4. Commit
to doing it NOW!
Some people have bought into the belief that earning more money
is something that will take years to do. If that’s what you
believe, then you’re right!
Decide now to increase your income in the next 90
days! Most people believe that they must first figure
out HOW before they can commit to doing something. You
don’t have to figure it all out before getting started. The
first step is to decide that you’re going to do it. The
HOW will become known to you once you’ve committed to doing it and
have put a timeframe around it. I've never found "someday" on
a calendar! If you commit to making more money “someday,” it
won’t happen.
When NASA first decided to put a man on the moon, they didn't
know how. They figured that out after they made the commitment
to do it! Most people are paralyzed because they don’t know
HOW to do what they want to do. Think about the things on your to-do
list that have been there for a while. My guess is that these
are things that you either don’t enjoy doing or you don’t
know how to do them.
Let’s say that I decide to build a house. I have no
experience doing this, and I don’t have a clue about HOW to do
this. First I must decide to do it, and then take a
first action step.
Take a moment right now to identify something that is important
to you that you have not taken action on because you don’t know
how. Got it?
Now let’s identify one next
action you can take from the options listed below:
- I will speak with ______ (someone you know with expertise
about this) to glean information or ideas about how to move
forward.
- I will do a Google search online for _______ and do research
on some of the sites that come up.
- I will go to the library or bookstore and find a book about
this.
- I will look at my local __________ (Parks & Recreation
course offerings, adult continuing education courses offered at
the local college, etc. – you fill in the blank) and find a course
I can take to learn more about how to do this.
- I will look online for a teleclass or webinar about how to do
this.
- I will delegate all or part of this to someone else who
already knows how to do this well. I will ask _________ for
a referral.
- Other ideas:
_____________________________________________ (If you were
advising your best friend how to get unstuck and moving forward on
this, what ideas would you suggest?)
5. Define the “oxygen”
for your business.
Our bodies can do without food for 30 days or so, without water
for a week or so, and without oxygen for 2-3
minutes.
Several people have recently shared with me that their financial
picture looks rather grim. One business owner has been
considering closing a business that he has poured his heart and soul
into. It’s heartbreaking to hear someone have to make these
kinds of decisions when they cannot pay their overhead. When
you are in this kind of situation, it’s important to be clear about
what the “oxygen” is for your business. What’s closest to the
cash? What is the point of sale or transaction? Once you
are clear about that, then you can figure out what needs to be done
to turn things around as quickly as possible.
Take a look at what you're involved in right now. Is it
preventing you from pursuing greater activities that could provide
the needed oxygen for your business? Are you turning down great
opportunities because you're too busy doing "business as
usual?" In href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060594896?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0060594896&adid=16E3655YQSTVT7XQZQQN&"
target=_blank>The Success Principles we're reminded to say no to
the "good" so we can say yes to the "great."
I’m always amazed at how quickly something can happen when we
near a deadline. If it weren't for the 11th hour, many things
would never get done! Why build in a deadline of a year from
now or five years from now to increase your income when you can
create a business plan that will generate income within the next 90
days!
I’m reading a book right now called href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071487786?ie=UTF8&tag=declutteyourlife&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0071487786"
target=_blank>Instant Income: Strategies that Bring in the Cash for
Small Businesses, Innovative Employees, and Occasional
Entrepreneurs, by Janet Switzer (co-author of href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060594896?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0060594896&adid=16E3655YQSTVT7XQZQQN&"
target=_blank>The Success Principles with Jack Canfield).
Janet has some incredible, yet simple ideas. Jack credits her
with much of his own business growth. One of her ideas
generated $106,000 for Jack in just six weeks! She is the
founder of the Instant Income Business Enhancement System for
small businesses who need to create cash now. Janet also has
some free tools on her
website.
6.
Conduct a Trust
Survey
I recently heard an interview with Stephen M.R. Covey, author of
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416549005?ie=UTF8&tag=declutteyourlife&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416549005"
target=_blank>The Speed of Trust. In his book, Covey
shares thirteen behaviors that help build up four cores of
credibility: integrity, intent, capabilities, and results.
High trust organizations outperform low trust organizations by
three times in total return to shareholders. Trust is not just
a good idea, but an essential cornerstone for any successful
business. Conduct a trust survey to identify where trust is
high and where it can be improved.
Trust must begin with you. Do you keep your word to
yourself? I participate weekly in something called The
Ultimate Game, a program started by Success Coach Jim Bunch.
Here’s how the game is played. I have identified goals for
myself in three core areas: happiness, health, and
wealth. Each week I log into an online goal tracker and
identify one activity for each of these three areas for each
weekday. Before I go to bed, I log in again and check off what
I did. If I did not keep my word to myself in any of these
three areas, I have an opportunity to do a 3 AM Walk with God to
examine why I did not keep my promises to myself. If I cannot
trust myself, it's difficult to trust others.
Accountability partners can help keep you "honest" with
your commitments. Identify someone who is
non-judgmental whom you can check in with on a regular
basis. My Ultimate Game partners can see my online goal tracker
and can see if I am doing what I commit to daily. I also have
an accountability partner whom I speak with at 7:45 each morning,
Monday-Friday. In this 5-8 minute call, we both share our
intentions for the day, and whether or not we did what we said we
would do yesterday.
You must have a bias to trust
others. Of course, you need to do your due diligence
rather than blindly trusting everyone. Here are some good
analytical questions to ask in order to assess the trust level:
- Is this a person of integrity? Do they keep their
word?
- What is their intent? Are their motives pure and
transparent?
- Do their capabilities (character and competence) gain
your trust?
- Do they consistently deliver the results they promise?
You can measure other people's perceptions of you and find out
what behaviors are causing others to perceive you as they do.
Once you have collected this information, you can change behaviors
to raise trust. Covey offers some href="http://www.speedoftrust.com/email.php">tools on his
website that help with both self-assessment and with
asking others to share their perceptions of you. I also
highly recommend that you read href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416549005?ie=UTF8&tag=declutteyourlife&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416549005"
target=_blank>The Speed of Trust.
7.
Acquire the tools, knowledge and support you need!
Make a list of the tools that will
help you move forward with your goals:
- Do you need to purchase a product or service that will help
you work more productively?
- Do you need to identify others to assist you (non-judgmental
accountability partner, mastermind group, someone to delegate to,
etc.)?
- Do you need to expand your knowledge by attending a course or
workshop, doing research on the Web, or reading a book?
Below you'll find information about some of my favorite
productivity tools, resources and books I
recommend.
Here are three action steps I
encourage you to take NOW:
- Register NOW for my free webinars (see below).
- Check out the suggested productivity tools and resources
section below (some include free trial downloads).
- Order the books you plan to read and carve out time to read
them!
I'd love to hear what happens as you put these seven tips to
use! Please write me at href="mailto:kathy@orgcoach.net">kathy@orgcoach.net with your
stories.
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Special
Time-Sensitive Offer style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">
DISCOUNTED
TICKET AVAILABLE TO
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">JACK
CANFIELD’S 2008 7-DAY WORKSHOP
src="jack_logo_sm.jpg"
width=288>
My personal development journey has been going on for
years, and it got a great boost last July when I attended Jack
Canfield’s Breakthrough to Success 7-day workshop, which
covered the core essentials in his New York Times bestseller,
href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060594896?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0060594896&adid=16E3655YQSTVT7XQZQQN&">The
Success Principles. I got so much from that
experience that I registered for his advanced training last
November, and then became a member of his Platinum Mastermind
Group this year. Jack has been an incredible mentor of
mine for more than a decade.
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">If
you would like to attend this year’s Breakthrough to Success
workshop August 10-16, I have ONE nearly half-price ticket
available. style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">
I got a special discounted ticket and now I have a conflict
and will not be able to participate this year.
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Jack’s
2007 training sold out two full months in advance with a
waiting list of over 50 people, so I recommend you reserve
your seat as soon as you possibly can. Only 400 people will
qualify to attend, so please href="http://www.jackcanfield.com/cmd.php?af=689826">visit
Jack’s website, read the success stories and details of
the program, and see if this event is right for you.
Please contact me at href="mailto:kathy@orgcoach.net">kathy@orgcoach.net if you
are interested in purchasing my discounted ticket, which will
go to the first person who requests it. Please note that
I will be on a mission trip, working in the bush in Tanzania
March 20-31 and will have no access to the Internet while
there. If you contact me during that time, I will
respond to emails in the order received when I return.
color=#003399 size=5>Productivity Tools & Resources
src="march08news003.gif"
width=96>
Having the right tools is half the battle! The other half
is forming new habits to use the new tools! Here are five
productivity tools I use daily. For more information, click on
the hyperlinked titles:
href="http://www.orgcoach.net/PaperTiger.html"> size=4>The Paper Tiger
Find anything you file or store in 5
seconds or less, guaranteed! I have used this software program
for more than a decade to file and retrieve papers in my
office. I have also used it for a lot more than just
paper. Anything you can put a number on, you can find in 5
seconds or less.
Curious how it works? Here are
three ways to learn more:
- Visit my href="http://www.orgcoach.net/PaperTiger.html">informational web
page to read more about it.
- Attend my free monthly webinar called href="http://www.orgcoach.net/teleclasses.html#findanything">Find
Anything in Five Seconds or Less and you will receive a link
to download it for a free 30-day trial. During the webinar, you
will have an opportunity to connect with me by phone and also view
what’s on my screen when you attend the live webinar meeting by
logging into a special website.
- If you cannot attend my live webinar or don’t want to wait,
you can listen to a href="http://www.orgcoach.net/recordedclassnotes.html">recorded
teleclass while you play with a free 30-day trial copy
of the software.
If you already own this remarkable software and need assistance
getting started, I suggest that you get a copy of my href="http://www.orgcoach.net/products/find.html#support">instructional
recorded teleclass and 18-page instructional guide. I walk
you through how to get started and how to use all of the features
built into the software, and you have the instructional guide
available to refer back to.
If you do not yet own the software, the cost is the same whether
you get it from href="http://www.orgcoach.net/products/find.html#software">my online
store or from the manufacturer, although they charge shipping
and I include it for free. I also include my instructional
teleclass and extensive training guide as a special bonus.
This is not available through the makers of The Paper Tiger.
Here are some unsolicited emails I’ve received about my
training:
"Wow! Thanks for providing me with
such an excellent training session. Your presentation on how
to use the Paper Tiger was truly inspiring. It was not until
I listened to your CD that I really started getting value from
using the software, which I've owned for more than a year
now. You've helped me to unleash the full power of the The
Tiger. I've finally figured out how to make it work for ME,
and I'm eternally grateful for your assistance." --B.V.,
Entertainment Executive, Los Angeles, CA
"After having purchased the Paper
Tiger elsewhere six months ago, I just bought your 18-page
instructional guide. I wish I'd had this valuable guide
before, as it would have helped me set up a more effective filing
system. Thanks to the expert advice you provided in this
guide, I'm going back and reworking the way I set things
up." --S.B., Real Estate Broker, Orlando,
FL
I get emails all the time from happy Paper Tiger users.
I’ll never forget this one, though (shared with permission):
Kathy, I've used Paper Tiger over the
years and am evangelistic about its value. In May of 1995 I was in
a serious accident when a drunk driver hit me while I was riding
my bicycle. My skull was fractured and I suffered brain
injuries in the area of the brain that affects executive
functioning. As a result I experienced panic reactions
when interrupted, when there was clutter, or when my ability to
focus was broken. During the next 6.5 years, my very
survival depended on having a high degree of order around
me. I'm telling you this because I am living proof that the
organizing and time management principles you provide really work.
Thanks! --Floyd Green,
Cornerstone Wealth Management, Raleigh,
NC
* * * * *
href="http://www.orgcoach.net/products/tickle.html#ticklerfile"> size=4>Tickler File System
Do you have a system to manage the
things that come into your life?
- What do you do with something that requires action but that
you don’t need to act on right now?
- Where do you put tickets to a game, concert, or civic event so
you’ll be able to quickly find them when the date rolls
around?
- Where do you put your e-ticket, hotel and car reservation
confirmation, and other travel documents so you can find them when
you’re travel date arrives?
- Where do you put notes or support documents you want to take
to an important meeting?
- Where do you put the claim stub for your dry cleaning or
something being repaired?
- How do you remember important follow up at the right time?
If you don’t have a good system to manage all of these things, I
suggest you participate in my free monthly
webinar, href="http://www.orgcoach.net/teleclasses.html#buriedinpaper">Buried
in Paper. If you want to own a copy of the href="http://www.orgcoach.net/products/tickle.html#ticklerfile">recording
and extensive study guide, that is available, too.
I’ve been offering the href="http://www.orgcoach.net/products/tickle.html#ticklerfile">hard-to-find
accordion tickler file (43 tabs for 1-31 and January-December)
on my website for years because they are difficult to find in the
office supply stores. Last week I received this unsolicited
email from a class participant (shared with permission):
Hi Kathy, I just wanted to share that I
received the tickler file and spent yesterday filling it.
Last night I took things out of my dated accordion tickler file
that I had filed away to take action on today, and I put them in
the order I intended to tackle them. When I came into my
office this morning, the ONLY thing on my desk was my TODAY
folder. Throughout the day I pulled things out one at a
time and took the appropriate action. I am at the end
of my day, and I've gone through what was still remaining in my
TODAY folder and have reassigned those things that were not urgent
or important to a different day in my tickler file.
My desk is clear
for the first time in MONTHS, and I had the most productive few
hours of work that I have had in a LONG while. How
wonderfully freeing! Thank you
for this great system and for your helpful Buried in Paper
teleclass that taught me how to use it. --Laura
Aridgides, Independent Sales Director for The Pampered Chef ®
align=center>
* * * * *
class=subhead-black
href="http://www.orgcoach.net/products/find.html#easyreach"
target=_blank>EasyReach
This is a wonderful time-saving tool
that I use multiple times each day. When I want to find a file
on my computer or server, I simply type in a unique word included in
the document. Unlike Google, which only indexes a few
different file types, EasyReach supports more than 350 different
file types. For example, if I want to find an email that I
received two years ago, and I know that the words Paper Tiger and
Mac are in an Outlook email message, when I type those words into
the EasyReach search fields, it will find it within seconds.
Other popular file types include all the Microsoft products (Word,
PowerPoint, Publisher, Excel, etc.), PDF documents, zip files, ACT,
Lotus Notes, non-txt files including graphics (if they are named),
and much more.
Although Google is free, it does not track changes as they
happen, so you must wait while it indexes your hard drive to find
the keyword you are looking for. Also, Google’s remote search
works by caching YOUR information on THEIR servers. In
other words, files from your computer are copied – unencrypted –
from your computer to Google’s servers, where Google indexes the
information and allows you to search it. If you do a Google
search on "Google Desktop, Gartner", or "Google Desktop, Electronic
Frontier Foundation" it will yield lots of warnings and
thumbs down on the "free" Google Desktop Search tool. On the
other hand, EasyReach does not store ANY of your data on their
servers. All of your information remains on YOUR hard drive or
server.
Click the hyperlink in the title above to request a free
30-day trial of the software. After you try it, I
think you'll be hooked for life!
size=7>* * * * *
href="http://www.roboform.com/?affid=kathy"
target=_blank>RoboForm
RoboForm saves me
so much time. I have used this productivity tool for
years. It is the top-rated Password Manager and Web Form
Filler that completely automates password entering and form filling.
RoboForm was named PC Magazine Editor's Choice, and CNET
Download.com's Software of the Year.
align=center>
* * * * *
class=subhead-black
href="http://www.bethoughtfulnow.com/">SendOutCards
It is so important to stay in touch
with your clients, prospects and referral partners. Most people
don't because it is inconvenient and expensive. SendOutCards changed
that for me. It has effortlessly increased my referrals and client
retention by building long-term relationships.
If people don’t REMEMBER you, it
doesn’t matter how much they know, like and trust you. Staying in
touch is core to sustaining and building your business. So why
don’t more people stay in touch? Three primary reasons:
- It’s time-consuming.
- It can be expensive.
- We forget!
Now you can send REAL greeting card (not an e-card) in your own
handwriting and signature in less than 60 seconds without ever
leaving your office. You select or create your card from the
comfort of your desk, type your message, add a gift or gift card if
you like, and click SEND. SendOutCards does the rest. They
print, stuff, lick, address, stamp (with a real stamp) and take it
to the post office for you on whatever date you want the card to go
out.
You can set up a series of cards or postcards to automatically be
sent out as many times during the year as you would like to stay in
touch. Click send once and you’re done for the year! There are
more than 12,000 cards to choose from or you can upload your own
pictures or graphics, all for less than a dollar. You can send a
card to one customer or to 500 with a single mouse click.
Click on the Try it for FREE button at href="http://www.bethoughtfulnow.com/"
target=_blank>http://www.bethoughtfulnow.com/ to request a free
gift account. No obligation … just an opportunity to send a
couple cards to someone you care about, and I’ll even pay for the
cards and the postage!
size=7>* * * * *
href="http://www.mymindmakeover.com/default.asp?Affiliate=117"> size=4>My Mind Makeover
Harness the power of affirmations! Your best productivity tool is
what's between your ears! What you think about affects how you
feel, and how you feel affects the choices you make and the actions
you'll take. Discover how you can create the life you desire with
the help of personalized affirmations recorded in your own
voice. I am using this program and I love it!
style="COLOR: #000099" face=arial size=2>Words produce
Thoughts.
Thoughts produce
Feelings.
Feelings produce
Decisions.
Decisions
produce
Actions.
Actions produce
Habits.
Habits produce
Character.
Character produces your Destiny.
size=7>* * * * *
href="http://www.virtualbooktoursystem.com/cmd.php?af=670943">Alex
Mandossian- Teleseminar Secrets
If you can have a conversation on a telephone, then you're 70
minutes away from becoming a Internet Radio Show Interviewer.
Teleseminar marketing will get you there fast, easy and with
practically zero cash outlay. I took Alex's 8-session course that
just ended last month (he only teaches that once a year), and I
learned so much from this teleseminar maven. He is THE go-to
person for learning how to create your own knowledge products.
If you want to earn passive income, I highly recommend that
you register for this call.
It took Napoleon Hill more than 23 years to write his
time-honored masterpiece, href="http://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Landmark-Bestseller-Now/dp/1585424331/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205508968&sr=1-2">Think
And Grow Rich. But by utilizing teleseminar marketing, you
can interview top business leaders and publish your own "How To"
book in less than 27 days. Find out how during Alex's
"Tested Tactics To Sell From Your Seat"
teleseminar. We've made a special arrangement to SAVE you $70
off the normal $99 tuition with your VIP Discount Code, so the cost
of this information-rich webinar is only $20 for you.
* * * Your VIP Discount Code is: AM3964 * * *
* * * * *
class=style63>Recommended Reading
class=subhead-black> src="books08.gif"
width=96 vspace=5 border=0>
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071487786?ie=UTF8&tag=declutteyourlife&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0071487786"
target=_blank>Instant Income: Strategies that Bring in the Cash for
Small Businesses, Innovative Employees, and Occasional
Entrepreneurs : This incredible book will teach you how to
attract income into your business right away. Janet is one of
North America’s top mentors to consultants, coaches, experts and
entrepreneurs. Over the past 14 years she has helped experts
attain worldwide status and million-dollar incomes by building
information empires around their industry. She is the
marketing genius of choice behind many of the world’s leading
success icons and industry gurus.
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307353133?ie=UTF8&tag=declutteyourlife&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0307353133"
target=_blank>The Four Hour Workweek: If you want to learn
more about the power of leveraging your time through delegation,
read Tim Ferriss’ book. He went from working long, burnout
hours to living the life of his dreams by thinking outside the
box. He has very specific ideas that are amazing.
href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060594896?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0060594896&adid=16E3655YQSTVT7XQZQQN&"
target=_blank>The Success Principles : This has been on
the bestseller list, and for good reason. It’s a hefty book
(about 450 pages) that is broken into many bite-sized pieces – seven
sections and 64 principles – so you can focus on the sections or the
principles that are most meaningful to your life right now.
href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0757306586?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0757306586&adid=0JX6SZG98C9SEQXNKQEA&"
target=_blank>Key to Living the Law of Attraction: Jack
Canfield just published this wonderful little book in January.
Unlike The Success Principles, this is a book that you can easily
read in one sitting. It contains worksheets and exercises that
are exceptional tools to help you gain clarity on your goals and
focus on what is most important in your life.
href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/141654772X?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=141654772X&adid=0Z4001MG6KPEDW6X20DA&"
target=_blank>Happy for No Reason: I recently heard Marci
interviewed. I was so inspired by the call that I ran out the
next day and got her book, which just came out in January of this
year. She shares seven steps for being happy from the inside
out.
href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0142001104?tag=declutteyourlife&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0142001104&adid=0V2HR2NCAX77A61CR9EC&"
target=_blank>The Art of Possibility: This is still one of
my favorite books. You can read href="http://www.orgcoach.net/newsletter/june2005.html">my
article I wrote about this book in my June 2005 ezine.
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416549005?ie=UTF8&tag=declutteyourlife&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416549005"
target=_blank>The Speed of Trust: This book gets to the core
roots of ethical behavior and integrity and how trusted leaders and
organizations do things better, faster, and at a lower cost.
alt="Recommended Reading from Kathy Paauw"
src="j0395712.gif"
width=96>
align=center>
