The Power in Praising People
One of the keys to success is to have successful relationships. We are not islands and we don't get to the top by ourselves. And one of the key ways to grow successful in our relationships is to be "life-giving" people to others. Every person we meet, we either give life to or take life from. You know what I mean. There are people who encourage you and when you are done being with them you feel built up. Then there are others who you feel torn down by. Successful people are people who have mastered the art of building others up.
One of the ways we build people up is to praise them. There is power in praising people! Something begins to happen in them, in you, and in your relationship when you praise someone. Remember a time when someone told you something about yourself in a praising manner? It was great, wasn't it? You probably liked that person more after they praised you, didn't you?
Now I am not talking about praising people for the sake of praising people. I am talking about honestly looking for and praising positive character traits and action of others around you. Don't lie to people. If they have done something wrong, correct it, but when they do something right, Praise it!
With that said, here are benefits of and ways to start praising people.
Benefits
Your relationship grows. Life is about relationships. Family relationships, friends, and co-workers. When we begin to praise people for their positive aspects, our relationships grow. It puts them, and us, on the fast track. Your leadership and influence grows. Who is going to have greater leadership and influence capacity in the lives of their followers, the one who tears down or the one who builds up?
Stronger relationships and loyalty. When the person is appreciated and praised, they become fiercely loyal, because they know that you care for them, love them, and appreciate them. This will take you to success.
Happier, more fulfilled people. I truly believe it is our job to build others up and that they need it. It is a good thing, in and of itself to invest in the lives of others by praising and encouraging them. Even if we never get anything in return, it is the right thing to do to build up other people. Someone else will always come along to tear them down; the successful person will instill in them the power of praise!
Some ways to praise
Character traits. Is there someone you know who is joyful? Hard-working? Honest? Then let them know how much you appreciate that in them. You can do it with a word or a card, or a phone call. Say something like this, "You know Tom, I think it is great that you are such a hard-worker. It seems like you are always the first one here and the last one to leave. You really set a good example and I want you to know how much I appreciate that." Simple!
Action
Same idea as above. "Sue, I don't know if anybody else has told you this, but your work on the Johnson account was excellent. You have a wonderful ability to communicate the vision of the project and that helps all of the rest of us out in our roles and tasks. Thanks for that. It is greatly appreciated."
Other ways you can show praise and appreciation is with a card, a gift, or time off from work.
Make it your goal to praise at least five people a day. If you can, praise ten people a day. Or perhaps you can try to praise everyone you come in contact with. It will take work but it is possible. It just takes discipline and a little work.
Any way you cut it though, there is power in praising people. First for them, then for you!
by: Chris Widener
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ONCE IN A LIFETIME
A subscriber once wrote to me and asked me to consider this common phrase - Once in a lifetime. "Isn't every moment of our lives, once in a lifetime?" he asked.
Touché! Indeed, he is correct. Every moment of our lives is the last chance we get to live that moment.
What happens though is that we figure we will be able to live another moment in the same way we are passing on right now. Time becomes a commodity that we trade… and the riskiest commodity of all - futures! We pass on this moment for the option to live it in the future.
The problem is that there is no guarantee of the future… Take some time this week to think about the Once in a Lifetime opportunities you are passing up each day:
The opportunity to play with your children or grandchildren.
The opportunity to love your spouse.
The opportunity to take that business risk.
The opportunity to take that dream trip you have thought of for years.
Live for today my friends. Make today the best day that you can. Be aware of every moment and how it is the last time you will be able to make the decision on how to spend it. Today is your once in a lifetime opportunity to live your dreams, love your family, and make a difference.
As the marketing profession would put it: Don't miss this Once in a Lifetime Opportunity! - by Chris Widener
DISCIPLINE & LOYALTY ARE TREMENDOUS
- by Charles Jones
We live in a world where these two great words -- discipline and loyalty are becoming meaningless. Does this mean that they are worthless? On the contrary, they are becoming priceless qualities because they are so hard to develop in the first place. And should you be one of the fortunate few who by God's grace has caught the vision, your battle has just begun because the greatest battle is to keep what you've learned through these two priceless qualities,
Discipline is that great quality few people use that enables them to be constructively busy all the time. Even in discouragement and defeat, discipline will rescue you and usher you to a new place to keep constructively busy while you forget about doubt, worry and self-pity. Oh, that more in this day would realize the absolute necessity of discipline and the degree of growth and happiness to be attained from it.
Most people think that loyalty is to a thing or to a person when actually it is really to one's own self. Some think that it is to a goal or an objective, but again it is to one's own convictions. If loyalty has to be earned then it is deserved and is hardy, more than devoted emotion based on a temporary feeling. No, loyalty is the character of a person who has given himself the task before him and he will always realize that out of a loyal heart will spring all the other virtues that make life one of depth and growth.
Being an Extraordinary Leader Through Tough and Challenging Times
- - by Chris Widener
Tough and challenging times will surely come. That is a given. The question is what kind of leadership we will demonstrate during those times. Those who are weak leaders will see lasting damage done, if not see the organization fall apart completely. With Extraordinary Leaders at the helm, however, an organization can actually become stronger and thrive in spite of the tough and challenging times. That should be our goal, so here are some ideas on how to be an Extraordinary Leader in tough and challenging times!
1. Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture. When things get tough, everybody's temptation is to become acutely focused on the problem. The Extraordinary Leader, however, will keep his or her eye on the big picture. This doesn't mean that we don't address the problem. In fact, we have to address the problem. But what separates a leader from a follower is that the leader doesn't get caught up in the problem. The leader sees the big picture and keeps moving toward the vision. The further they take their followers toward the vision, the further away from the problem they get.
2. Don't Get Caught in the War or the Friendly Fire. When it gets tough even the most loyal team members can be tempted to start shooting and, unfortunately, they sometimes shoot each other! Rather than focusing on the enemy on the outside, they begin to question each other and find many faults with one another that they normally would not have seen. The Extraordinary Leader is the one who can keep from being drug into the fray. They keep their eye on the big picture and act rationally and objectively. They understand that people are heated and are saying things they don't really mean. The people are firing because they are angry or scared. The Extraordinary Leader understands this and rises above it. This way, they take fewer arrows and they set the example for their followers.
3. Be First to Sacrifice. When it gets tough, like when there has to be cuts in salaries etc, the leader should do just that - lead. They need to not only be the one who is rewarded the greatest when all is well, but they need to be the first to sacrifice. The Extraordinary leader says, "I know many of you are concerned with the salary cuts. I am too. In the long run we will be healthy again but for the mean time, this is necessary. Understanding this, I want you to know that I am taking a 20% pay reduction myself. I want you to know that we are in this together." The Extraordinary Leader is the first to sacrifice and will be rewarded with the loyalty of his or her followers.
4. Remain Calm. Panic is one of the basest of human emotions and no one is immune to it. The Extraordinary Leader, however, takes time out regularly to think the issues through so they can remain calm. They remind themselves that all is not lost and there will be another day. They remind themselves that being calm will enable them to make the best decisions - for themselves and for their followers. Panic only leads to disaster, while calm leads to victory.
5. Motivate. In tough and challenging times, people are naturally down. They tend to be pessimistic. They can't see how it is all going to work out. Thus, they have a hard time getting going. The Extraordinary Leader knows this and will focus in on being the optimistic motivator. He or she will come to the office knowing that for the time being, the mood of the group will be carried and buoyed by them and their attitude. Above all else, they seek to show how the end result will be good - and with this they motivate their followers to continue on, braving the current storms, and on to their shared destiny.
6. Create Small Wins. One of the ways to motivate is to create small wins. The Extraordinary Leader knows that in tough times his or her people think that all is lost. They wonder if they can win. So the Extraordinary Leader creates opportunities for the team to win, even if they are small. They set smaller, more achievable goals and remind and reward the team members when they hit those goals. With each small win, the leader is building the esteem and attitude of his followers, digging them out of their self-created hole of fear.
7. Keep a Sense of Humor. Look, hardly anything in life can't be laughed at. The Extraordinary Leader knows that even if the whole company goes down the drain, we still go home to our families and live a life of love with them. The Extraordinary Leader keeps perspective and knows that we humans act irrationally when we get scared and fail, and sometimes that is humorous. Don't ever laugh at someone's expense in this situation, because that will be perceived as cold and heartless, regardless of what you meant by it, but do keep the ability to laugh at yourself and the situations that present themselves. By doing this you will keep yourself and your team in an attitude that will eventually beat the tough times.
A major part of the process of achieving success and living the kind of life that you dream of is to give. Many people think that to get what you want you have to take it. There is a universal truth though that the true path to get what you want is to give. When you give, you get. What you sow, you shall reap. If this is true, then what is it we must give? I'll show you the way... 1. Give Others Your Honesty. "Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product." Ed McMahon Mister McMahon is right, though others will tell you otherwise. Some people will say, "You have to bend the truth to get ahead." Not true. Some of the most successful people who have ever lived where honest people. How about you? Are you honest in all things? The problem with little lies is they become big ones. Lies spin out of control. You get caught in one lie and you lie to get out of it etc. In all things and at all times, give others your honesty. 2. Give Others Your Respect. But I believe we should have a higher standard: We respect people not for what they have done or for who they are related to or for what they can do for us. Instead, we respect people for simply being. What would happen in our world, in our company, and yes, even in our families if we started with respect for everyone else rather than making them earn it? I think we would see that most people would live up to the respect that we give them! 3. Give Others Your Vulnerability. "But Chris, make yourself vulnerable and people will step all over you!" It is true that this will happen. But I have also seen that most people will be drawn to you. They will help you. They will open up to you. You see, we are all broken people inside. We all have secrets. Yet everyone plays the poser. When one let's down their veil, others soon follow - and we all win. 4. Give Others Your Care. Take the time to show people you care. Listen to them. Empathize with them. Love them. Now, I don't mean that you have to go around hugging everyone - that probably wouldn't fly in corporate America anyway - but we can take some time to step back from business and be human! And I have found that when we do so, our business succeeds as well! 5. Give Others Your Passion. Don't just be humdrum - be excited. Give people all the energy you can muster up. And you will find that energy reciprocal. They will get energized and passionate. This in turn will fire you up more when you are already charged and get you going altogether when you don't feel like moving at all! 6. Give Others Your Experience. Sometimes it will be what they should do: Shortcuts to take, people to meet etc. Sometimes it will be what they should not do: Shortcuts not to take and people toasty away from! Whatever it is, we can be of service to others by giving them our experience and ultimately it will make us all better! 7. Give Others Your Help. If you want to live the life you have always dreamed of ask yourself if you: Give Others Your Honesty
Seven Things You Must Give to Others if You Want to Achieve Success! - - by Chris Widener
The world we live in has a simple rule that most follow: Lie when you have to. Unfortunately, this may make some people wealthy but it makes us humans poor. To achieve success is to become wealthy not only in money, but in character. To be successful, truly successful, is to be able to attain your goals and keep your character at the same time!
Most of the time we give people respect based on what they have done or what they have accomplished. We gauge whether or not they are "worthy" of it based on what we know of what they have achieved or who they know or are related to.
We are taught to "be strong." And yes, we should be strong. But we have also embraced something that I think keeps us from having the kind of life that we long for. It is an idea that keeps us from experiencing the kind of relationships that would bring deep meaning to us. It is the idea of vulnerability.
Too many people are running around this old earth not caring about others. The days of "Look Out for Number One" and "Winning Through Intimidation" are over! Let's bring about a new day when we can care about others AND succeed!
There is nothing this world needs more than passionate people. And people need passionate people. Living in this day and age can be tiring. The hustle and bustle of it all can wear you down and tire you out. Give your passion to others and fire them up.
We all have areas that we excel in and they are usually areas that we have experience in. One of the things we can do to make our lives more meaningful and be of utmost help to others is to show them the way through the experiences we have.
All in all, what we want to do is to help others. Zig Ziglar says that if we will "help others get what they want, we will in turn get what we want." If we want to be successful, we should consider ourselves servants of other people. What can we do to help them and make them better? This is the true path to greatness and success, not only in business but in life!
Give Others Your Respect.
Give Others Your Vulnerability.
Give Others Your Care.
Give Others Your Passion.
Give Others Your Experience.
Give Others Your Help.
The Two Choices We Face - by Jim Rohn
Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.
And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can. All of us have the choice.
To do or not to do. To be or not to be. To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.
Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to stretch upward and outward to the full measure of our capabilities. Why not do all that we can, every moment that we can, the best that we can, for as long as we can?
Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings.
Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not conversation. Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to become more today than we were the day before. The greatest rewards are always reserved for those who bring great value to themselves and the world around them as a result of whom and what they have become.
In Pursuit of Potential - by Dr. John C. Maxwell
The enemy of great is good. The primary reason so few leaders or organizations ever become great is because they get good and then stop. They stop growing, learning, risking, and changing. They use their track record or prior successes as evidence that they've arrived. Believing their own headlines, the leaders in these successful organizations are ready to write it down, build the manual, and document the formula. This mentality shifts their business from a growth to a maintenance mindset.
Neither you nor your business ever "arrives." We never get to the place where there's nothing more to be done and nothing more to be said. In the words of my friend Dave Anderson, "Yesterday's peacock is tomorrow's feather duster." What you strutted yesterday; the next day is just cleaning dust off of shelves.
I like to distinguish between a "goal mindset" and a "growth mindset." A person with a "goal mindset" has very tangible, numerical goals to achieve over a specific period of time. Nothing is wrong with clearly defined goals, but there's a better way of thinking that I call a "growth mindset." A growth mindset recognizes goals on the journey, but only as part of a process—not as the end results.
When goal-oriented people hit a milestone, they have tendency to settle very quickly, but when growth-minded individuals hit a goal, they blow right on by because they're constantly learning and growing.
Success has a brutal side: It can make you arrogant, it can make you complacent, and it can close your mind. To survive the temptations of triumph, we must realize that success is not the point and should never be the ultimate objective of an enterprise. The goal of business is to strive to reach full potential. I define full potential as focusing on seeing how far you can go, how good you can get, and how many people you can bring with you. Reality dictates that you will most likely never reach your full potential, but the journey keeps you humble, hungry, and focused. What you become in the process helps you and your organization make the leap from good to great. Use your success as a stepping stone, not a pedestal.
Leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop working on themselves. They continue to work hard on their job, but they have a tendency to neglect personal growth. They use their experience and track record as a license never to read another book and an excuse never to attend another developmental course in their field. They point to their acclaim and accomplishments and decide to rely on the skills they have learned in the past to run the rest of their career. They develop an arrogance of intelligence that creates a disabling ignorance. This ignorance disables them, their people, and, as a result, their business.
Growing people grow people. But when you don't grow, you plateau. It's just a matter of time. Once this happens, you plateau everyone working for you. When I as a leader go flat, my influence with everybody in my organization fizzles and fades. When the leader doesn't grow, the people don't grow. It's the Law of the Lid; a stagnant leader stunts the growth of the organization.
Let me give you four benefits of pursuing your potential, even during seasons of success:
• We have higher self-esteem. People that are constantly learning and growing have a good self-image.
• We are willing to change and risk. One of the obvious evidences of growing people is that they are constantly changing and risking. Show me a person that doesn't change, that doesn't risk, and I'll show you a person that's not growing.
• Our passion increases. When we begin to grow personally, our passion for life and learning begins to increase proportionately.
• We lift the lid for others. What a leader does determines what everybody else is going to do. The people don't pass the leader. An organization's growth doesn't outpace the leader's progress. As I lift the lid for myself, I lift the lid for others.
One of the most amazing things to me is how much room there is at the top. On the other hand, it's jam-packed and crowded at the bottom. On the streets of average, there's traffic and congestion, but success has so few people on the roads. It's amazing how the higher you go, the less people there are. Three percent of the people in the United States have a library card. Six percent of Americans believe Elvis is still alive. Trust me, there's a lot of room at the top.
As a leader you should learn like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow. Either way, you're covered.
When you ask people what they want their life to be like the usual response is "I want to be happy." We all want to be happy, but that is not very specific. People who live in a grass hut in the middle of the jungle wearing only fig leaves can be happy. If that's what you want, great. But few people I know would be satisfied with that lifestyle.
Developing Clarity for Phenomenal Success
- by Mark Victor Hansen
No two people on the planet define happiness, love or success in the same way. We need to define these things for ourselves and figure out what we want in order to have our perfect lives. If we don't know what we want, how can we expect to get it?
We need to be specific about our desires. We need to develop a clear, concise picture of what we want our lives to look like. Only then can that dream life manifest itself into physical form.
Say you and your best friend are standing in the kitchen. You say, "Hand me the metal object." They look around and see a spatula, a fork, a butter knife, a spoon, a pizza cutter, etc. They're confused, because they see all of these metal objects, but they don't know which one you meant. So, they hand you a spoon.
"That's not what I want," you say. They hand you a spatula.
"That's not it either," you say. They would have to keep handing you everything in the kitchen until they got it right. On the other hand, if you had said, "Hand me a fork," you would have gotten it immediately.
Developing clarity about what we want is fundamental to our success. Why? Because when we know what we want and ask our Higher Power (God, the Universe, whatever you're comfortable with and believe in) that is what we're going to get. The more specific we are, the faster it is sent to us. The more vague we are, the slower we are to get it.
You see, the Universe wants us to have everything we want. The Universe is not manipulative or cruel. It is simply waiting for you to get crystal clear about what it is that you want. The Bible says, "Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and ye shall find." It doesn't get much more simple than that. Your only job is to decide specifically what it is that you truly want and then ask. It is the Universe's job to give it to you.
'Walt Disney and Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller had 50 year plans - do you?'
Discipline yourself to do what you know you need to do to be the very best in your field. Perhaps the best definition of self discipline is this: "Self discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not." It is easy to do something when you feel like it. It's when you don't feel like it and you force yourself to do it anyway that you move your life and career onto the fast track.
What decisions do you need to make today in order to start moving toward the top of your field? Whatever it is, either to get in or get out, make a decision today and then get started. This single act alone can change the whole direction of your life.
The Seven Steps to Success:
There is a powerful seven step formula that you can use to set and achieve your goals for the rest of your life. Every single successful person uses this formula or some variation of this formula to achieve vastly more than the average person. And so can you. Here it is:
1. Decide What You Want
Decide exactly what it is you want in each part of your life. Become a "meaningful specific" rather than a "wandering generality."
2. Write it Down
Write it down, clearly and in detail. Always think on paper. A goal that is not in writing is not a goal at all. It is merely a wish and it has no energy behind it.
3. Set a Deadline
Set a deadline for your goal. A deadline acts as a "forcing system" in your subconscious mind. It motivates you to do the things necessary to make your goal come true. If it is a big enough goal, set sub-deadlines as well. Don't leave this to chance.
4. Make a List
Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. When you think of new tasks and activities, write them on your list until your list is complete.
5. Organize Your List
Organize your list into a plan. Decide what you will have to do first and what you will have to do second. Decide what is more important and what is less important. And then write out your plan on paper, the same way you would develop a blueprint to build your dream house.
6. Take Action
Take action on your plan. Do something. Do anything. But get busy. Get going.
7. Do Something Every Day
Do something every single day that moves you in the direction of your most important goal at the moment. Develop the discipline of doing something 365 days each year that is moving you forward. You will be absolutely astonished at how much you accomplish when you utilize this formula in your life every single day.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put these ideas into action immediately.
First, decide exactly what you want, write it down with a deadline, make a plan and take action - on at least one goal - today!
Second, determine the price you will have to pay to achieve this goal and then get busy paying that price - whatever it is.
RP's shy billionaire
Radio factory worker's son rises to the top
MANILA, Philippines—He is one of the Philippines' richest men (4th in the Forbes 2007 list of The Philippines' 40 Richest estimated wealth at $1.1 billion) yet he is probably the most low-profile.
Little is known about Andrew L. Tan yet children of all ages know one of his businesses only too well: his Alliance Global Group Inc. owns 49 percent of Golden Arches Dev't. Corp., franchise holder of the McDonald's hamburger chain.
His real estate group under Megaworld owns over 200 buildings (defined as four stories and above).
Born of humble beginnings, he was the son of a transistor radio factory worker who came to Manila from China at age 16. Tan has a brilliant mind—graduated magna cum laude with degree in Business Administration from the University of the East. This despite the fact that he used to walk from Sta. Cruz in Manila to the UE campus because he had no money. People who work with him attest to his brilliance but at the same time describe him as extremely shy.
He owns Emperador Distillers Inc., makers of Emperador brandy, the world's largest selling brandy by volume. But his first brand was Andy Player Special which is not being exported.
Tan agreed to answer several questions from the Inquirer and share old photos that have not been published:
Q: What were your beginnings? How did you start? What was your first entrepreneurial venture?
A: I was about 25, and a bachelor, when I first went into business. I was a partner in a wholesale trading firm that imported appliances in bulk and sold them to appliance stores.
Q: How were you raised? Were your parents entrepreneurs? Who was and is the most influential person in your life?
A: My father worked in a transistor radio factory; my mother was a plain housewife. I have one brother. One influential person in my life was my mother. As a young businessman, I would consult her before I made any important decisions. We discussed not just business matters, but also anything under the sun. She and her guidance meant a lot to me.
When I married, my wife Katherine became the most influential person in my life. Today, we talk about business almost every day, especially when I have to make important decisions.
In college, many of my classmates were better off than I. They had family businesses of their own. Some owned a grocery shop; others a hardware store. Those in Quiapo ran a small textile business. I was sort of envious of their fortune, so I dreamed of becoming a businessman.
I often told my mother that I if had P200,000 in savings, I'd open a grocery store, and that would surely change our fortune. She encouraged me a lot then.
When I started working, I discovered that you learn something from the people you meet. For me, that's always a blessing, more so if you meet the right people who can help you succeed.
Some people may disagree, but I believe that for a person to become very wealthy, 40 percent is due to luck and 60 percent to a combination of intelligence and hard work. You just have to be at the right place at the right time. If you are lucky, timing will always be in your favor; otherwise, timing will always be off. There's a Chinese saying that big success depends on the heavens. For me, good luck accounts for 40 percent of all my success.
Q: What were some of the difficult times in your entrepreneurial life? How did you overcome the difficulties?
A: Business was very tough when I started. When you don't have much capital, it is imperative that you have a very good nose. You are like a dog that must always sniff around for food. You cannot afford to fail. That is how you develop an instinct for success.
This does not mean, however, that I always succeeded in my initial ventures. I failed in some of them. I made wrong decisions, too, but I learned from my mistakes to become better and better. After all, mistakes are always a part of doing business. Some people, however, give up especially after a disastrous failure.
Thankfully, I never gave up. I always pushed on, no matter what. I tried and tried again even if the business was in bad shape. You just pick up the pieces, and then get on your feet again.
Usually, people are fond of asking businessmen this question: When did you make your first million? How did this accomplishment make you feel at that time?
I was lucky to have made my first million at 27. A million then was worth much, much more than it is now. A new car cost about P40,000 then compared with P800,000 or P900,000 today. As such, P1 million then was equivalent to about P20 million now. Definitely a lot of money! When I told my mom about my accomplishment, I believe I made her very, very happy.
Q: I've heard good things about your children, how did you raise them despite the wealth that surrounded them? Are they all involved in business? Were they exposed to other companies?
A: Since I'm in business, I naturally want my children to follow in my footsteps. I sincerely wish they would become successful businessmen on their own—or a businesswoman in the case of my youngest child.
You can say that my children were born with silver spoons in their mouths. That is an advantage, I agree, but it could also be a disadvantage. When the going gets tough, people of inherited wealth, who are brought up without any experience of hardships and difficulties, may be wanting in resilience. It may be harder for them to get over a failure. In my case, I've had more than my share of life's challenges. Just like before, if I fail miserably, I will get up and try to recover.
Another thing about being born in fortunate circumstances is that it may not give you that much hunger for success—like a dog that doesn't need to sniff around that much for food since it's always available. That is why aside from a good education, I give my children nuggets of wisdom from the school of hard knocks. I find time to chat and share with them my experiences. If they listen to me and remember what I tell them, if they take me seriously, that will save them a lot of trouble in the future. As a father, I believe that talking to my children and having open, honest dialogues with them is most important.
I always believe that if you want to excel at something, you must be genuinely interested in what you're doing. You must have a passion for it. Otherwise, success will elude you. As a father, I believe my job is to make my children interested in the business. If they're passionate about it, they will put in the hard work without feeling stressed out.
I must point out that ours are publicly listed companies, and all are professionally managed. We owe it to our stockholders to run our companies well. We're a big operation, with thousands of stockholders to answer to. I always keep in mind that we're not running a family business anymore, and I don't force my children to work for me. Having said that, one of my children is a middle manager; another a junior manager. They report to their senior managers, not to me.
Q: What is your vision for Megaworld and how near are you in achieving that?
A: Today, I'm as passionate as ever about real estate in general and Megaworld in particular. I'm a very hands-on businessman, and I devote a lot of my time running the company's day-to-day operations. Real estate is the industry that's closest to my heart. It's like the lifeblood that runs in my veins. I wake up every morning with a feeling of excitement, knowing that I will be building more homes and helping more Filipinos realize their dream of owning a home.
Our goal is to give Filipinos a good home and do our best to make it affordable by offering good value for money, whether in the mid-income level or in the Triple A level, as in the case of our ultra-luxurious One Central project in Makati.
Q: I understand you have already been paying back society for your blessings, what are some of the good things you have been doing?
A: When you talk about giving back to society, the Megaworld Foundation, over the years, has given hundreds of scholarship grants and contributed to many worthy causes, from helping fight cancer to empowering the blind to supporting the La Mesa watershed conservation campaign. Considering the good fortune that has come my way as a businessman, I honestly feel that I want to do more.
Over the next few years, I will try to devote more of my time for philanthropic activities. Currently, I find that corporate-giving still runs along traditional lines. Many foundations and companies are doing virtually the same thing. One of the things we'll look into is how we can apply business skills and strategies in the area of philanthropy, and how we can help people, programs and causes in a more cost-efficient manner. I'm aware that it's impossible for any one foundation to do everything and help everyone, so I intend to look for a formula to help us focus our efforts on one particular area that will give the most benefits to the greatest number of people—in effect, achieve much more for our less fortunate countrymen.
Q: What to you are the secrets of your success?
A: What are my secrets as a businessman? Well, I think one of my accomplishments is the ability to feel the pulse of the market, and of people in general. If you want to succeed in business, you must have developed this knack for knowing and understanding the market and your customers, in order that you can provide the products and services that people will buy again and again.
And it is not enough to know your market and your customers. You must also gain the same mastery and understanding of your employees, suppliers, partners, associates, even your banker and underwriter. If you have a good nose, a good sixth sense, you will be able to fit all of them into your grand plan of success.
Q: What are your passions and hobbies?
A: I'm a businessman, and my most intense passion is creating wealth, creating jobs and creating value for our stockholders.
I also swim when I have the chance; I go to the gym and run the treadmill given the opportunity. These are the activities that I do at my own time and at my own pace.
Q: What to you would be the key to achieving a progressive Philippines?
A: Ten years ago, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry was unheard of here in the country. But we at Megaworld saw an opportunity: we established Eastwood City CyberPark as the country's first IT park. We worked with the government, the private sector and would-be locators. We all worked together to promote the BPO business in the country.
From a very negligible number of employees then, the BPO industry as a whole today employs more than 300,000 people and generates about $5 billion in annual export revenues, based on the latest available data. These figures are projected to go up to 1 million employees and $12 billion in revenues by 2010.
I have observed that we Filipinos have two distinct advantages: our excellent English language skills and the friendly tone of our voice. I thought this was one area where we could excel in.
True enough, foreign customers like speaking to our call center agents. We Filipinos have a naturally pleasant voice, so Americans tend to spend more time talking on the phone. Even if they're calling from thousands of miles away, they can somehow feel the friendliness, dedication and patience of our agents.
Now, if these foreigners could visit here and get to see our people and talk to us face to face, imagine how much more they'd enjoy the experience.
In the same way that these advantages have worked wonders for the BPO industry, I believe that we should invest in business areas that can utilize our people's inherent strengths. A perfect example is tourism. Aside from our exemplary language skills and natural friendliness, we as a people are known for our hospitality. And need I say that we have a wealth of picturesque landscapes and scenic spots found nowhere else on earth? Not only that, our country is blessed with a gentle tropical weather all year round—an invitation for foreigners who want to escape the harsh winter in their own countries to flock to our shores.
Over the next 10 years, my holding company, Alliance Global Group Inc., is looking to venture into tourism in a big way. I'm not talking about putting up one or two stand-alone hotels alone; we're planning to build tourism estates on a large scale and with highly attractive products that will trigger a surge of tourist arrivals from all over the world.
Q: What else do you want to achieve in life?
A: As a businessman with a strong passion for real estate, I hope and pray that we can help our country take a successful quantum leap in the next big business frontier for the country: tourism.
(pasted from: http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080412-130012/RPs-shy-billionaire)
Attitudes of Successful Learners
by Chris Widener
(excerpted from Week 44 of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan)
We can choose our attitudes about anything, including learning and education. That's right. We get to choose what our attitudes are. Here is the definition of attitude: "The feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that follows from this." We choose our opinion about people and situations. We choose the way we will behave in relation to other people and circumstances. We choose what we believe about learning. We choose it. Learning doesn't have to be bad. It doesn't have to be anything but what we want it to be. We have the option. We can have tremendously optimistic attitudes about learning - attitudes that will help us grow in ways we have never achieved before!
The choice of a right attitude will significantly determine new circumstances. Choosing to have the right attitude will change the world around you. This isn't any sort of magic; it is just how the world works. Now, don't get me wrong. It won't cure everything and turn your world into a virtual Shangri-La, but it will significantly improve the world you live in. For example, let's say that every day you go into work and you gripe about life and work from the moment you get there until the moment you leave. Will others want to be around you? Will others ask your opinion? Will others like you? Will others ask you to join them for lunch? Probably not! But what if you come to work every day and you are the positive optimist of the crowd? Will everybody love you? No, but significantly more people will than if you are the office pessimist! Your choice of attitude will determine what kind of circumstances you get!
The same is true with learning. What we feel about learning, and what we believe about it will determine the outcomes of our learning. And the outcomes of our learning will determine the outcome of our lives.
Ultimately, our attitude is a choice. Nobody else can force you to have a bad attitude. Nobody else can force you to have a good attitude. It is simply a choice we each make.
Where are you with your attitude about learning? Is it positive? Take some time to give it some serious thought. Then, no matter where you find yourself, decide to take your attitude to the next level! If you have a really bad attitude, decide to take it up a couple of levels!
So, if our attitudes determine to a great degree what kind of life we have, shouldn't we focus on the best attitudes to have and then make them ours? Absolutely! If we want to soar with the eagles in this life, and if there are attitudes that will make us soar, shouldn't we pursue them with all our hearts? By all means! So here we go!
Attitudes of Successful Learners
1. "I can."
This is the most basic of all attitudes. We simply must choose to believe that we can learn. In our house we are not allowed to say, "I can't." We can say, "I'll try," or "I tried and failed," but not "I can't." Telling yourself that you can't will in effect make it so. But telling yourself that you can, will in effect enable you to learn much more. Even if you actually only achieve 50% of what you tell yourself, you will achieve at least that much more than if you told yourself you couldn't. So many people were told at a young age that they couldn't learn. Many others were allowed to engage in that kind of negative self talk (tell themselves, "I can't learn", "I don't understand", I'll never get this", etc.) and their parents and teachers didn't intervene. This enabled them to develop the "I can't" attitudes that become self-fulfilling prophecies.
I actually have a standard way of going about getting myself off of the starting block. I simply say if somebody else has achieved great learning heights, then I can too. I have to be smarter than at least one of those who has already done it. I have to be able to work harder than at least one other. There has to be at least one other person who has come from more difficult circumstances than me. And if they can do it then certainly, "I can!"
2. "This is a long-term approach."
Learning isn't something that happens overnight. Yes, you can learn individual facts, but the real growth comes when you see your learning build on itself and compound for years, when your knowledge meets up with your experience. When we take the attitude that it all has to happen immediately, we hurt ourselves in the long run because the fact is that it takes time to learn (even though we can accelerate it). If we expect it to happen immediately and it doesn't, then we can get frustrated and stop learning altogether.
Instead, we need to take a long-term view just as we do in financial matters, weight management, leadership, etc. Long-term thinking, including our learning is always the best way to go for success.
3. "Learning is valuable."
Some people have a "learning schmearning - who needs learning" attitude. They think that learning is overrated. I hate to tell you this, but not only was that wrong 5000, 500 and 50 years ago, it is especially wrong today. We live in the information age. We must gain knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge if we are going to be successful. We must tell ourselves and cultivate the attitude that learning is valuable and that it will affect our lives.
4. "I will make a difference in the lives of those around me."
People who soar are generally people who have the attitude of helping other people. Yes, they may do it for monetary gain, but they are others-focused. They want to change the way people live and experience life for the better. They are difference makers all around. This is the same in what we learn. We learn first for ourselves, but then with the goal of taking what we have learned, and what we make of ourselves, and we then help others to do the same.
I live in a town that is very affluent. Most of the people I know, work with and have as friends are very successful in this world. They have learned a lot about life and how it works. They have learned how to make money and be successful in business. One thing I can say, as almost a universal truth, is that as people, they are not self-consumed but genuinely care about others and will do what they can to help others. This is what I know to be true about the attitudes of the genuinely successful.
These are the attitudes of people who are not just successful at getting information into their minds, but in becoming good people because of that information. Learn all that you can, and be sure to keep the attitudes that will make you a successful learner and a successful person!
Success Is Not an Accident - by Brian Tracy
"Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not remain so if you only perceive and ideal and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without." - As A Man Thinketh
Success is not a miracle. Nor is it a matter of luck. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, positive or negative. When you are absolutely clear about what you want, you only need to copy others who have achieved it before you, and you will eventually get the same results that they have.
This is referred to in the Bible as the Law of Sowing and Reaping which says that, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap."
Sir Isaac Newton called it the third principle of motion. He said, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
For you and I, the most important expression of this universal law is that, "Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects."
Put another way, "Thought is creative." Your thoughts are the primary creative forces in your life. You create your entire world by the way you think. All the people and situations of your life have only the meaning you give them by the way you think about them. And when you change your thinking, you change your life, some times in seconds!
The most important principle of personal or business success is simply this: You become what you think about most of the time.
It is not what happens to you but how you think about what happens to you that determines how you feel and react. It is not the world outside of you that dictates your circumstances or conditions. It is the world inside you that creates the conditions of your life.
Ten Steps To Goal Getting --by Zig Ziglar
1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. "One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest." Mary Crowley.
2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.
3. Build your life on a solid foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.
4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.
5. Be prepared to change. You can't control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully--but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.
6. Share your "give-up" goals (i.e., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they're going to encourage you.
7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.
9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, Weekly Planner or Palm Pilot.
10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals--what you will become is the winner you were born to be!
See you at the top!
Zig Ziglar
(reproduced from: http://www.yoursuccessstore.com/ezine/2008/345.htm)
Some time ago, I was hired to do some training for a sales team from one of the largest companies in America. There were 16 people on this team. That year their sales (for the 16 of them) was 250 million - that's right, a quarter of a billion - dollars! Needless to say, it was an excellent and fascinating time. I decided to learn a little bit myself so I watched them closely to see what kind of people they were and to see what common denominators they shared. Below is what I found. I think you will find the elements applicable to your own life. The first thing I noticed about this successful sales team was that they had a sense of humor! They simply weren't a terribly serious bunch of people. Instead, they saw that life was to be enjoyed and that means they were able to laugh a little bit. Sure, there were varying levels in this but they all had a sense of humor. They were able to laugh at circumstances, and they were able to laugh at themselves. It was quite refreshing and a core element of their success, I'm sure. The second thing I found out about this group was that they did not achieve their success through pedigree, but through hard work. They didn't come from families that gave them a free pass into the upper echelon of the corporate world and they didn't get a head start from upper crust universities. What got them to where they are now? Hard work! That's right, another example that if you put your mind to it, work hard and get in the right situation, you can achieve great things! These folks work long hours and are disciplined in the work they do. And it is paying off. The third thing I noticed about this team is that they are learners. They were always engaged in the learning process. During my sessions they were engaged and listening. You could see their minds processing the information. They were asking questions and applying the material to their work and their lives. They wanted to improve in any way that they could. It was also interesting to watch them in their team meetings led by their sales manager. They were very interactive and were learning from one another. None of them was above learning from a peer. What did I see in these successful people? The same things that can make you a success as you apply the principles to your own life: A sense of humor, hard work, and a desire to learn at every turn.
Thoughts on Successful People
- Chris Widener
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us."
-- Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
"I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well."
-- Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve
"I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success. "
-- Thomas Edison, inventor
"Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition."
-- Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president
The Butterfly Effect - by Ron White
It was 1960 and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working in his lab. He was entering data into his computer in the hopes of modeling weather patterns when he stumbled upon a theory that is known as 'The Butterfly Effect'. He was entering wind speed, air pressure and temperature into three separate equations that were linked in a mathematical feedback loop. This equation allowed Lorenz to predict weather patterns.
One day Lorenz was in a bit of a hurry and opted to take a shortcut when entering the data. He rounded the numbers to the nearest one thousandth rather than to the nearest one millionth (for example, .407 instead of .407349). As a scientist, he knew this would change the result - however he expected only a minor change. Lorenz was astounded to discover that this tiny change made a profound impact on the final resulting weather pattern. This discovery led Lorenz to ponder: Does the flap of a butterfly's wing in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas?' - Thus you have 'The Butterfly Effect' theory.
This theory has been applied to all areas of science since Lorenz's 1960 experiment.
What does it mean for your life?
It means that every decision or action that you make - no matter how small - could potentially dramatically alter the course of your life. My life, as I am sure yours is, is a testimony to the butterfly effect. When I was 12 years old, I met a friend named Brian in P.E. class. Over two decades later, Brian is still my best friend. At the age of 12, Brian had a thirst for learning and studying (the other 12 year olds called him a nerd) and he was a fitness fanatic. He still has these qualities and because of our friendship they rubbed off on me. At the age of 18, I needed a job and he secured me a job where he worked as a telemarketer. My third day on the job, I made a telemarketing call to someone in the seminar business. He thought I was a good telemarketer and offered me a job over the phone.
Did you follow that?
You are receiving this email from me, reading my books, or hearing me speak because I was offered a job at the age of 18 from a seminar company. I would have never been offered that job - if Brian hadn't gotten me the telemarketing job and Brian would never have known me if we hadn't met at the age of 12 in P.E.! I have an insatiable desire for learning that began at age 12 and have developed into a fitness fanatic as well. Most of the major events in my life can be traced back to a conversation in a gym two decades ago - that is 'The Butterfly Effect'
ACTION POINTS
Realize that 'The Butterfly Effect' is very real and small decisions or actions can make a huge impact on your life
Take responsibility for your decisions, actions and friends - even the tiny decisions - realizing that they can dramatically alter the course of your life.
Understand the importance of attention to detail. Years before 1986, the smallest flaw was overlooked in a Space Shuttle O-Ring. That flaw led to a horrific 'Butterfly Effect' and the deaths of seven Astronauts years later in January 1986.
Do not allow 'The Butterfly Effect' to paralyze you from inaction. Instead, use it as the spark of motivation to fan the fire of action - realizing that you control your destiny even in the tiniest of ways.