own, you are probably not ready for the plunge. It’s like asking outsiders whether you should marry. They may be able to offer some help regarding some of the details of what you are proposing, but they don’t know enough about your personal feelings and intentions. If you can’t depend on your own convictions, you will fall short in being able to do all the things that go into making either a successful marriage or a successful business. People are told that it is important to have “purpose” in their lives-a direction, a set of goals. The direction and goals of most people’s lives are extensions, direct reflections of the context in which they live. A real purpose for doing something must come from within you. You can be forced, cajoled, even humored into doing things, but you are the only one who can determine the purpose of your actions.

The first step to do list is as follows:
•Set some realistic money goals to achieve with your business.
•What will be the biggest challenges and how will you overcome them?
•Create a spending plan and stick to it.
•Identify your household monthly spending habits.
•Find ways to save money to use for your business.
•Make a list of who you owe.
•Determine what your debt terms are and what your repayment status is.
•Consider credit counseling to build up personal credit.
It’s time to rediscover latent skills and reactive old interests.
##SAM#WHATSAPPTEACHINGFORUM#

SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 4)

Sub-Topic: SUCCESS HAS YOU WRITTEN ALL OVER IT.
Are you a butcher, baker or a candle stick maker? Your ideas at first may not appear to you as “big” ideas that can go to market. A young man living and working near a college campus could see the opportunity wanting to open a small chicken wing restaurant. What is great about his idea? He was selling “the sizzle” and not “the steak” with 18 different hot sauces flavors to choose from, which kept the college students coming back for more. Success can’t be the goal. It is not the hope of a great achievement or a plan to accomplish a specific goal. Rather, success is an attitude that affirms worthiness of who you are and the things you are doing. It is an attitude that keeps you open to new discovery and continual growth. Choosing a business idea that will work well for you is paramount to starting a business. For now however, we will concentrate on choosing an idea for starting your own business, the best place to start is to look at the skills and knowledge that you do have. For instance, if you are in employment could you do your job working for yourself rather than being employed by someone else?
Other ideas are listed below
Could you turn your hobby into a business? Maybe in your spare time you have gained a skill or knowledge, which could be turned into a business.
It could be hair styling, gardening, cooking or writing. With the business know-how, something you take pleasure in doing, could be earning you money! Copy an idea? An idea does not have to be novel or even original; in fact very few businesses are based on original ideas. Observe what happens abroad, you could get an idea that has not been tried where you live. Look around, watch the news, observe things around you and think how it could be translated into a business idea. Look for inspiration You could be inspired with an idea by looking at trade magazines, attending business expos or trade shows. This could provide the seed for a new idea or give you an idea to do it better. Identify the best market Apart from choosing an idea based on your skills, you could research markets you believe to be profitable. The ideal market would, for example, be a growing market and have a niche. Still no idea? Try brainstorming with friends and family. Invite them to come up with any ideas (it does not matter how silly some of them may sound). A brainstorming session should last no longer than fifteen minutes. It should be a starting point to help you think about the opportunities available
New product of process? Maybe you are a bit of an inventor and have invented a new product or process that you wish to create into a business. If that is the case, make sure you patent your invention with the Patent Office. Making it a good e-idea Whatever business idea you decide, you should also be thinking of how it would translate on the Internet. Your business idea should therefore be an e-idea with the following attributes: Public appeal–It should be an idea that can be marketed to attract customers and appeal to their imagination. Easily transportable–As the Internet is a worldwide medium accessed by people from all over the world; you will need to bear in mind how your product will be transported. This is particularly important in determining the success of your business. Hopefully, this should be enough general information to help you make up your mind about your business idea and the important attributes needed to make your idea work. Go for the success that has your name on it.
##SAM#WHATSAPPTEACHINGFORUM#

SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 3)

Subtopic: FACE THE FUTURE: YOUR OPTIMISM WILL NOT SHORT CHANGE YOU.

Find your “area of excellence”. The faces of the future were proud of the smiling faces of a true “melting pot”. This “new majority” with diverse skills, backgrounds, motivation and mentality will choose to invent their own future gained while attending college. Everywhere we look at jobs today, occupations and vocations, which are increasingly focused on knowledge and information. Unfortunately, some occupational changes will be out of one’s control as the occupational mix in the economy continues to change rapidly, moving forward in the 21st century. Their challenge and ours is to understand the implications of this “New World” and prepare ourselves for it.

A Japanese proverb comes to mind: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
Speaking of vision and determination, a 95-year-old graduate became the oldest world’s college graduate. According to Guinness World Records, the 95-year-old broke the record of a 90 year old woman, who had received a journalism degree a few years before.
“Improvise, Adapt and Overcome” This is the unofficial mantra of the Marine Corps based on the fact that the Corps generally received Army hand-me-downs and the troops were poorly equipped. Despite this, the Marine Corps has been successful mostly because of the creativity, tenacity, success-oriented mindset and organization of its people. Without personal organization, the struggle to achieve will be like a winding road to nowhere As personal “futurist”, we can design our own destiny by beginning with the end in mind…the end being the realization of your vision. This will motivate you to achieve your purpose. Without motivation, inspiration and vision nothing worthwhile will be achieved.
In life, we are either driven by promise or pain: The promise of an abundant future or the immediate need to change a painful situation. Your immediate goals often relieve you of an undesirable situation. Your long-term vision propels you toward great possibilities. Your vision must resonate with your values if you are to enjoy the journey. If you are not excited about what you’re doing with your life, you’ll probably not get maximum results. This is a clear indication that you are not living your life’s purpose. State what you envision for yourself. Don’t attach timelines just yet…we’ll get to that in a second.
My Immediate vision My Short-term Vision My Mid-range Vision My Long term Vision: You are blessed and highly favored. You have within you everything that you need to achieve your goals. Learn how you work. How can you put your values, beliefs, assets, liabilities, strengths and weaknesses to work for you? Your assets and liabilities are one and the same…depending on how you approach them. Set the vision. Do the work. Move in the right direction. Monitor your progress every week and every month. If it helps, make a chart. Don’t change the goal, even if you fall behind. And if the process leads in a different direction do not be afraid to change the course and follow it. If you want success, you must plan for success rather than failure. You don’t set out for Los Angeles from New York by walking eastward, do you? Of course not! You have to be walking in the right direction to get where you’re going. Simple…but true. In the words of baseball great, Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you
##SAM#WHATSAPPTEACHINGFORUM#

SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 2)

Subtopic: SUCCESS IS NOT BY ACCIDENT.
If you're tired of being straight jacketed by your employer and you intended to become self-employed, please take time and read this.👇👇👇
In the context of tremendous change in the economy and labor market, many people are deciding that self-employment is the right choice for them. People work for themselves when there are too few jobs, or not the right kinds of jobs. They work for themselves because they want to have more control over their working hours or their working conditions. People become self-employed when employer discrimination stifles their potential. In short, people work for themselves when they want and need what self-employment can offer that other employment cannot. Being self-employed is a way of life radically different from anything you’ve ever done before. To be successful at it you will have to make a real turn-about in how you both think and act. It’s time to rediscover latent skills and reactive old interests! Self-employment is a career alternative for people who are mentally and physically strong, who can effectively implement the same skills and talents on a job to become successful. Each moment can change the rest of your life and the course of your direction. If you are not intentional with your actions, you will plan to fail. Successful people operate from the beat of their own drum, but they are intentional. Successful people don’t become successful by accident-it’s sheer, practical application. You have to do at least one thing toward your goal every single day. You have to dedicate yourself every day to doing what you love. Don’t just talk about it. Talk is cheap. You may have no concept where you want to be other than theory, and that’s okay. You are guaranteed to get closer to your dreams if you just walk forward and begin to question
👉Let’s return to this concept of “work” once more. “Work” is doing what’s necessary to get to where you want to be. Doing what’s necessary and what needs to be done. Work hard so you can play hard. When you keep trying to do something and it just doesn’t fit-problem after problem-then you’re doing something wrong. You can’t do anything unless you put “work” into it, but working in the wrong direction will always leave you unsatisfied and unfulfilled. You are likely to be broken financially and spiritually when you’ve travelled thousands of miles in the wrong direction. Be sensitive to recognizing the resistance when things are not falling into place over and over again. They are signaling you to go back to the drawing board and ask yourself, what am I doing? Some people try to fit a round peg into a square hole. When you are walking the true path, things come together and you notice a difference. You will still have classic bad days (I like to say those are the days you get paid for!), but they don’t hold you back in the long run. Those days may feel like stumbling blocks in your drive, but you’re still headed in the right direction.
👉Albert Einstein once said, “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attraction.” I believe he’s right. That phrase encapsulates so much of how I live each day. Remember, when you think positively about your future, leaving the past behind, you can attract it toward you. It’s about your imagination and no one else’s. I challenge you to take what I’ve already given you this far and start to imagine your future. Imagine your own coming attraction, and I bet a few planning ideas will gradually arise.
👉“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”  – Anonymous.
Success-oriented people give up only after great struggle and painful deliberation. And when they decide to depart from the path they are traveling, they throw nothing away. Rather, they gather up all they have learned from the experience and build it into the next set of future plans.
##SAM#WHATSAPPGROUPTEACHING#

SUCCESS FORMULAS (Part 1)

Topic: PURSUE CHANGE FOR SUCCESS.

 Many people say that there are no formulas for success, but there is. Every success story can be tracked down to specific traits and actions that can be duplicated. Success formulas can also be called ideas for successful living. There are many names by which we can call the very same thing. I refer to these ideas for successful living as success formulas because we discovered them through living our lives, but as we progressed, we learned that other successful people embrace them as well. These formulas are universal, because you can't create them, even though you can discover them.  Now, they may be universal, but each individual puts his/her own spin on the ideas. In addition, each person has his/her own focus. Our focus happens to be on personal development, which is also referred to as self-improvement. We have discovered these formulas for personal development and have applied them as they have worked in our own lives. But we wanted to have a more focused discussion on some of the formulas in forthcoming columns. 
 Success formulas can also work in cooperation with each other. Some of the most admirable people in the world are people who have used the power of positivity over negativity, self-determination and perseverance to change their lives, and/or overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. "You are not judged on the height you have risen but from the depth which you have climbed."  - Frederick Douglass

Success, to some, is all about wealth. To some, success is all about achieving the perfect job, or the perfect marriage, or living the perfect life. Let’s examine what Webster says about success: Success a: degree or measure of succeeding b: favorable or desired outcome, c: the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence.  There are other ways in which humans have come to define success, but one thing is clear: success must be defined and a goal must be set before it can be achieved. Think about achieving a goal in terms of driving a car. How could you possibly get to your destination, if you have not clearly defined it? Would you just drive all across the town or all across the country in search of your destination, or would you sit down and identify the destination before you even get into your car? That’s how life is! Why would you live your life and go through your days, wasting precious time, effort and other resources without defining your actual goal? The question may sound elementary, but many people live this way and wonder why they fail to achieve anything of substance. Another mistake people make is pursuing someone else's goal. Let's use the driving analogy again: How could you arrive at your own desired destination, if you focus on where other people are going? Would you get on the freeway and drive north just because other people are driving in that direction? Where do you really want to go? In order to define your own destination in life, you must take the time to think about who you really are and what will really make you happy. Your success may be to teach small children to read and write, or your success may be to lead a football team to a national championship

Your success may be to own a multi-million dollar corporation, or your success may be to work your way to a high level of management in a multi-million dollar corporation. The point is that whatever your definition of success is must be the goal of your life. If I ask one hundred different people, they will give me one hundred different definitions of success. “One doesn’t become great by claiming greatness.”  —African proverb Some people think that if they just wake up, they will become successful and make it big. Life is not that easy and people who think that way rarely succeed in life. Those people are always saving themselves for that big day when they hit the lotto or when a deal falls into their lap, or they are waiting on some other dream of success without action, which never comes. The greatest myth is that success has to do with luck, being given an advantage or great talent. No! Success is aligning your dreams with reality
##SAMADEBAYOMINISTRY#WHATSAPPGROUPTEACHING#