Success Is Based On A Realistic Plan

Everyone wants to be successful. However, many people often rely on luck and chance to achieve results. The best example in this case is someone who wants to be rich but only try the most ineffective method: playing the Lotto. Of course, there are chances of becoming rich over night, but how likely is it that this will actually happen? Creating a realistic plan in order to achieve the desired results is vital in any case, no matter how high or low your goals are.

The safest way to achieve your dream is by taking successive steps and gradually increasing your chances of reaching your goal. Try to think of a metaphor and compare your desires with a professional swimming competition.

The first thing you need to do, in order to have chances of winning the race, is to make sure you are not afraid of the water. Before you even consider entering the race you have to eliminate your fears. They are the ones holding you back, but be careful, some of your fears might save you from getting hurt or failing.

Once you are convinced that your goal is worth fighting for, you have to start the hardest stage in you plan: preparation. You cannot expect to win a professional swimming race when you don't even know how to swim. Start with the basics and never skip any steps out of desire of reaching your goal faster. The experience and knowledge you are skipping will probably come back and hurt you later on. Prepare by taking gradually increasing steps. Swim half a lap first, and then move on to a full lap. Your skills will progress each time and you will soon beat your own lap records every time you enter the swimming pool

It might take days, weeks or years to prepare for the "race", depending on what your goals are. The main thing is to enter the race feeling confident in your own success and having all the skills that would allow you to win.

Taking steps one at a time and keeping your plan realistic gives you two important benefits. The order and precision of a plan brings confidence. You don't feel like you are reengaging each new issue on a day-to-day basis. Organizing your strategy reduces the chances of making wrong moves or taking less efficient decisions.

Secondly, having a sound plan has many psychological benefits and your subconscious mind worries less, giving you more energy to concentrate on what's important. You are creating a pattern in your awareness that accepts success and integrates it in your plan.

When both you conscious and your subconscious mind believe in your chances of reaching a goal you benefit from a power of concentration and focus that eliminate outside interference and let you follow the shortest path to success.

Even though chance may still play an important role in your quest to reach your ideal, having a realistic plan let's you change the "unlikely" into "possible".

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The Magic of Asking

People say to me, Maria, I am creating brochures and I am meeting people. I am telling people about my business and I just don't seem to be getting anywhere. Do you have any suggestions?

When I say to them, "have you asked them to buy your product or service?" I quite often get a blank stare back at me.

"Ask??" You mean I should ask.

Yes, this is a very important part of doing business, and many people have lost sales that they would have received if they had only asked for the sale.

This is called, the close.

Some people have said, "But what if they say no?" So what, the odds are in business that you will have more no's than yes's. You see, the more that I have studied marketing, the more I see how true that is. Just consider the no's practice on your way to a yes.

Some of the most successful marketers out there state that a 10% conversion is good. That means 90% were either not interested or were unable to purchase at this time due to a large variety of reasons.

A no doesn't mean the end of the world or the end of your business, it just means at this moment they are not interested.

And, ask yourself, how many sales do you believe that you will get if you don't ask. Not asking is considered the same as leaving money on the table.

Sometimes it means, you just haven't shown them a benefit that they can relate to.

I have seen examples of people who have changed just a word or two on their web copy and then the sales started pouring in.

If you need to learn how to ask for the sale, there are many books written on the importance of asking and many considered it one of the success secrets in business.

There are countless articles, books and courses on closing a sale and if you haven't read any of them, I would highly recommend that you do. They go into detail on the early close, the trial close and the final close. As well, I have seen different names given to different styles.

Sadly, the reality is, many people have a sales phobia and would rather socialize at networking event and hope someone will come up and buy their product or service. And believe it or not, other people may think yes it is a good product but you are apparently just showing me today.

So, if the word sales drives you into a frenzy then start by reading, "The Aladdin Factor" by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. It is a book on how to ask for and get what you want in every area of your life. And, has in it a formula for overcoming the seven most common "asking fears"

It is important to remember that no matter what business you are in, you are always selling yourself, product and or service and knowing how to do it well will assist and help your clients.

When you have a valuable product or service that improves people's lives, consider it your obligation to let them know that it exists. You will feel more confident than approaching them as though you are a pest.

Just remember, it's your job to ask and it's ok if they say no.

Smile and go on to the person just waiting for your arrival.

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Weight Loss Starts in Your Head!

Are you a 'look-and-lose' dieter? Have you studied every diet ever created, read a zillion diet books, and yet are still unhappy with your weight? Has your quest for the holy grail of dieting become a substitute for actually making changes required to take the ill health out of your current diet? If so, you may not realise your thoughts are key to your happiness and success.

Do you look at yourself and say, "I'm fat", or "My hips are too big"? Many of us look in the mirror and immediately compare ourselves to those 'perfect' human specimens we see every single day on TV, in magazines and in the newspapers.

Often we talk to ourself and make excuses, "It's my genes", "I'm much too busy to get fit", "I like myself this", as a way of protecting yourself from the way we see ourselves now and the way we want to be.

If we were to be truly honest with ourselves most people actually want to lose a few pounds - if we only knew how.

The good news is you CAN achieve your desired body shape with the right thinking about yourself, an understanding of how to get optimal nutrition, healthy eating habits and how to incorporate activity into your lifestyle to keep your muscles toned.

But most important of all, you need a regular mental workout to keep your self-image in shape.

Self-image is closely connected to the success or failure of any goal you choose to seek after, but none more so that the goal to get yourself fit and healthy.

So how do you go about strengthening your self-image? Well fortunately your self-image, just like your muscles, will respond well to a regular work out. You can actually strengthen your self-image with a few daily exercises.

Exercise One - Self Examination
Start by compiling a list of all those negative thoughts your have about yourself…I'm undisciplined, I can't manage my time, I let people down, I can't succeed, I don't exercise enough. You will need to decide before you start this process that you won't get discouraged….these are things that you will admit to yourself but they most certainly don't have to control your life.

Next, compile a second list including everything you LIKE about yourself. Keep going until this list is LONGER than the first list you compiled. You might include things such as, I am a good cook, I can make people laugh, I contribute to the soccer club, my daughter loves the way I decorate her room.

Then, take your 'negatives' list and turn it into your 'potentials' list. You do this by creating a positive self-image to every 'negative' you listed. Instead of "I can't succeed", write a counter belief, "I will succeed".

Ceremonially throw out the 'negatives' list - you are saying goodbye forever! Burn them, trash them, destroy them….they are no longer going to be a part of your thinking about yourself.

Now, keep your list of potentials in a prominent place. On your refrigerator door, in your daily journal, or in a picture frame on your desk. Make sure you have them in front on your every single day so that you are reading them constantly and reprogramming your daily thoughts.

Exercise Two: You Can Be What You Want to Be
Now that you have your list of potentials… run your own visualisation stories so that you can 'see' yourself in a new light. For example, if your list of potential includes "I eat just the right portions", visualise yourself with a moderate portion on your plate, and feeling completely satisfied at the conclusion of your meal.

Read through your list of potentials every day taking a few moments of personal quiet time to reflect strongly on your visualisations. Try starting your day first thing in the morning and finishing as the last thing at night with visualising yourself being the person on your list, and doing the things you want to do.

Exercise Three: Keep a Journal of Your Daily Successes
Keep a record of all the positive changes in thoughts you have about yourself. We all have triumphs and 'failures'. You must record and remind yourself of the positive changes because our human nature will replay the negatives - sometimes blowing them out of proportion. It's important to nurture and celebrate the small steps you make every day.

Exercise Four: Go Easy On Yourself - You Are Beautiful Work In Progress
Don't listen to the criticism…not your own nor that of others! Remember you are the designer of your self-esteem, do not hand this over to other people. You are way too important to give this away. Protect your role as creator of your own self-image and do not, take on board negative criticisms. We all make mistakes, and mistakes can be used to help us learn. Do not criticise yourself for being human and making a mistake. The only last mistake in the one from which we never learn to grow.

Exercise Five: Forget About The Past
The only moment you can live is the current one. You can't live in the future and you most certainly shouldn't live in the past….the challenge is to take charge of our thinking so that we think in the same time zone in which we live!

For example we may be tempted to think about yesterday's failures…"If only I hadn't eaten second helpings", "If only I didn't reach for the chocolate cookies". If we concentrate on the mistakes of yesterday this will our brains to replay our failures and reinforce them to us.

Yesterday is over, today is where you live….make sure that today you do NOT replay yesterday's failures and make your resolve to change TODAY.

Exercise Six: Resolve to Change Today Just as you shouldn't live in the past, you can't live in the future. You can only live or change today. The oldest cliché in the world is perhaps one of the greatest truisms of all…'tomorrow NEVER comes!'

There is no better time than now. So, no matter what excuses you may have to wait to take those healthy steps you know you should take, none of them are valid. Do it now, do it today. Resolve to make a different in your own life before you go to sleep tonight.

Exercise Seven: Write a Plan For your Life
This is your success plan. If you have not already done so it is time for you to create direction and purpose in your plans for yourself. Review your list of potentials and record next to each potential when you want to achieve this by.

Exercise Eight: Carry Affirmation Cards About Yourself
This is one of the fastest tools for your success. You are what you think. Strengthen your self-image every day by reviewing your thoughts. One of the easiest ways to do this is to carry affirmation cards in your wallet and review regularly. Affirmation cards are short bursts of words in business card that prompt and remind your self-image of your intentions. An example might be:

* I can achieve anything that I put my mind to.

* I will be satisfied with single helpings.

Try it, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Exercise Nine: Change Your Eating Habits
Now that you have set the groundwork in place, you are now ready to change your physical habits. You are ready to add a balanced nutritious diet, healthy eating habits, regular exercise and relaxation.

By using these nine exercises daily to change your thinking habits, you will be strengthening your self esteem and unlocking your internal power to make a change in your life. Before you can change lifelong eating habits, you must first change life long thinking habits. We are what we think. We can't be something other than what we believe we can be!

So, do yourself a favour, liberate your self-image and then, see how much more effective your healthy living plan becomes!

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Domain Names Can Make You A Millionaire

With an increasing number of businesses needing names for websites, owners of in-demand site names are becoming millionaires overnight.

For example, in March of 2006, the domain name Blue.com sold for $500,000. The site now includes links to adult sites and airfares. The seller, Amy Schrier, bought the site in 2002 for $65,000. In the United States, approximately one to two thousand people make their living buying and selling domain names.

Most of the vendors buy or register domain names, then develop the sites' commercial value by adding content and links to increase marketability. It is an investment in virtual real estate.

Sales of 5,851 domain names generated 29 million dollars in 2005, almost twice as much as the year before. Investors seeing the potential for further increases are buying or investing in domain name companies. For example, in 2005 Highland Capital invested $20 million in YesDirect, a domain name company holding 600,000 names. YesDirect is developing content for the sites it holds.

There are even trade shows being hosted in Las Vegas to bring together domain name buyers and sellers. A recent Las Vegas trade fair attracted approximately 400 to 500 vendors and investors, twice the attendance compared to 2005. A large live auction at the fair generated $2.1 million in sales within three hours.

Online entrepreneur Gary Kreman earned $12 million in cash and stock in 2005 by selling Sex.com to Escom, an adult entertainment firm. The site Men.com was sold in 2003 for $1.3 million, a huge profit for its owner who paid $15,000 for the domain name in 1997.

Dozens of internet sites such as Afternic specialize in selling domain names for a commission, usually approximately 10% of the selling price. Some of the sites will list any domain name for whatever price the owner asks; others are more discriminating in the sites they will list, preferring single-word domain names rather than concatenated phrases.

The most valuable domain names are the .coms, followed by .net, .org and .biz. Single word websites are the most valuable, though not all single words will have the same high value. Concatenated phrases are slightly less valuable than single words, those with hyphens less than those without. Short words and phrases are also preferred. Not all words have the same commercial potential. For sellers unsure of the value of their site, most of the domain name resale sites have appraisal services available for between $15 to $30 per site examined.

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How to Win your Job Interview?

After studies are over and you have survived through your prom night, you focus on one thing: where to use that tremendous amount of information you possess now. Certainly, you look for a job to realize your ambitious plans and reach your potential you were told so much about at university. There are several points to consider before applying for a job and submitting your Curriculum Vitae to your potential employer.

First of all you are to choose a profession in your field, a field that you majored in. that way you can be sure that you have all necessary qualifications and skills. Once you've decided on this, you may start looking up advertisements. They may be placed in magazines, newspapers, on-line or just on the walls of public places. Don't pick dozens of variants; choose two-three vacancies that meet your requirements if to consider salary, conditions provided, location and skills required. You can start on working on your CV immediately. You have to mention everything that is going to present you as a very useful employee that will be very helpful. Send your resume and the cover letter after checking it twice and wait for results. If you are certain of the impression it may give, you may also use references form you previous job that can show you as a nice co-worker and experienced professional. Once everything that is above-mentioned is completed, you'll get an invitation on your job interview, a final step towards the beginning of your career. This is the part when you have to be very attentive and careful, considering every possible variant. Your excellent dissertation writing and thesis writing skills may be not enough to gain trust of your potential employer. You have to demonstrate everything that can prove that you are the most suitable candidate for this vacancy. Appearances are deceitful, but they matter when making the first impression. Take a closer look on what are you going to wear and see if it is in formal style. Try to rehears your job interview with one of your friends or acquaintances so they can give you advice too. Try to ask yourself all possible questions your employer might want to ask and see if you are capable to respond properly. If you have samples of your works or a thesis, don't forget to bring them along. They might be useful proof of how good you are.

If you have demonstrated everything you are capable of doing and still were refused, try not to lose your face and get depressed. This is not the only place experienced specialists are required. Try to understand what was wrong last time and delete the mistake as soon as possible, so you can be prepared to your next try to get a vacancy. The most important thing is not to loose self-confidence. If you are to get a job you will and then remember your strain with a smile on your face.

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11 Secrets To Better Time Management For Entrepreneurs

Why is it that the Bill Gate's of this world are rich and famous? What secret do they know that the rest of us don't? If you study their lives closely, you'll discover the rich and famous have certain habits that attribute to their success. Successful people are very careful about how they spend their time. No matter how you slice it, we all have 24 hours in a day, so the key lies in learning to use our time wisely. Below are some ways you can dramatically increase your productivity through more effective use of your time.

1. MONITOR HOW YOU CURRENTLY USE YOUR TIME: If it seems like your day slips by all too quickly, try creating a log of your daily activities. Once you see where you are spending your time, you can identify and focus on the activities that provide the greatest returns for you personally and financially. Start your log by writing down what time you wake up, get ready, and begin work. Calculate how much time you spend on individual activities such as email, phone calls, and client work.

=> FREE TIME TRACKING TOOL: Here's a personal time survey to help you discover how much time you spend on various work activities: Personal Time Survey Tracker

2. CALCULATE HOW MUCH YOUR TIME IS WORTH: Time is money. Knowing how much your time is actually worth can help you make better decisions as to whether you should perform a task or outsource it. For instance, if your time is worth $200 an hour, you are far better off paying someone $30 an hour to edit your newsletter. You can "bank" the other $170 per hour by spending your time on profit making activities. Also take the time to determine how much time a day you need to spend on billable activities to make your desired profit. I try to spend 1.5 hours a day on money making projects.

=> FREE TIME COSTING TOOL: Here's a time costing worksheet to help you determine how much you are actually when you subtract the expenses. Time Costing Sheet

3. CREATE A DAILY SCHEDULE: Don't start your day without a to do list. Make a list of tasks and categorize them into business building activities, client activities, and personal items. Then break bigger unmanageable projects into smaller "doable" chunks so they less intimidating and are easier to accomplish.

=> FREE DAILY TO DO LIST: Try this free all inclusive WebMomz To Do List

4. PRIORITIZE: Have more to do than hours in the day? By prioritizing your tasks, you'll make sure that you are tackling the items that matter most. Create a system that works for you. One standard way of prioritizing is to mark items with A, B, and C.

Ask yourself these key questions:

What items MUST be done today?
Which items can be rescheduled?
What can be delegated?
Which tasks most closely match my priorities and goals?
Which items can be eliminated?

5. LEARN TO SAY NO: Are you adding one more item to your never-ending TO DO list? You are in control of your time. Be strong and uphold your personal boundaries. When you are well rested and treat yourself and your family to the time off you deserve, you'll feel happier and more productive when it's time to go back to work. **

Before you say yes, ask yourself these questions:

Do you really have the time or energy to do that extra task?
Do I like this customer? Are they good for me?
Will it be profitable?
Does it invade on your personal time?
Does it involve doing something you enjoy?
Does it fit in with your list of priorities and goals?

6. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS AND TIME SUCKS: Time sucks are lurking everywhere like viruses. Think about which activities are eating up your time. For me personally, these items include email, social calls, and telemarketers. I "conquer" the email demon by shutting down my Outlook when I am working. When a family member calls during work time, I politely ask if I can call them back during the afternoon and remind them of my work hours. Caller ID valiantly saves me from the "would be" telemarketer time thieves. With one glance, I can quickly differentiate telemarketers from important client calls.<

7. STICK TO THE PLAN: Try not to get sidetracked from your plan. One of my friends has a motto, "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency for me". It's a smart one to live by. Unless it's a true emergency, or you are being paid "rush" time, you probably don't need to squeeze a last minute request in today. Also, by assigning yourself project deadlines, you can keep on top of projects and avoid those dreaded last minute emergencies.

8. CHOOSE AN INSPIRING PLACE AND TIME: We are all "built" differently. Do the tasks which take your most "brain power" when you are at your prime. Are you a morning person or do you work best burning the midnight oils? Create an ultimate work haven that is clean, distraction free, and inspiring. My office overlooks my flower garden and is right in the heart of family activity. As I glance to the right, our Angel fish "Spike" proudly parades across the fish tank. In front of me, Monet has a glorious display of peach poppies in a field. Above me, Monet is painting a vivid portrait of his flower garden. In the living room, my son is softly singing the Spiderman theme to himself - music to my ears!

9. BUNDLE LIKE TASKS TOGETHER: As you work through your daily list, try to chunk your tasks into like activities. By creating a separate "chunk" of time for answering email, invoicing, making return phone calls, you'll save time and mental energy.

10. AVOID INTERRUPTIONS: Trying to do the same thing over and over again with interruptions can be maddening. Once you start a task, try to finish it to the end. If something comes up that you need to remember or do, unless it's urgent, simply add it to your list and continue on with your current project.

11. BE ORGANIZED: When things are tidy, it saves you time and frees you to focus on the task at hand. Digging through a pile of papers and finding a squished Twinkie isn't very conducive to the work experience. Follow your own organizational style. PHONE LISTS: For instance, I arrange my phone lists into groups according to how I use them: friends, family, doctors, my children's playmates, etc. I also list people in my phone book that I talk to on a first name basis by their first name alphabetically. For instance, I list my mom under "M" and my brother under "T" for Troy. "D" has a list of all my doctors. This works for me, because it's how I think. EMAILS: Another time saving idea is to color code your emails. In my personal color scheme I use one color for clients, one for newsletters, and another for my coworkers. You can also group your emails using categories and folders.
ONE CALENDAR MEETS ALL: Keeping track of work appointments, Brownie meetings, and committee meetings can be very difficult. My secret to keeping on top of family and work appointments is to schedule them all on one calendar.
DAYTIMER SPECIAL SECTION: Create a special section of your Daytimer just for special interests, hobbies, or kids. My husband keeps one with all his stock info. I have a special kid section with phone numbers for Brownie leaders, playmates, doctors, school contacts, bus number and other items.
SUMMARY: Why wait for success when you can literally schedule it! By mastering your time, you can accomplish much more with less effort. Be choosey about how you spend your time. Focus on activities which most closely match your goals. By taking time to monitor, measure, and manage your time, you will enjoy an abundance of success and happiness.

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Dare To Be Different!

Adding value to your site, service, or product is one of the most over looked and under rated strategies for improving your internet business. The internet and modern technology makes it possible for anyone to offer that little something extra that nobody else does, and usually at no additional cost.
Why: First, let's look at why this is a good business practice.

It's a good thing to do because you will make more money!

What: Now let's look at what value adding is!

Value adding is giving surprise high quality and useful gifts.
It's giving something that your competitors aren't offering.
It's promising the world and delivering the universe.
It's taking care of your clients and always providing something that your clients need and want, when and where they want it.

How: Now let's look at the different ways we can do this.

If you receive a free gift from someone when you don't expect it, do you remember that person?
Answer; yes usually.
How can we do this?
Look at the example below for an idea!

If you subscribe to a news letter or ezine, what do you expect?
You expect to get what you subscribed for, right?
Now imagine that you subscribed for a newsletter that distributes information about Poodle breading in France, and when you open the conformation email you find you've also received a free ebook containing 20 poodle grooming tips and Grandmas secret poodle pampering techniques. (a book that normally sells for $29)

Wouldn't that make you more likely to open and read the next issue and the next etc?
That's one simple example, but where do you get the ebook from? You make it! If you are distributing a poodle breeding newsletter, you might know something about grooming, or know some people that could help you put together the necessary information. Then you can wrap that up in an ebook cover and then send it around to a variety of sites that will post it for you for free and you can sell on your own site, if you have one. (I can see that there are several more articles just on making e-books, posting them on other people's sites, and setting up a shop front.)

Back to the Poodles! So you can see that by offering this free gift you have achieved several things.

1. You have developed a product (at no cost to you) that you can sell and make a profit on.
2. You have used that product to increase the chances of your new subscriber opening your next email.
3. You have promoted you site/service to other internet marketers that you may wish to do a joint venture with at some time. (see my article on Joint ventures)

Another way to add value for less effort is to offer a 110 percent guarantee instead of a 100 percent. Another is to make your 20 tips into 30 or more etc, get the idea? It's all just a matter of finding ways that you can give more. The more you give the more you will receive.

by: Bill Boyd

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