Brian Tracy: You Are What You Think

A Guide to Goal Setting

By Ray Silverstein

Do you make resolutions at the beginning of every year? Resolutions can be powerful tools. In fact, they can help you take your business to the next level. The catch is, once you make a resolution, you have to work to make it come true.

If you want action, you need an action plan. Goal setting is the best way I know to transform lofty resolutions into bottom-line results. Research shows that when entrepreneurs set measurable goals for themselves, they're more like to achieve them.

When you engage in true goal setting, you define your objectives in pragmatic, measurable terms. You also need to identify the resources, time and funds you'll need to invest to attain them. That's how you develop action plans. Once you know where you want to go, the next step is to figure out how you'll get there and how much you're willing to spend on the trip.

Use the SMART System
When it comes to goal setting, the SMART system is simple, down-to-earth and gets the job done. Each goal must be defined so that it meets the following criteria:

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Timely

Specific, achievable and realistic--Make sure your goals are concrete, concise and attainable. Instead of, "I want to make a lot more money this year," specify "I want to increase my revenues by X percent (a realistic amount) by the end of the year."

Measurable--Frame your goals in such a way so you can measure your progress. For example, plan on measuring monthly or quarterly revenues against last year's figures--something you should be doing anyway.

Timely--Give yourself a reasonable time frame for achieving your goal. Then break it down into smaller, short-term increments. Realistically, you may not achieve that X percent increase early in the year, but you can work toward it. Divide your goal percent increase into monthly or quarterly increments that allows you to build on your momentum. This produces measurable, attainable and short-term goals to pursue.

Record your goals and action plans on paper. Whether you write them down or type them, the very act of recording them will help you flesh out your ideas. Once your plans are complete, you'll have a detailed roadmap with directions to follow.

Review your goals and plans regularly. Make a monthly appointment with yourself if that's what it takes. This will help keep you on track as time unfolds.

Also, beware of "BHAGs"--big, hairy, audacious goals. Super-ambitious goals are great when it comes to long-range planning and decision making, but they don't lend themselves to goal setting. Focus on attainable goals that you can realistically reach within the year.

It's easy to make resolutions, but it's hard to make them come true. No wonder some entrepreneurs make the same resolutions every year, without ever achieving them. Don't let yourself fall into that group. This year, resolve to set SMART goals and action plans.

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What is Career Development?

Career development is an organized approach used to match employee goals with the business needs of the agency in support of workforce development initiatives. In this process:

The purpose of career development is to:

* Enhance each employee's current job performance.
* Enable individuals to take advantage of future job opportunities.
* Fulfill agencies' goals for a dynamic and effective workforce.

Who's Responsible For It?

* Managers are responsible for linking the organization's needs to employee career goals, and can assist employees in the career planning process.
* Human Resources is responsible for designing career paths and employee development programs that help employees reach their goals.
* Each employee is responsible for planning and managing his/her career.

Career Development - Virginia Jobs
Career Development eManual
National Career Development Association

Personality Development

Personality development is the developing a personality cult so as to create a strong positive impression about self with the targeted group, or in general; and more pertinent aspect of such personality is to maintain and prove in a long run.

Ten Imp. Points for an Ultimate Personality:

· Appearance.

· Intelligence.

· Smartness.

· Trustworthy, High integrity and Responsible.

· Knowledge, in depth.

· Management.

· Efficiency.

· Economic independence.

· Morality / Character.

· Being beneficial / advantageous.



Strong negative aspects to spoil personality:

· Unhygienic

· Hurting attitude.

· Useless approach.

· Non-beneficial communication.

· Untrustworthy, Irresponsible, Lack of integrity.

· Below average performance.

· Powerless egoism.

· Financial indiscipline.

· Mismanagements.

· Uncontrolled burst of negative emotions.



The four aspects influencing personality are:

Physical, Social, Psychological and Philosophical.

Physical personality depends upon pleasing personality indirectly supported by health, strength and withstanding capacity.

Social personality’s main factors are: social values, communication skill, attitude and economic independence especially in relation with wealth.

Psychological personality is in tune with personal values, approach, thinking pattern, emotional management and influenced by knowledge, intelligence and smartness.

Philosophical personality is on account of maturity of values.

Main factors for developing a strong personality in social environment:

1. Pleasing appearance.

2. Beneficial communication.

3. Adapting and adhering to social values in interactions.

4. Developing confidence of

(a) Sincerity, integrity and trust.

(b) Completing duties, fulfilling responsibilities in time.

(c) Economic independent, but not being miser.

5. Additional spices for the best impression:

(a) Awareness and alertness.

(b) Useful application of: knowledge in depth, positive intelligence and defensive smartness.

(c) Self-Confidence, Initiative, dynamism, leadership qualities, will-power and self-discipline.

(d) Adaptive to moral values.

Main factors for developing a strong personality in working field:

1. Sincerity, integrity and trust.

2. Awareness, alertness and grasping capacity.

3. Beneficial communication skill.

4. Useful application of required knowledge in depth, positive intelligence and defensive smartness.

5. Non dependence of economic condition other than for rightful privileges.

6. Completing duties and fulfilling responsibilities in time and absolute accountability.

7. Pleasing appearance with good health.

8. Social interactions in tune with institutional decorum.

9. Sensible thinking inspite of emotionally charged, or embarrassing, circumstances.

10. Dynamism in positive approaches, initiative in new skills and adaptive to institutional policies.

11. Being in tune with changing times; especially so with changing technologies in the respective line.

12. Not to be with:

(1) Creating helplessness, self satisfaction at others’ cost, egoism, sadism, criticism, putting blame on others to escape, irritating communication, untrustworthiness.

(2) Laziness, lethargic attitude, falling into helplessness, unusual attitude, useless/boom-ranging approaches, irresponsibility, ignorance, borrowings, unhygienic/disliking appearance.

Main factors for Self development:

1. Self-discipline especially against temptations.

2. Not telling lies.

3. Attainment of maturity in distinguishing good and bad, and development of discipline to do such good and will-power to stand against such bad.

4. Performance of accepted role-play with fulfilling duty, responsibility and accountability.

5. Love and gratitude.

6. Using sensibility rather than becoming emotional.

7. Listen and gather but take your own decision.

8. Don’t accept failures, but rectify mistakes in such failures.

9. Skill to do, will to achieve and thrill to help.

10. Try to create happiness around you even at your own personal cost.

11. Helping should always be motto of life without expectation in return.

12. Be selfish within such level of: don’t give away your owns if meant for fulfilling your duties.

13. Thinking should be positive so that your attitude and approaches will also be positive.

14. Learn useful knowledge, develop positive intelligence and equip with defensive smartness.

15. Time shall be managed to such optimum level either for usefulness, or for relaxation.

16. Have such hobbies so as to convert the remaining time to be useful.

17. Dependence should be a strategy to get the things done.

Other notable points:-

1. Favourable social interactions are possible by pleasing appearance, beneficial communication, happy creating attitude, and mutually useful approach with maturity in social values.

2. In-depth knowledge should be useful.

Positive intelligence should be beneficial.

Defensive smartness should be protective.

3. Criticism is the self-defensive mechanism to cover up one’s own inefficiency.

4. Not telling a lie is not wrong but it doesn’t mean to tell the truth; however, not telling truth should be for a positive aspect without absolute selfishness.

In other words, personality development depends on:

· Character and Conduct.

· Theory of relativity, Perceptions and Values.

· Awareness and alertness.

· Health, wealth, in-depth knowledge, positive intelligence and defensive smartness.

· Self-Confidence, Will-Power and Self-Discipline.

· Duty, responsibility and accountability.

· Moral Values.

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Two Requirements for Rapid Promotion

By Brian Tracy

To increase your own personal income, you must be in a position to influence the company's income, to somehow increase revenues or cut costs.

To increase your own personal income, you must be in a position to influence the company's income, to somehow increase revenues or cut costs. So look at your company and look for a job where you can become more valuable.

Develop Good Work Habits
Perhaps the fastest way to bring yourself to the attention of your superiors is to develop good work habits. Most people are time wasters. They waste not only their own time but also that of others. They work at 50% or less of capacity. And because of this, they have a hard time getting ahead.

Move Fast When Necessary
But if you develop a reputation for speed, dependability and quality work, you will immediately stand out from the majority. In a survey of 104 chief executive officers, 84% of them agreed on two qualities that would most mark a person for rapid promotion. The first was the ability to set priorities, to separate the important from the unimportant.

Develop A Sense of Urgency
The second quality that they noted was the habit of getting the job done fast, a sense of urgency. Less than 2% of people have a sense of urgency and they are always the ones on the fast track.

For many reasons, people respect those who get the job done quickly. When you develop a reputation as being the person who your boss can rely on for fast, high quality work, your future is assured. And if your boss doesn't appreciate you for these qualities, there are plenty of other bosses who will.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to develop the key qualities for rapid promotion.

First, make a list of everything that you have to do, before you start. Set priorities on your list. Always work on the task that your boss considers to be the most important and stay with it until it is done.

Second, develop a sense of urgency. Do things quickly. When you have decided that a job is important, start on it immediately and work at it continuously until it is done.

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Four Keys to Career Success

By Brian Tracy

• Specialization
Is the ability to channel your talents and skills into a vital area of measurable value to your company or to your customers. Selecting an area of specialization is a critical determinant of long-term success.

• Differentiation
Is the ability to set yourself apart from others on the basis of your superior performance in one or more areas. Just as a company must have an area of excellence or competitive advantage to survive and thrive, individuals on the job must have at least one as well.

• Segmentation
Is the ability to determine the people and organizations in your work life who can most benefit the fastest from your performance in a particular area. First, define your most important customer clearly. Then, resolve to satisfy that particular customer better than anyone else.

• Concentration
Is the ability to focus single-mindedly on serving your specific market segment with products and services that are expertly tailored to and excellent for that individual or organization.

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Develop A Sense of Urgency

By Brian Tracy

Perhaps the most outwardly identifiable quality of a high performing man or woman is "action orientation."

Take Time to Think and Plan
Highly productive people take the time to think, plan and set priorities. They then launch quickly and strongly toward their goals and objectives. They work steadily, smoothly and continuously and seem to go through enormous amounts of work in the same time period that the average person spends socializing, wasting time and working on low value activities.

Getting into "Flow"
When you work on high value tasks at a high and continuous level of activity, you can actually enter into an amazing mental state called "flow." Almost everyone has experienced this at some time. Really successful people are those who get themselves into this state far more often than the average.

In the state of "flow," which is the highest human state of performance and productivity, something almost miraculous happens to your mind and emotions. You feel elated and clear. Everything you do seems effortless and accurate. You feel happy and energetic. You experience a tremendous sense of calm and personal effectiveness.

Become More Alert and Aware
In the state of "flow," identified and talked about over the centuries, you actually function on a higher plane of clarity, creativity and competence. You are more sensitive and aware. Your insight and intuition functions with incredible precision. You see the interconnectedness of people and circumstances around you. You often come up with brilliant ideas and insights that enable you to move ahead even more rapidly.

Develop a Sense of Urgency
One of the ways you can trigger this state of flow is by developing a "sense of urgency." This is an inner drive and desire to get on with the job quickly and get it done fast. This inner drive is an impatience that motivates you to get going and to keep going. A sense of urgency feels very much like racing against yourself.

Create a "Bias for Action"
With this ingrained sense of urgency, you develop a "bias for action." You take action rather than talking continually about what you are going to do. You focus on specific steps you can take immediately. By employing this technique you concentrate on the things you can do right now to get the results you want and achieve the goals you desire.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, select one major task confronting you and launch into it immediately. Don’t hesitate. Move fast.

Second, start doing this every morning, first thing, until it becomes a habit.

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10 Easy Time Management Tips

by Barbara Myers

Many people mistakenly believe that time management is about squeezing more tasks and activities into a day.

Time management is actually about getting the important things done. It's also about learning to do things efficiently so you can ultimately accomplish more. Here how:

1. Focus. On a sticky note, write the important things in your life you need to focus on today. At home, attach it to your refrigerator. At work, stick it on your computer monitor. As projects come and go, you'll need to modify the list.

2. Write it down. If your head is full of clutter, you won't get as much done. "Scatterbrain Syndrome" is caused by too much data floating around in your head. Cure it by writing in a spiral notebook everything you need to do. If you're working on a task and something else pops into your head, write it down in the notebook.

3. Keep a daily to-do list. Write down the 12 most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow.

4. Make a daily schedule. You'll be more efficient. Look at tomorrow's appointments and meetings. Mark those beginning to end times in your calendar. Then review your to-do list and schedule time for your to-do's. Remember, only schedule 70% of your day. The other 30% will be filled with interruptions and emergencies.

5. Delegate. This is the most underused time management tool today. Look at your to-do list after you write it and ask yourself what you can delegate. Consider hiring college students for small tasks. Barter activities with neighbors and co-workers. Teach your kids life skills and enlist their help on a daily basis.

6. Multi-task the details. While it's important to focus on projects, it's also efficient to take care of simple tasks simultaneously. Cook dinner while returning phone calls. File while watching TV. Check your e-mail while listening to voice mail messages.

7. Group like activities. Keep a running list of errands and take care of all of them once a week. Return phone calls during a certain time period. Do all your computer work within a certain time period. It takes time to switch tasks so you'll save time by doing like activities together.

8. Organize your surroundings. The Wall Street Journal once reported that the average executive loses up to an hour per day looking for misplaced papers. You'll save time if you don't have to step over and look through clutter.

9. Analyze everything you do for the next week. Try to find a quicker, more efficient way to do things. Briefly work with a friend or co-worker to come up with ideas.

10. Read it better. Learn to skim information. Highlight important text for easier retrieval. Carry reading material with you wherever you go. Consider taking a speed reading course.

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Four Rules of Time

By Brian Tracy

Time Is Perishable

There are four rules of time. The first is that time is perishable. This means that it cannot be saved. In fact, time can only be spent. Because time is perishable, the only thing you can do with it is to spend it differently, to reallocate your time away from activities of low value and toward activities of higher value. But once it is gone, it is gone forever.

Time Is Indispensable
The second rule of time is that time is indispensable. All work requires time. No matter what it is you want to do in life, even looking out a window or sleeping in for a few extra minutes, it requires a certain amount of time. And according to the 10/90 Rule, the 10% of time that you take to plan your activities carefully in advance will save you 90% of the effort involved in achieving your goals later. The very act of thinking through and planning your work in advance will dramatically reduce the amount of time that it takes you to do the actual job.

The Currency of the Future
The third rule of time is that time is irreplaceable. Nothing else will do, especially in relationships. Time is the only currency that means anything in your relationships with the members of your family, your friends, colleagues, customers and coworkers. Truly effective people give a lot of thought to creating blocks of time that they can then spend, without interruption, with the important people in their lives.

Spell the Word Correctly
There is a question: "How do children spell the word 'Love?'" And the answer is "T-I-M-E." It is the same with your spouse, as well. The important people in your life equate the amount of time that you spend with them, face to face, head to head, knee to knee, with the amount that you actually love them.

Grow Your Relationships
The more time that you spend with another person, especially a member of your family, the deeper grows your understanding and affection for that person. If you get too busy to spend time with your children, you eventually lose contact with them and they go off into their own personal world of school, peers and other activities.

The Key to Goal-Achievement
The fourth rule is that time is essential for accomplishment. Every goal you want to achieve, everything you want to accomplish, requires time. In fact, one of the smartest things you ever do, when you set a goal, is to sit down and allocate the exact amount of time that you are going to have to invest to achieve that goal. The failure to do this almost always leaves the goal unaccomplished.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, decide today to redirect and reallocate your time away from low-value tasks and toward high-value activities.

Second, make a plan to spend more time face-to-face with the most important people in your life. The more you think about the use of your time, the better you will become.

8 Fast-Growing Careers That Offer Great Salaries

by Gabby Hyman

Want a hot, in-demand career with a solid income? Whether you're just beginning your education or returning to college, there are several fast-growing professions that show no signs of slowing down through the end of the decade -- and they pay well!

Let's look over some fast-track career fields that offer strong salaries with room to grow:

1. Commercial Loan Officers

Commercial loan officers work for banks, credit unions, and other lenders to help them analyze loan applicants for their consumer credit history and financial status. You'll need strong financial skills and a degree in business, economics, sales, or banking.
According to Salary.com, the national average of entry level earnings for commercial loan officers ranges from $55,475 to $71,382 with $3,000-$7,000 in bonuses. After six to eight years of experience, commercial loan officers can earn between $95,015 and $116,670, to a top salary of $128,034.

2. Financial Analysts

Financial analysts develop critical revenue projections and investment analysis for individuals or companies.
The national annual salary range for entry level analysts is between $40,632 and $51,982, but with seven years experience, you'll leap into the $90,690 to $99,972 range.

3. Senior Database Administrator

A senior database administrator can design, maintain, and crunch a company's database to dramatically affect the operational bottom line.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reports that senior database administrator jobs will grow faster than the average rate for all career groups through 2014. And you'll look forward to your paycheck. Top salaries range from $90,690 to $113,849, with a top tier around $125,379.

4. Network Security Administrators

Like their database cousins, network security administrators are among the fastest-growing career groups in the nation. In this role, you'll be the architect and security watchdog for an organization's voice systems, LAN/WAN, and telecommunications networks.
Top annual salaries range from $61,117 to $100,685, with a high end around $123,585.

5. Registered Nurses

There's no shortage of nursing jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nurses make up the second-largest career group in the country. There are registered nurses and registered nurses with bachelor's degrees.
Consider the evidence: entry level wages for an RN floor nurse range $53,398 to $68,263. Nurses who want to move into supervisory positions better their chances for advancement with a BSN degree. For example, head nurses average between $74,965 to $97,276, and head operating room nurses average from $80,084 to $112,090.

6. Web Interface Design Directors

Among all the graphics design professions, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that Web designers with animation experience will have the best job prospects through the decade. And, among these, Web interface design directors are the best earners.
In return, look for the national earnings average of $47,551 to $66,277 for entry level designers to ramp up to a muscular $121,310 to $141,662 range -- with top salaries at $148,374 -- for senior interface design directors.

7. Restaurant General Managers

Restaurant general managers work for major restaurant chains, private bistros, hotels, resorts, and casinos. The Department of Labor predicts the best opportunities will be for salaried managers as opposed to self-employed restaurateurs.
National average wages for restaurant GMs range from $53,255 to $60,765, with an average at $70,546 for managers of fine restaurants.

8. Paralegals

Paralegals provide critical support to attorneys, law offices, corporate legal departments, courts, and government agencies.
The national salary range for entry level paralegals is from $36,641 to $49,754, however, paralegals with eight years experience may earn upwards of $86,666.

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How to Make Friends

FRIENDSHIP IS NOT FREE; IT MUST BE EARNED!

We should try to do these things better:
1. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
2. Talk in the interest ranges of the things that people treasure most when talking to them.
3. Talk to people about themselves and recognize their importance.
4. Respect other peopleʼs good judgment and avoid arguments.
5. Never tell anyone they are wrong, we all will rationalize to the point of thinking we are unequivocally right.
6. We should criticize ourselves before other people have a chance to; if you are wrong, admit it!
7. Tread softly, you will go farther.
8. We should try to let our friends feel as though they have excelled us at some time or another.
9. Let others do a great deal more of the talking.
10. Figure out why others think as they do; look at it from their viewpoint.
11. Show compassion toward others (this is yearned for).
12. Treat people with respect, dignity, honesty, truthfulness and willingness; they will generally emulate those feelings.
13. Challenge others to do something better, never force them.
14. Call attention to mistakes indirectly (donʼt broadcast).
15. Make difficulties seem easy to conquer.
16. Praise minutest improvements and inspire hidden treasures in others.
17. Be friendly.
18. Force yourself to smile! (You will.)
19. Consider othersʼ good points.
20. Make others want to follow your suggestions.
21. Always appreciate peopleʼs time.
22. Be interested in everyone you meet.
23. Always remember: good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.
24. Remember names; a personʼs name is truly the most treasured phrase to that personʼs ears. Use the I.R.A principles to help remember names.
IMPRESSION REPETITION ASSOCIATION (I.R.A.)
(What do they look like? Repeat their names five times. What do they do?).
25. Try saying this three (3) times: “Act enthusiastically and youʼll be enthusiastic.” It works.
26. Perfect yourself first, then worry about everyone else.
27. Try to exercise a little sympathy, tolerance and kindness — it goes a lot further than a short fuse.
28. Learn the difference between appreciation and flattery — one is from the heart, the other is from the teeth.
29. Accept the fact that everyone is superior to you in one way or another, and learn from that trait.
30. When not engaged in some definite problem-solving, most people think of themselves 95% of the time. If we could cut it to 50%, the results would be dramatic.
31. Why should people be interested in you and me, unless we are first interested in them?
32. We are all interested in what we want. Be a little different: Be interested in what the other person wants and needs. (Get the other personʼs point of view and see things from his angle as well as your own. Be interested in helping others, not only yourself.)
33. Try to do things without ulterior motives.
34. If we do things that require time, energy, unselfishness and thoughtfulness, we will make many friends.
35. The ability to listen is rarer than almost any other trait. (Listen and learn.)
36. This is an old one: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We all know who wrote that one.
37. Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.
38. When dealing with people, use little phrases like, “Iʼm sorry to trouble you…,” “Would you be so kind as to…,” “Wonʼt you please…,” “Would you mind…,” “Thank you.” They are the hallmark of good breeding.
39. Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so.

from "A Positive Attitude" by Dan Auito.

A Certain Way To Business and Personal Success

By: Brian Tracy

DECIDE EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO!

Clarity
You must be clear about what it its that you want – what it is your doing - and why you are doing it, at every step of your life. You must know and see how everything you do fits in with your life.


Goal Orientation
Successful people are intensely goal orientated. They know what they want and are working towards the achievement of their goals every single day.


A Simple 7 Part Goal Setting Formula
1. Decide exactly what you want – formulate a goal
2. Then write it down (a goal not written down is merely a wish or a fantasy)
3. Set a deadline and even sub-deadlines if the goal is large and long-term
4. Make a list of everything you will have to do to achieve your goal.
5. Make a plan - organize your list by setting priorities on the list activities
6. Take action – Do this immediately DO IT NOW! And develop a sense of urgency. You must be intensely action orientated.
7. Do something every single day – Maintain momentum by doing something that will move you towards your goal daily


The Best Goal Setting Exercise
(Practice it over and over again during your life)
1. Start with a blank sheet of paper
2. Make a list of 10 goals that you want to accomplish in the next 12 months (write your goals in the present tense, as if you already accomplished them and start every goal with the word I)
3. Go over your list of 10 goals and select that one goal that will have the greatest impact on your life, if your were to achieve it
4. Take your chosen goal and write it on the top of a separate sheet of paper. Then write down a deadline for it. And then formulate a plan. Take action on the plan immediately, and resolve to do something every day until you achieve your goal.

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