You're Broke, You're A Loser, And You Could Care Less

By Sean Gittrich

Here's the deal: nearly every broke person in the world has the same lame attitude. "Woe is me! I'm broke and it's out of my control. I would be making all the money I could ever want if it just weren't for my extreme toenail fungus disease." ... To weird and gross? Who cares, it could be any other number of uncontrollable outside forces that keep you from making the money you think you truly desire.

Because making excuses... that's easy. Things that are outside of your control are, just that, outside of your control. You can't possibly expect yourself to really go for it when you know you have to be up early tomorrow morning for work. Or you couldn't possibly put pen to paper to begin to realizing your dreams, when that new prime-time show CSI: I've Seen This Before is on in 5 minutes.

This is why you're broke. This is why 80% of America is just "getting by". Too many people are saying "I want to be my own boss", "I have the entrepreneurial spirit", "I'm going to be rich someday", "If I could just get my idea of the ground, I could quit my day job", "I'm sick of being broke, I know there are other ways to make more money". Bull! You're lying to yourself.

Because you're not DOING anything about it. You're just talking to yourself. And as soon as your realize that you're just making excuses and that YOU are the only one in control of your life, that is the moment you can stop making excuses and start taking action.

All it takes is for YOU to DECIDE. Decide you are not going to put it off another second. Decide you are no longer going let outside forces dictate your dreams. Decide the only way to realize your dreams is to begin taking action immediately. Decide TODAY-right now is the time for change.

As soon as you finish reading this article. THE SECOND YOU FINISH. Begin taking action. Make your first step. Don't wait even five minutes. Or until you get off work. Stop making excuses!

Don't know where to start? Then your first step should be to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Read it before? GOOD! Read it AGAIN! (repetition breeds skill)! Your first step should be to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Read it before? GOOD! Read it AGAIN (repetition breeds skill)! Don't have a copy? Search for "Think and Grow Rich ebook". You'll find plenty available for free as a download.

Begin by writing down your ideas and thoughts. Start a blog. Write in a journal. Don't let your thoughts flush down the proverbial thought toilet of life. Remember them, write them, and begin to take action. As soon as you begin to take action you'll begin to flourish. Study. Read. Act. And NEVER STOP.

Sean Gittrich is a freelance writer and journalist. You can learn more about Why 80% of American are Broke at http://www.didyousmellthat.com

Self-Esteem - How to Turn I'm Not Good Enough, into I'm Un-Stoppable

By Beth Banning

Do you ever worry that you're not good enough, not smart enough, or you simply don't have what it takes? Do you ever worry that this is keeping you from achieving the things you want most in your life?

According to a recent report by the Priory Group, entitled I'm Not Good Enough, millions of British women suffer from low self-esteem, which in turn adversely influences their mental health, relationships, work, and overall quality of life.

How many of these statements apply to you?

1. I don't think I'm good enough to get the things I want.
2. Sometimes I feel worthless.
3. My needs don't seem to matter to other people.
4. I worry about what other people think of me.
5. Now and then, it seems like there's something wrong with me.
6. I have to do everything myself. It's like I'm all alone.
7. I'm powerless (weak, not safe, helpless).
8. At times I can't take care of myself in challenging situations.
9. I have no choice because...
10. I'm unlovable (unworthy)

If more than one of these statements rings true to you, you're not alone. These limiting beliefs are one result of how we interpret unpleasant experiences from our past. However, that's not the only way we come to believe that these statements are true.

Have you ever heard someone say that one of these statements was true about you? Even though that doesn't make any of these statements "THE TRUTH", the impact of believing such a statement can have serious consequences on our self-esteem.

On the other hand, people's self-esteem has never improved just because people made positive statements about them. In fact, many who work in the field now agree that self-esteem fans tend to go overboard when they recommended that children should be praised to make them feel good, regardless of their effort or motivation.

These people seem to focus on self-esteem as a goal, rather than a by-product of one's confidence in their ability to achieve what they want for themselves. Some people describe this as "competent behavior", which is just another way of saying that your actions produce the results you want.

So how can we learn to build self-esteem, if self-esteem (or self-worth) is just a byproduct of self-confidence? The shortest path to building your sense of confidence, is to experience your actions producing the results that you want.

Unfortunately, each limiting belief that we have adopted along the way becomes an obstacle. They prevent us from investing the time and energy it takes to develop enough competency in our skills to achieve the level of confidence we need to produce the self-esteem that we desire.

The first step down the path of raising confidence consists of transforming these limiting beliefs that prevent us from developing new skills or honing the ones we have already developed.
Sound impossible? Actually, transforming these beliefs may actually be easier than it seems.

To transform limiting beliefs you start by putting out the painful fire of your judgments. What are we taught to do when faced with fire? We're told to Stop, Drop and Roll. How does the Stop, Drop and Roll method apply to the transformation of our limiting beliefs? Stop and listen to the warning signals -- Drop the judgments -- Roll out a new plan.

StopStart with of the practice of being aware of how you feel. Use any feelings of discomfort as a warning bell. When you feel uncomfortable in any way, stop what you're doing and identify the judgmental thoughts in your head. Write them down while you're thinking of them or as soon as you can get to a pen and paper.

DropThe only way to drop your judgments is to start translating them into the truth of what's important to you. Once you identify the uncomfortable judgmental thoughts, it's time to figure out the values you hold dear that are buried within those judgments.

For example, "I'm not good enough to get the things I want" might be translated into the important values of accomplishment, effectiveness or even a deep desire to contribute. Now try saying that to yourself, "I deeply value accomplishment." Can you feel the difference?

RollOnce the painful fire is out and you are clear about what's most important to you, it's time to roll out a new plan. Identify at least two actions you can take that will support you in creating the things that you value.

Once you've mastered the Stop, Drop and Roll technique, you're well on your way to building your self-confidence and re-energizing your self-esteem. If you'd like to learn even more personal growth skills that can be used to build your self-confidence, sign up for our free motivational Weekly Action Tips eMail series at: http://www.FocusedAttention.com/cmd.php?ad=317928

Each tip will help you in your quest to live the life that you've always wanted.
Or visit us at http://www.FocusedAttention.com

Communicating with Clarity and Confidence

By Sherry L. Read

What you say is only as important as what is heard and understood by the listener. Too often, our messages are obscured by the structure of the communication. Even worse is when we are unaware of the gap between what is intended and the message received.

Communication and language are a function of the environment you are in – your organization’s culture. In order to deliver your intended message with clarity and confidence, the structure and word choice should be consistent with that organizational culture. This article provides some suggestions on building awareness of how word choice influences how the message is received.
We will also look at how word choice influences perceptions, that is, whether the speaker is seen as credible and confident, or uncertain and evasive. By becoming aware of how language is used around you, you can begin to reduce the gap between your intent and the message received.

Build Awareness
Identify three or four business meetings or conference calls that you will be attending this week.
Ideal meetings involve people you perceive as successful in the organization. Focus on meetings where your direct involvement is minimal, or limited to specific agenda items. Teleconferences, where you can readily take notes unobserved, are particularly suitable for this exercise.

Create a form that captures the following information about successful speakers:

• Does the speaker primarily use I, We, You, or They?
• Are statements normally positive (“yes, and ...”) or negative (“yes, but ...”)?
• What action words / verbs are being used to convey confidence?
• How are concerns or issues raised?

By comparison, monitor the language and word choice of someone whose communication you see as ineffective.

Analyze the Communication At the end of the week, review your data and write out the answers to the following statements.

• Successful speakers in my company speak primarily from a [first-, second- or third-person] perspective.
• Successful speakers in my company speak about issues and challenges most frequently from a [positive or negative] position.
• Successful speakers in my company use verbs and action words such as ....

Successful speakers in my company raise concerns or issues in the following ways:

• By contrast, ineffective speakers communicate by ...

In the second week, continue to monitor the language and word choices of people within your organization.

• Are you seeing additional patterns of speech that are effective and ineffective?
• In what ways do you see clear and strong messages delivered?

Monitor Your Speaking Patterns
In this second week, begin to evaluate your language and word choices after each important meetings, teleconference or one-on-one conversation. Consider the following questions.

• When did I believe my message was received as intended?
• In those cases, what did I do particularly well?
• In future situations, what patterns of language and word choice do I want to use more consistently?

Create an Action Plan
Once you have built an awareness of how messages are delivered with clarity and confidence in your organization, and become aware how you are delivering messages, it is time to create a personal action plan.

Complete the following sentences.

• The change I will make in my choice of words to portray clarity and confidence as a speaker is ....
• My messages will be clearer to the listener when I ....
• I can measure the change in how I am communicating by ....

Finally, define the impact you will believe the change will have on your results and the perceptions of your capabilities in the workplace.

Change comes through awareness – of your environment and your self, gap identification, commitment and practice. As you move through the steps above, you may notice an immediate change in how you structure your communications and the words you choose. Creating the action plan, a measurement system and a goal for the change, will enable you to turn your newfound awareness into a habit; a habit that enhances your credibility and confidence.

Read Solutions Group helps people find solutions to being confidence and successful as leaders, particularly in multi-cultural settings. Sherry L. Read is the Founder and Chief Coach with over 20 years of experience solving business issues in technical, quality and human resources fields. Visit us at http://www.ReadSolutionsGroup.com for free resources and to learn more about our services.