Focusing On What Matter’s – With the wisdom of the Matter Meter

Want the secret to Success?

There is always a shortage of people who get the job done on time without excuses or grumbling. Competent people always get chosen first!

If you really study those who have reached the top of any organization, you will find that they are the people who cheerfully accept challenges, take the initiative, and get the job done. They don’t complain, and they don’t make excuses.

Those who never get anywhere in their jobs and careers can’t seem to understand that achievers don’t become achievers after they reach the top. They reached the top because of the way they conducted themselves along the way.

You can easily become one of those individuals who regularly advance in the organization — if you are willing to pay the price. Any good manager will tell you that the type of people who are most in demand are those who can think for themselves, who will take the initiative to do the right thing without being told, and who will stick to the job until it is finished.

You can be one of these people if you choose to be.

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January 23

Are you just Getting By?

One of the primary differences between those who achieve greatness in their lives and those who manage only to “get by” is that successful people learned early in life that they were responsible for their own actions.

No other person can make you successful or keep you from achieving your goals. Taking the initiative means assuming a leadership role, a position that singles you out for praise — and for criticism. When you accept responsibility for your actions, you gain the respect of others and are well on the way to creating your own future.

Act on your own initiative, but be prepared to assume full responsibility for your acts.

Most of us will never know our true capacity for achievement because we never challenge ourselves to perform at our best every day. This truism becomes apparent when you are presented with an opportunity that really interests you.

No matter how busy you may be, somehow you will find the time to pursue it. Conversely, duties that have little appeal for you are easily postponed and eventually forgotten. Busy people are not procrastinators. They know that life, as John David Wright once observed about business, “is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving, or you fall down.”

The most effective people have a sense of urgency. They set deadlines and force themselves to establish priorities. Even if your activities don’t usually require strict deadlines, set them for yourself. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short time — if that’s all the time you have.

If you want a job done promptly and well, get a busy person to do it. The idle one knows too many substitutes and shortcuts.

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January 16

The mirror shows us who we meet!

If life is a mirror….do you meet pleasant or rude people? Politeness usually begins at home or it doesn’t begin at all.

Politeness to others is usually born out of respect for the individual, which you learn as a child. When you are treated with respect by other members of the family, you learn to respect them as well.

The self-esteem that results from being recognized as a unique person by the people who matter most to you helps you develop the confidence necessary to succeed later in life. Politeness and consideration for others are habits that — once developed — usually stay with you for a lifetime.

While common courtesy may seem relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it is a reflection of more basic values. More important, if you develop the habit of respecting others, you are likely to command respect from them.

What a better world this would be if we worked together in harmony toward the achievement of our shared goals instead of engaging in petty disputes and turf battles.

When you allow yourself to be dragged into personality conflicts, game playing, arguments about who gets the credit, and disagreements about trivial issues, they only drain your energy and sour your attitude. Plus you waste valuable time that could be spent on far more important matters.

When you make an effort to understand others’ motivations, you may well discover that your opponents have far more in common with you than you think. When you cage your ego and look at the situation from the other person’s point of view, you can almost always find a way to work together for your mutual advantage.

Sometimes it is wiser to join forces with opponents than to fight them.

What we do not see, what most of us never suspect of existing, is the silent but irresistible power which comes to the rescue of those who fight on in the face of discouragement.

Schoolchildren sometimes play a game called “Honesty.” The rules are simple: For a designated period of time, the participants must tell the truth regardless of the subject. They then ask each other leading questions such as, “Do you like my hair?” “Do you think Lindsay is cute?” Inevitably someone gets angry when he or she discovers that these friends had been shading the truth, telling “little white lies,” to spare the person’s feelings. Even when the game is over, its lessons are not soon forgotten.

Being honest with others doesn’t mean being brutal. It isn’t necessary to tell people everything you don’t like about them under the guise of being frank with them “for their own good.” Sometimes it’s better if we don’t know every person’s innermost feelings about us. Respect for another’s self-esteem often means telling them too little truth instead of too much.

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January 15

Convictions … Not Arrogance

There is a fine line between doing what is Right because it points you to your Life Purpose and doing IT to prove you are RIGHT!

So often in life, it is the times when we are SURE we are right, that we need to worry what the world thinks.

As we discussed at the beginning it is our awakened Conscious mind that does all the Knowing. But it is our Sub-Conscious gut that has all the wisdom.

If you are ever to achieve noteworthy success in your life, you must be willing to stand apart from the crowd. Success is something that is achieved by the minority, not the majority, of people. You will also discover as you climb the ladder of success that there are many who, out of jealousy or envy, will belittle your achievements. Nevertheless, if you have the courage of your convictions, nothing can deter you from your course.

You develop confidence in your beliefs by doing your own thinking and by constantly testing and revising your knowledge into the wisdom of you Lifes Purpose.

If you are really great, you will let others discover this fact from your actions.

In the final analysis, all that really matters are your actions. You may talk a good story, but no matter how good you are at selling others on your capabilities, eventually you have to perform. It is true that people are generally forgiving and will overlook an occasional failure to deliver upon your promises. Ultimately, though, you must live up to your promises to others if you ever expect to make a lasting impression on them.

Make it a habit to demonstrate your abilities before talking about them. Seldom is anything worthwhile achieved without the help of others, and nothing is ever achieved without some form of action. The road to failure and despair is littered with the dreams of those who failed to act upon

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January 6

How do you handle Failure?

We live in a competitive world that measures success by winners and losers, and insists that every victory creates a loss of equal dimension.

If one person wins, it seems logical that someone else must lose. In reality, the only competition that matters is the one in which you compete with yourself. When your standard of performance is based upon being the best you can be — for yourself — you will never lose. You will only improve.

Make it a practice to objectively review your performance from time to time. When you fall short, assess the situation and ask yourself: “Is there anything I would or could have done to change the outcome?” If the answer is “no,” if you are satisfied that you’ve done your best, don’t waste time reliving the past. Simply learn what you can from the experience, and then get into action again. If you consistently do your best, your temporary failures will take care of themselves.

Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost with reach. Failure is not a disgrace if you have sincerely done your best.

One of the great mysteries of life is why some people who seem to have all the advantages — the right connections, education, and experience — never seem to amount to much while others who have had to struggle for everything they have reach incredible heights of success. It hinges on determination. If you have the will to succeed, you will somehow find a way, regardless of the obstacles you encounter.

Do you use all of your assets to achieve your goals, or are you handicapped by your lack of ambition? No other person can create in you a desire to succeed. With enough motivation, you will see things all around you that will help you reach your objectives, things that you may have overlooked many times before.

A blind boy paid his way to a master’s degree at Northwestern University by taking notes on class lectures in Braille, typing them, and selling copies to classmates who had stronger eyes but weak ambition.

Truly, “thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other material objects.

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January 4

Don’t be afraid to aim high!

Don’t be afraid to aim high when choosing your life’s goal, for no matter how high you aim, you will accomplish more than you have today!

Ideas are intangible forces, but they have more power than the physical brains that give birth to them. Every success and every temporary setback only serve to prepare you for the time when you will eventually prevail. Your short-and medium-term goals should be realistic and achievable, but your long-term goals should always far exceed your present capabilities.

As the Roman poet Virgil said, “Fortune sides with him who dares.” Only the highway of useful service leads to the city of happiness. Psychologists who study human behavior have concluded that we are happiest when we are striving to achieve success. It is the act of striving, not the successful completion of the task, that provides the greatest psychic rewards.

When you strive to achieve success through service to others, you multiply the benefits to yourself, and you ensure that whatever road you choose in life will ultimately lead you to success and happiness. There is no occupation or profession that will not benefit from a concerted effort to better serve others. But the greatest benefit will be to you, in the form of the self-satisfaction that comes from knowing that you made a difference, that without you others would never have received the service you provided.

Many businesses today advocate “continuous improvement” as part of their quality programs. They have realized that to remain competitive in today’s global economy they must constantly strive to improve every aspect of the business, otherwise they will be overtaken by the competition. The same ethic applies to individuals.

All of life is a continuous learning experience. Every success and every temporary setback only serve to prepare you for the time when you will eventually prevail. Your short-and medium-term goals should be realistic and achievable, but your long-term goals should always far exceed your present capabilities. As the Roman poet Virgil said, “Fortune sides with him who dares.”

There is a reward of stupendous proportions if you put the Key to use. It is the satisfaction that comes to all who conquer self and force life to pay whatever is asked.

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January 3

Why letting GO is a Must!

If you have something you don’t need, give it to someone who needs it. It will come back to you in one way or another.

You know by now how important it is to offer service freely to your community without expecting anything specific in return. You know as well how important the intangible personal benefits of self-respect and inspiration that accompany such action are. But it is also true that by rendering a public service you have an effect on the values in your community.

Your actions are a quiet but steadfast signal to others of the importance of being involved, a sign that success does not require heartless devotion to a cause and a reminder to others of the personal satisfaction you gain from your labor. You will find that you inspire others to similar actions in different areas, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond what you alone can do. The community in which you live will become a better place, and you will be happier being a part of it.

Do you have a continuous improvement program for your most valuable asset-your mind? Make sure that you spend at least a half hour each day studying, thinking, and planning. Review your long-, intermediate-, and short-term goals, and measure your progress to date. Are you on schedule for their completion? Ask yourself, “What information do I not have that would help me achieve my goals?” Then gather the information you need and get into action.

The imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man.

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January 2

Tone speaks louder than words!

Remember that the tone of your voice often conveys more accurately what is in your mind than do your words.

In a moment of conflict, a suggestion or compromise can salvage a threatened working relationship.

A discouraged person can be motivated again through a few carefully chosen words. In situations like these, the smart person is looking beyond an immediate situation and acting to preserve a future benefit.

But if your voice portrays your own anger, fear, or despair, all the wisdom you may be trying to offer will be lost.

Those who rise to the top in any organization are those who have learned to control their emotions. When you have a leadership position, others will watch you closely for the signals you send.

You must learn to manage yourself and all the ways in which you convey messages to others if you want to inspire them and demonstrate that you care about all the members of your team.

No one is inherently lazy. It is human nature to want to be doing things unless we are ill. A sure sign of the beginnings of a recovery from illness is the desire to get up and around, to go back to work, to do something — anything.

Inactivity leads to boredom, and boredom leads to “laziness.” Conversely, activity leads to interest, and interest leads to enthusiasm and ambition. W. Clement Stone often says, “The emotions are not always subject to reason, but they are always subject to action!” Determine what you are best at and what you like to do, and develop a burning desire to be the best you can be at it. Then get into action!

A lazy individual either is sick or has not found the work he or she likes best.

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January 1

Mistakes repeat until we learn!

There’s an old adage that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So it is with our failures.

Unless we learn from our mistakes, we are likely to repeat them until we learn from such experiences and correct our course — or give up and accept temporary defeat as permanent failure. Every setback you encounter in life contains valuable information that, if you study it carefully, will eventually lead you to success.

Without adversity, you would never develop wisdom, and without wisdom, success would be short-lived indeed. When you make a mistake, say, “That’s good! I’ve gotten that out of the way. I will never do that again.” You will no doubt make other mistakes, but they won’t bother you nearly as much when you treat them as learning experiences.

If you don’t know why you failed, you are no wiser than when you began.

One of the most common mistakes is making excuses to explain why we do not succeed. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people in the world — those who do not succeed — are excuse-makers. They try to explain their action, or inaction, with words.

When you succeed, accept the congratulations of others with good grace; when you fail, take responsibility for your actions, learn from your mistakes, and move on to more constructive things.

When your actions are appropriate in every circumstance, you will never feel the need to explain them with words. Your actions will say all that needs to be said.

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December 31

All we really control is our actions!

You can’t control others’ acts, but you can control your reaction to their acts, and that is what counts most to you.

No one can make you feel any negative emotion — fear, anger, or inferiority — without your express permission. There will always be people who find perverse enjoyment in upsetting others, or who simply play upon your emotions so that they can use you for their own selfish purposes. Whether or not they are successful depends entirely upon you and how you react to their negative behaviors.

When you are forced to deal with such people, recognize from the outset that they are trying to upset you, not because of something you may have done to them, but because of some problem they have with themselves. Tell yourself, “This isn’t about me. I will not allow this person to upset me. I am in control of my emotions and my life.”

This is a fine world for the person who knows precisely what he or she expects from life and is busy getting it.

We are happiest when we are striving to achieve a goal. When we achieve one goal, it’s a natural human tendency to set another, usually bigger, one. W. Clement Stone calls it inspirational dissatisfaction — the letdown one experiences after a goal has been achieved and before the next step toward a new one has been taken. When you begin to experience that nagging feeling, it’s time to get into action! Make sure you have a long-range plan in place so that when one short-term goal has been achieved, there is a natural progression toward the next.

Isn’t it peculiar that some people are so clever at inventing alibis and so dull at doing the job that would make alibis useless?

If folks did their jobs with half the effort and creativity they waste in a vain attempt to deceive others, they could achieve great success at anything.

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