Another great video from TED Talks. I don’t really understand what this oranization is, but someday I plan on being a member!

Alright everyone, have a great day!

]]> http://willyoufail.com/ted-talks/feed/ 0 http://willyoufail.com/start-taking-control/ http://willyoufail.com/start-taking-control/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:47:12 +0000 rallenthompson http://willyoufail.com/?p=175

“Who’s the Boss?” 10 ways to start taking control (time management, goal setting, record tracking)

Practicing positive thinking allows people to focus on our strengths and accomplishments, which increases happiness and motivation. This, in turn, allows us to spend more time making progress, and less time feeling down and stuck. The following tips provide practical suggestions that you can use to help you shift into more positive thinking patterns:

1. Take Good Care of Yourself

It’s much easier to be positive when you are eating well, exercising, and getting enough rest.

2. Remind Yourself of the Things You Are Grateful For

Stresses and challenges don’t seem quite as bad when you are constantly reminding yourself of the things that are right in life. Taking just 60 seconds a day to stop and appreciate the good things will make a huge difference.

3. Look for the Proof Instead of Making Assumptions

A fear of not being liked or accepted sometimes leads us to assume that we know what others are thinking, but our fears are usually not reality. If you have a fear that a friend or family member’s bad mood is due to something you did, or that your co-workers are secretly gossiping about you when you turn your back, speak up and ask them. Don’t waste time worrying that you did something wrong unless you have proof that there is something to worry about.

4. Refrain from Using Absolutes

Have you ever told a partner “You’re ALWAYS late!” or complained to a friend “You NEVER call me!”? Thinking and speaking in absolutes like ‘always’ and ‘never’ makes the situation seem worse than it is, and programs your brain into believing that certain people are incapable of delivering.

5. Detach From Negative Thoughts

Your thoughts can’t hold any power over you if you don’t judge them. If you notice yourself having a negative thought, detach from it, witness it, and don’t follow it.

6. Squash the “ANTs”

In his book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life,” Dr. Daniel Amen talks about “ANTs” – Automatic Negative Thoughts. These are the bad thoughts that are usually reactionary, like “Those people are laughing, they must be talking about me,” or “The boss wants to see me? It must be bad!” When you notice these thoughts, realize that they are nothing more than ANTs and squash them!

7. Practice Lovin’, Touchin’ & Squeezin’ (Your Friends and Family)

You don’t have to be an expert to know the benefits of a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up. One research study on this subject had a waitress touch some of her customers on the arm as she handed them their checks. She received higher tips from these customers than from the ones she didn’t touch!

8. Increase Your Social Activity

By increasing social activity, you decrease loneliness. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people, and their positive energy will affect you in a positive way!

9. Volunteer for an Organization, or Help another Person

Everyone feels good after helping. You can volunteer your time, your money, or your resources. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will receive in return.

10. Use Pattern Interrupts to Combat Rumination

If you find yourself ruminating, a great way to stop it is to interrupt the pattern and force yourself to do something completely different. Rumination is like hyper-focus on something negative. It’s never productive, because it’s not rational or solution-oriented, it’s just excessive worry. Try changing your physical environment – go for a walk or sit outside. You could also call a friend, pick up a book, or turn on some music.

When it comes to the corporate world, protocol is pretty much the religion. To know the things needed to do are the basics of productivity, but interaction and having a steady mind makes up the entire thing to true productivity. There are those who seem to work well even under pressure, but they’re uncommon ones and we are human and imperfect. To get these little things like stress under our skins won’t solve our problems. Sometimes it takes a bit of courage to admit that we’re turning to be workaholics than tell ourselves that we’re not doing our best.

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership.

1. Leaders come in different flavors.

There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles.

·Lewin’s three basic leadership styles – authoritative, participative, and delegative

·Likert’s four leadership styles – exploitative authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative

·Goleman’s six emotional leadership styles – visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pace-setting, and commanding.

2. Leadership is a process of becoming.

Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities. Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories. Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning. You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you.

The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes “action speaks louder than words.” Leaders are always in the limelight. Keep in mind that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street. Repeated actions become habits. Habits in turn form a person’s character. Steven Covey’s book entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership.

4. Leadership is shared.

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team. A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill. Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities aside from their responsibilities as members of the team. Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership. To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles depend on the situation.

How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nation also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders. There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation’s leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order—different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance. Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required.

Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for granted, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.

]]> http://willyoufail.com/leadership-exposed/feed/ 0 http://willyoufail.com/realize-your-dreams/ http://willyoufail.com/realize-your-dreams/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:18:46 +0000 rallenthompson http://willyoufail.com/?p=133 Success leaves clues. People who have achieved their dreams and left their footprints in doing so have left their footprints in the sands of history have shared certain common methods. Certain methods and techniques that have aided in the accomplishments of their dreams have been compiled into the following five tips for success.

• Think your thoughts into reality: “Thoughts become things.” Mike Dooley. While this quote is often misinterpreted, this strategy is the building block to success. Proverbs 29:18, “Without vision, the people will perish.” Before we can accomplish our dreams, we must first have dreamed. Thoughts become things, thoughts are energy. If you can imagine yourself with abundance and wealth, put your positive emotion into the feeling, you can manifest it in your life. Visualization is an extremely powerful skill. Use it with your emotions and the results will run you over. Your thoughts are the cornerstone to your success. Without thinking it is possible, it isn’t. “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Henry Ford




• Be persistent and hold onto your dream. “Dream like you’ll live forever, live like you’ll die tomorrow.” James Dean. Set short goals that you can accomplish today and help excel you to your overall success, and celebrate your victories. E grateful for what you currently have. When you set your dreams, set them big! Then visualize you having what you dream about everyday. Make that dream the reason you wake up in the morning, make that dream the reason you breath, and you will find a way to make that dream a reality. Don’t let anything get in your way.




• Don’t listen to the naysayers. Even the people that say they love you will hold you back, Not necessarily because they don’t want you to succeed, it is because they can’t see how big your dream is and they fear you will face failures and heartache. You may face failures and heartache, but you can’t let that stop you, you must carry on. Remember that you will be doing things differently than your current friends and family, sometimes this will make them uncomfortable. Surround yourself with people that are on the same level of thought as you are.




• Model other successful people. Read and study other successful people, surround yourself with people who are successful and those striving to be successful. Throughout history, very successful people have left clues to their methods. Find mentors and follow them. While not an easy task, it is possible, especially with modern technologies and tools such as Facebook.com, Yahoo Groups, and Twitter, finding a mentor is easier than it has ever been.




• Move out of your comfort zone. As your success grows, so will your challenges, but your wisdom to handle them will grow as well. You are larger than any of your obstacles. Look for opportunities in every situation, not problems. Every man’s successful idea was generated from another man’s challenge.

If success were easy, everyone would do it. Fulfilling your dreams is no easy task and anyone who tells you differently is lying to you and themselves. If you think that your dreams will manifest simply because you dream them, then research such icons as Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave his life for equal rights, Albert Einstein who found a thousand ways not to make a light bulb, or Donald Trump who has lost billions. These tips have been compiled from successful people who have not only succeeded, but have crossed troubled water and treaded through failures to get accomplish their dreams. With determination and vision, your dreams can become a reality also.



This article is an alteration of an article presented by http://www.Best10StepsOfOpportunity.com, rewritten by Allen Thompson

Dr. Yunus began Grameen Bank by loaning $ 27 to a poor bamboo stool maker and 41 other desperately poor villagers in Bangladesh in 1975. A whole new industry of micro credit, loaning small amounts of money to poverty stricken people, was born. As of August, 2006, Grameen has loaned over 6 billion dollars to over 6.6 million borrowers, 96 percent of them women. Interest rates on Grameen’s loans are about 16 percent, and 98 percent of them are repaid. (Typical independent money lenders in poor countries charge 50 percent.) Grameen now employs over 17,000 people.

As Grameen has grown, hundreds of other micro credit institutions have been created to serve the world’s poorest people. This year 3110 institutions have made loans to 82 million of the poorest people in the world.

This bottom up economic growth in Bangladesh has had an impact on other factors. CCN Matthews News Distribution reports “…the 20 largest micro finance institutions in Bangladesh reach 21 million clients affecting 105 million family members in a country of 140 million. According to UNICEF, the number of deaths of children under five per 1,000 live births has fallen from 239 per thousand in 1970 to just 77 per thousand in 2004 and the fertility rate in Bangladesh has fallen from 6.4 in 1970 to 3.2 in 2004.”

Grameen has proved that money can be made when lending to the poor, thus giving the world’s banks incentives to focus on the weakest links in society. This approach ensures inclusive growth so that virtually everyone may have access to finance.

The Grameen model is based on peer pressure. Money is loaned to individuals in groups. If one person defaults, the whole group is cut off from further credit. If someone is behind in their payments, the group members apply social pressure or help the person pay in order to keep the group’s credit standing high.

Grameen Bank is an example of a business that truly serves its customers through loans and other programs that help people to gain prosperity, end poverty and suffering, and increase the quality of life for the community at large. Less poverty and suffering decreases the tendencies toward violence, terrorism, wars, and disease often found rampant in poorer countries.

Dr. Yunus teaches us the power of a vision. He envisioned that he could help millions of people who had no collateral to develop and grow their visions. As a result tens of millions have started businesses, gone to school, and purchased housing that never would have been available to them without Grameen and the micro credit movement. While much of the world dismisses poor people as a problem to be solved someday, Dr. Yunus envisions real people with dreams and abilities. “I believe in the capacity and capability of human beings,” he states. “Handouts take away initiative and help maintain poverty. If you give a woman a loan worth about $75 to buy a cow, she can start selling the milk. She might make about $2.50 a week. Her installment payment on the loan would be about 50 cents. So the other $2 could be used to buy food and other necessities. As amazing as it sounds to people in the world’s rich nations, $2 a week can mean a lot in Bangladesh.”

Poverty is a problem that social programs have been unable to solve. In 1975 Bangladesh had recently fought a civil war and experienced a famine. It’s future looked bleak. Poverty was rampant. Dr. Yunus came up with a solution to poverty for millions of people that cost no tax money, required no government programs, and that inspired people to take personal responsibility. He created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity.

Every individual has an imagination. Every employee has an imagination. There are ideas, solutions, and possibilities, some small, and some great. We are quick to dismiss people who seem unimportant and ideas that seem impossible or not sensible. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why something cannot happen, how about asking the question: “How can it happen?” How about asking: “What are the possibilities here?”

In summary, Dr. Yunus shows us the following:

Everyone is important and has something to offer.

Your ability to see someone as capable and successful can uplift them.

Something can be made from nothing. Thirty years ago poverty stricken people had no access to credit except through usurious money lenders. Today millions are thriving because of micro credit. Where others saw hopelessness and despair, Dr. Yunus envisioned growth.

People are motivated by meaning. Dr. Yunus has treated each “poor” person as “someone”. His actions have created meaning in the lives of millions of people.

Tendencies toward conflict and violence are reduced when people find meaning in what they do and who they are. Graneen and micro credit are a positive influence for peace.

Believing in your self and in your vision combined with courageously taking action can lead to great success. Dr. Yunus did what no one had done before. He broke through the prevailing assumptions of the financial world (that poor people are not good credit risks) and consequently created a positive impact on the lives of millions of people.

This is great leadership–doing well while doing good.

1-Wanna-be’s obsess about ideas. Entrepreneurs obsess about
implementation.

Don’t get stuck in Analysis Paralysis. Look at what the top income
producers are doing and copy them. No need to re-invent the wheel

2-Wanna-be’s focus on positive thinking. Entrepreneurs plan for
multiple contingencies.

Positive thinking is important but you are not a Jedi, yet. You
cannot move things with your mind or conjure money out of thin air.
Positive thinking will only get you so far. You must have Positive
thinking combined with specific, targeted action.

3-Wanna-be’s want to get on TV and get “famous.” Entrepreneurs
build their businesses and their list.

Let the ego go. Your only goal is to make as much money as possible
as quickly as possible. This will inspire others to do the same.
For now focus on making money! Lots of it.

4-Wanna-be’s seek a perfect plan and wait for the perfect time.
Entrepreneurs execute and take action when they see an opportunity.

Entrepreneurs accept educated risk and are able to make big
decisions quickly once they have all the information. Make a
decision and take some risk. No successful entrepreneur
accomplished any significant by playing it safe!

5-Wanna-be’s wait for their lucky break. Entrepreneurs take
responsibility and create their OWN circumstances.

6-Wanna-be’s fear looking stupid in front of their friends.
Entrepreneurs willingly risk making fools of themselves, knowing
that long-term success is a good trade for short-term loss of image.

Don’t listen to your friends and family-They are BROKE. They have
zero credibility as far as financial decisions are concerned.
Surround yourself with people who have results and do what they do.
This is the only way to fast track your wealth.

7-Wanna-be’s shield their precious ideas from harsh reality,
postponing the verdict of success or failure until ’someday.’
Entrepreneurs expose their ideas to cold reality as soon as
reasonably possible.

Don’t be afraid to look stupid. That is just ego screwing with you.
 One way to know you are on the right track is when you lose
anything in common with all of your brokes friends and family. They
don’t count, unless you want their results! PERIOD!

8-Wanna-be’s put off practicing basketball until they’ve got Air
Jordan’s. Entrepreneurs practice barefoot behind the garage.

Stop waiting for the perfect time, the perfect opportunity, the
perfect situation. Take decisive action now and stop procrastinating.

9-Wanna-be’s believe what they’re told. Entrepreneurs do original
research and make their own decisions.

Do you due diligence and follow you gut. It will rarely lead you
astray.

10-Wanna-be’s believe they can do anything. Entrepreneurs use
systems and technology to solve the variables that most people
struggle with.

11-Wanna-be’s think about the world in terms of COULD and SHOULD.
Entrepreneurs think in terms of IS and CAN BE.

You can have it all if you really believe you can. Figure out who
you are, what you want, and stop settling for less!

Have a Great Night!

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