Resolutions…Bullshit!

Resolutions don't work; period. Statistics show that only 12% of the people who set resolutions will keep them past the first month. Why is this figure so pathetic?

• Goals are not specific enough.
  
• Don't have the material, emotional or spiritual resources needed to see the goals to a successful conclusion.
  
• Goals lack rational, sustainable motivators.
  
• Resolutions are simply too big.
  
• Small set-backs become major failures.
  

Big ideas are great and emotion can be a fantastic motivator, but to finish the job you need a rational inventory of your current resources and a manageable series of goals that lead to your greater success.

This year replace your resolutions with a New Year REVOLUTIONtm. Completely change the way you think about goals for the next year.

First step: Take an inventory!

Whatever you're going to do in the coming year is dependent upon the resources you have at hand right here and right now. Of course, a valid goal can be to expand those resources, but you've got to start somewhere and you can't simply invent resources. You're going to need material, emotional and spiritual resources to activate and sustain your plans for the next year. What do you have in all three areas right now?

The best technique for taking an accurate inventory of material, emotional and spiritual resources is to take some time for gratitude. This doesn't need to be formal; simply take some time and think about everything you have right now. Include your friends, family and business connections; this support system is part of your emotional resources. Include your skills, talents and abilities. Include your positive traits and values like courage, work-ethic and character; these are your spiritual resources.

Next step: Big Ideas!

Take a little more time and just blast out some of the things you'd like to do if you knew this was your last year on earth! Don't worry about whether or not they're realistic yet, just organize your big ideas.

Now: Let's get real!

Finally, take a good look at your list of big ideas and decide which goals really motivate you physically, emotionally and spiritually. Then take these goals and decide which one best matches your current material, emotional and physical resources. Break that goal into a series of two or three small steps you know you can accomplish given your current resources and motivation. Now you have a set of realistic, attainable goals to start your New Year.

The best thing about your New Year REVOLUTION as opposed to resolutions is that you can start this process anytime, and revisit these steps at any time to adjust and accomplish your goals.

CAUTION: Too many people fail to achieve their goals because they allow minor set-backs to become major defeats. You may as well accept the fact that you'll face challenges and maybe even failures as you try to succeed; that's part of the deal. Rather than accepting failure, simply repeat this process, re-assess your goals, adjust and move on. You may have set a goal to lose 20 pounds before spring; losing 5 is a victory, not a defeat. Adjust your goal, your timeframe and keep going.

Best thoughts for success & happiness in the New Year!

Jim Bouchard is America's Black Belt Powervator; speaker, coach & author of Dynamic Components of Personal POWER. Jim returns to Maine for a special appearance at Borders in the Shaw's Plaza, Brunswick for New Year POWER: Creating Your New Year REVOLUTION! This event is Saturday, December 13^th at 4 pm; free and open to the public courtesy of Borders and Northern Chi Martial Arts Center!

Click here for more information on this and other coming events!

Turn Economic Disaster into Profits

Every disaster is an opportunity; that's an old martial arts saying that works as well on the field of business combat. In the Art of War, Sun Tzu says:

"Speed is of the essence in war. What is valued in war is quick victory, not prolonged operations."

Entrepreneurs who are willing to be responsive and nimble are best suited to make adjustments necessary to profit in an economic downturn. Moving quickly doesn't mean you should make rash decisions; it means to prepare yourself to make meaningful decisions without hesitation and without regret. This means embracing continual development as an individual and as a company. When you're constantly engaged in research, training and development you're best prepared to respond quickly and efficiently when an opportunity is available; particularly in the middle of a disaster!

Here are some ideas you can implement quickly to turn disaster into profit:

• Reposition your message; emphasize the essential quality of your product or service…
  When the economy tightens discretionary spending becomes a real problem to those who provide otherwise "non-essential" goods and services. Remember that when it comes down to it, anything above and beyond food, shelter, acute medical care and basic transportation is non-essential. Find essential qualities that people will not want to do without under any circumstances and promote that message vigorously. Of course I'm assuming you deliver quality goods and services!
  
  If you operate a restaurant emphasize the need for an occasional night out to reduce stress and keep your sanity during tough times. If you run a gym make sure people know that health is not a luxury but a necessity, particularly compared to the cost of medical problems related to a lack of exercise. If you sell financial advice, what better time to impress prospects with the need for sound guidance during confusing and fearful times?
  
  
  
• Give it away…
  There is no better time to give than when there is genuine need. Giving during tough times earns greater appreciation and builds loyalty with current customers and prospects. You still need to stay in business, but decide what you can afford to give and do it today. Can you do a seminar offering substantive advice? A restaurant might give a free cooking class highlighting how to prepare great meals on a budget. A doctor's office can give away a free exam to new patients. Membership businesses could offer a trial period, even if you haven't had to in the past. Give bonuses with premium purchases.
  
  Look for ways to contribute to your community; non-profits are hurting during these times as well and the goodwill and networking you'll develop with a gift of time or other resources is extremely valuable.
  
  
• Coopertate! Embrace the competition…
  "Coopertition" is a word I coined to describe my willingness to look at competitors as allies. Leverage trade associations, Chambers and networking groups to develop strategic alliances with competitors. Together you can create co-operative marketing campaigns, develop buying pools and share resources. Compete fairly and work cooperatively.
  
  
• Increase marketing; reduce advertising…
  I define marketing as what you're willing to do to promote your business. Advertising is when you pay someone else to do this work for you. Make decisions quickly to leverage your resources and go guerilla in your marketing efforts. Put some feet on the street and get back to good old fashioned relationship building and community networking in your market.
  
  
• Downsize…
  This is always a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes a quick reduction in staff, facilities or overhead can keep you running in the black rather than digging a deeper hole just to stay in business. Smaller companies and "soloprenuers" may lack the resources to weather a bad economic storm; don't be afraid to cut quickly when necessary and utilize newly available resources to build back your strength.
  
  
• Lower prices…
  Maybe the last resort, but usually a viable alternative compared to closing your doors. Can you operate for a time on smaller margins? If so, change prices quickly and make a big hairy deal about it! Make sure your customers know you're walking the walk with them. Times are tough, we're all in this together. Turn a price reduction into an opportunity to develop good will with current customers and a marketing opportunity to generate new business.
  

It's most effective to combine several strategies. Make decisions quickly and implement them immediately. Never look at any of these adjustments as a failure. You're doing what it takes to survive and prosper during difficult times. At the same time you're developing skills, knowledge and resources that will position you as a leader when the economy recovers.

No matter what you're facing; continually develop yourself personally and as an organization. Use down-time as a new found opportunity for training, research and planning. Position yourself to make more effective and efficient decisions now and in the future, in good times and bad.

Jim Bouchard is America's Black Belt Powervator; speaker, coach & author of Dynamic Components of Personal POWER. Watch for upcoming programs on how to prosper during an economic downturn. Stay up to date on this and other program, and receive thousands of dollars worth of bonus resources by joining our "NO SPAM" mailing list! Register at JimBouchard.org!

Gratitude is not a Platitude

To succeed you've got to have the "attitude of gratitude." Big deal! Law of Attraction? Laws are broken every minute. But, if you don't practice gratitude you won't attract the wealth you deserve; really? What about greedy pigs who take what they want with no appreciation for where it came from. Do we really need to waste time on examples?

I do believe the Law of Attraction works and I do believe that Gratitude is an essential part of the formula for authentic success in life and business. This is because I know that true success is a product of abundance in 3 key areas of life: material, emotional and spiritual. Tolerate scarcity in any one of these areas and you will not feel successful.

Gratitude is not, however, an ethereal concept to me. Gratitude is extremely practical and rational. It simply works; here's how:

Pay attention to what you've got right here and right now and you always have an accurate inventory of the resources you have in the present moment. No matter where you're going from here or what your plans for tomorrow you've realistically got to start with the resources you can access in the present.

No matter how few your resources, gratitude gives you a perspective of abundance. Focus on what you don't have and your perspective is one of constant scarcity. What can you do with what you don't have? Focus on what you have and work from there; no matter how modest those resources are.

A gratitude practice doesn't need to be formal, religious or written out in a twelve-step program. Just take a daily look at your life and give some thought to what you have, the people who care about you and the gift of life that connects you to something larger than yourself. I try to start and end my day with this simple exercise. When I do I always start the day from a position of relative abundance and end it with a feeling of appreciation.

I'm not saying you have to be satisfied with your current conditions or circumstances. What I'm saying is that focusing on scarcity always leads to more poverty. Goals and aspirations for improvement can be very powerful motivators. To have the faith necessary to support action you've got to have some reasonable expectation of success. That faith comes from knowing that you have access to the resources in body, mind and spirit you need to take at least the first step. Practicing gratitude gives you an inventory of those resources.

My gratitude practice is very simple; I'll share it here:

Thank you.

Jim Bouchard is America's Black Belt Powervator: Speaker, coach & author of Dynamic Components of Personal POWER. Book Jim for your next corporate event or conference. Call 800-786-8502 or visit JimBouchard.org.

Get Back to Work!

Martial artists like to throw around Asian words and phrases from time to time. One of my favorites is "Kung Fu."

Kung Fu literally means an achievement as a product of great effort. A more direct translation for the Western ear would be "work." To achieve you've got to practice positivity and you've got to open your mind, body & spirit to possibility. To increase probability for success you've got to take action; you've got to get to work.

Today we're facing enormous challenges in business. Whether you're an employee or an employer there are conditions and circumstances beyond your control that are impacting everyone. More important, no matter what the current conditions and circumstances there are actions you can take here and now to take control of your success.

1. Ignore circumstances and conditions beyond your control. That may be a tough pill to swallow, but until you let go of what you can't do anything about and start focusing on what you can do you'll be stuck in a vacuum of negativity. Decide exactly what you can and can't control and start focusing on actions that will produce direct results.
   
   
2. Always prepare for the day you're obsolete. If you're in business, prepare yourself for the day when your goods or services are no longer marketable. Explore how you might transfer your skill sets to a new sector, look for new & receptive markets, and investigate new marketing angles or repackaging & repurposing your product or service lines.
   
   If you work for someone else make sure you're networking with people in your field outside of your workplace. Join associations and trade groups and know who is looking for good people. Take advantage of every training and educational opportunity available at your place of employment.
   
   
3. Make yourself more valuable. In business or employment, there is always opportunity to make yourself more valuable. You do this by making yourself more effective; by increasing your ability or capacity to perform or act effectively. You make yourself more powerful.
   

You probably have no control over the global or even local economy. You probably don't decide which military bases will be closed, which manufacturers decide to go overseas or which retailers file for bankruptcy. You can always control the process of continual self-improvement.

With the access to training and education we have today there is no excuse for complacency. You may face tough decisions including moving, changing careers or delaying retirement. Some of these decisions may be made for you. There is no reason to face these decisions unprepared.

1. Take full advantage of every training opportunity available at your place of employment. Don't wait for these opportunities; seek them. If they're not available, find them on your own.
   
   
2. Network; get to know the people who can help you find your next opportunity. As you increase your value and others know your value; there will be people in your network waiting for you to become available. Networking is not just for entrepreneurs, sales reps and CEOs; it's for everybody.
   
   
3. Learn: Always! Take courses at your local adult ed or community college…Can't afford that? Get to your local bookstore or get on-line…still out of reach? Get to the library; they still have plenty of books and most of them now have computers.
   

Power is your ability or capacity to perform or act effectively. Power increases value; the greater your capacity to act effectively the more valuable you are. When the axe comes down, the more valuable you are the less likely your head will be the one on the block. If it is, the more likely you'll quickly find your next opportunity.

There is much you can't control; you can always increase your power. The way to generate power is to get to work: Kung Fu!

Jim Bouchard is America's Black Belt Powervator; speaker, coach & author of Dynamic Components of Personal Power. You want a kick to get you started, become more powerful and develop more options in your life and career? Visit JimBouchard.org and click on the PersonalPOWER, EntrepreneurPOWER or Life Coach button!

Not my candidate; now my President

First I have to say, "Thank God it's over!" This has been a long, contentious campaign. From the primaries through the Presidential race this election cycle has been at times bitter, even juvenile. It's been difficult to sort out fact from fiction on all sides and I must say that even in the closing days of the campaign both parties seemed hesitant to offer direct, detailed plans to the American people. Let's hope that as we move forward our leaders will trust that we can handle the details.

I say once again, and I hope for the last time: "In the spirit of full disclosure…" I did not support Senator Obama; I slowly came to support Senator McCain. I was disappointed in both candidates' response to the banking crises; why was no voice raised to find and hold accountable the thieves that robbed us blind? I have always been registered as an Independent but as the petty and bitter race continued I grew tired of the rhetoric from both parties, if not from the candidates themselves consistently from their surrogates. I found myself looking seriously at registering as a Libertarian.

I ended up voting for John McCain. I do not think that Barack Obama is a bad man; I simply could not hear the voice I was looking for in his eloquent speeches. I do not favor single-payer health insurance. I do believe friends returning from Iraq who understand the real and imminent dangers they're fighting against. I do not favor an advancement of more socialist policies including re-distributing wealth or taxing successful people at higher rates.

As I heard both men speak, Senator McCain in concession and President-elect Obama in acceptance I could not help but be impressed with the grace, eloquence and directness in both men's addresses. Both speeches were among the best political addresses in American history. My prayer is that the words are authentic. It is time to put aside differences and work together; some of us have been demanding that course of action for a long time. It is time for partisan politics to be subjugated and the will of the people to take full precedence in shaping the future of our nation.

Will this happen? To paraphrase our new President-elect: "Yes, it can!" I do hope so.

Most important it's time for all of us as Americans to move beyond the petty political bickering. Because your opinion is different than your neighbor's does not make him a fascist, a racist, an idiot, a redneck, a communist, or any other of the litany of juvenile name-calling you care to note. We're Americans. Our differences do not make us strong; our ability to work together despite our differences is what makes us strong. We've got to return to a culture of civility; that's what allows us to work together.

You may have supported President-elect Obama, or like me you may have voted against him. He is soon to be our President. He deserves the chance to see if his ideas and policies will deliver. He deserves our respect and our support as President. If you differ with his policies, you should oppose them. Maybe we can start with a clean slate and separate our political differences from personal hatred.

One great step toward healing the divide we've felt is to recognize the sincere efforts of our current President George Bush. You may not agree with his policies; that does not make him an evil person. He does not deserve to be the object of personal hatred and vilification. He served as our President during incredibly difficult times. I cannot imagine a more difficult position than that of President of the United States. How many of us would accept this responsibility? How many of us would be willing to make decisions that cannot help but cost lives or live with information that would freeze most of us in our tracks? Could you start each day full of hope knowing that you must make decisions that will inevitably make you the target of hatred so intense that your life is in constant danger?

No matter what your political allegiance you should be incredibly moved by the historic importance of the election President Barack Obama. It is a completion of a long struggle to elect a black man to the presidency. It is significant that he comes from mixed heritage, as do most of us. It is remarkable that he came from such a humble origin to become President of the United States. He is representative of the contemporary American. His assent to the highest office in our nation should be a symbol of what our founders may not have been able, in context, to fully envision as government of and by the people. This moment should forever complete our definition of "American People."

A moment should also be taken to recognize that had Senator McCain been elected, we would also have elected Governor Sarah Palin as the potential first woman President as well. This campaign was destined for historic significance no matter what the outcome. Within only a couple of percentage points in popular vote we've expressed that race and gender are not in themselves determining factors when it comes to American leadership.

Now a healthy dose of perspective: We elected a President, not a savior. I am not making a joke; I'm making a statement. No President can save the country; that's our job. President Kennedy said that most poetically; I won't make an attempt. You are entitled to support the decisions that fit your values and oppose those decisions that are antithetical to your values. Our new President deserves the opportunity to fulfill the promises he's made. We've entitled him to this opportunity through our incredible electoral process; not perfect but always open to the possibility of continual perfection. This process of perfecting our American process and perfecting ourselves as Americans is our own responsibility.

We have a unique system of elected representative leadership; this leadership is reflective of our will. It's up to us to lead. Our leadership is a daily responsibility. Our leadership is expressed in the way we treat one another, the way we disagree and the way we resolve our disagreements. The time to lead is now and always.

Enjoy this remarkable, historical moment.

Jim Bouchard is America's Black Belt Powervator: Speaker, coach and author of Dynamic Components of Personal POWER…and part-time self-appointed political pundit! Visit JimBouchard.org.

Am I the only one confused?

I started to write something in answer to this...I have no answer! If anyone can provide some insight into what is going on in this video; I beg you to please help me understand!

Please!

FREE VIDEO: Talking Politics at Work...

...Without killing one another!

Can you really have respectful conversations about politics in the office? Even when you're right and everyone else is wrong? During the last few days before the election?

SURE! Watch the video to learn how...



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Generosity: The Perspective of a Bailout Skeptic…

Admittedly I’m not currently a top-bracket tax contributor; but I work very hard for the money I contribute annually to the general fund. I’m a small business owner who has paid taxes on paper profits several times over the years and has gone without health insurance to keep staff on the payroll and make ends meet. Like many of you I have a hard time spelling the word vacation in lean years and I sometimes laugh at words “week-end.” I don’t think the failure of any of my businesses would cause a ripple on even the local economic pond; so I doubt I will be eligible for any government bailouts any time soon.

I’m a little tired of people talking about “government” money spent on these bailouts. That’s my money, and it’s your money. We the people contribute to the general funds that support national, state and local government. We the people are getting hosed.

Have you ever had a friend in need who begged you for a loan, only to find out that friend used your hard-earned on some frivolity like a weekend bender or a new car stereo for a his junker? That’s what’s happening to us right now, but the tab is in the billions:

Days after receiving their bailout, execs from AIG Insurance splurged on a $440,000 corporate retreat including golf, spa treatments and banquets. Nice; did anyone invite you along?

Here are some more presents you just gave your friends and neighbors, allegedly to stave off the next Great Depression:

I hope some of you are NASCAR fans; you just gave $100,000,000 in tax breaks to race track owners. Maybe they’ll send you a thank you card with tickets to the next race.

Drink rum? You just paid for $192 million to rum distillers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Lord yes, we had to keep that precious stream of rum flowing; you’re going to need it as you read on!

Don’t worry about the high cost of heating fuel this winter, you also just paid about $150 million to wool producers; now you can buy cheaper sweaters to keep you warm!

Remember the Exxon Valdez disaster? Exxon will soon be sending you a thank you note. It’s the least they can do; you just picked up $49 million dollars of the tab for that one. This money is going to fishermen and other plaintiffs who were suing over lost fishing grounds and revenue. Maybe Exxon will give you a discount next time you fill up as a small token of gratitude!

Do you feel good yet? You should, after all helping your neighbor is what it’s all about. If you pay state income tax to help fund your school systems, you just helped your neighbors in states without income tax by subsidizing their educational costs with a federal tax deduction. That one zapped you for about $3.3 billion. I’m going to think about this one every time I pay my “use tax” in Maine for stuff I bought in states with no sales tax.

And folks, this is just the Quickbooks version of your generosity! You’re also funding a study of arctic squirrel hibernation, tax breaks for bicycle riders and a subsidy for manufacturers of wooden arrows for children. I suppose they may be preparing for the next generation’s version of the Boston Tea Party.

By now you be feeling as if you’ve done your part to prevent a repeat of the bread lines and Hooverville shanty towns that still remind of us of the perils of economic disaster.

I may have overlooked all of the above, but there was one pill too bitter for me to swallow. I suppose it’s obvious to everyone but me that America would be reduced to a third-world wasteland without the enormous contributions of our great Hollywood film and entertainment industries. This is not just a matter of keeping P Diddy in Cristal, Sheryl Crow in toilet paper and Matt Damon in private jets; no, this is a matter of national security. Where will our next generation of America’s defenders find inspiration without the next great recruiting film from the Rock? How will we know the truth without Michael Moore? How will we keep our population strong without the stimulus provided by Salma Hayek?

I suppose I’ll just have to concede this one. After all, along with you I just contributed $478 million to Hollywood in hopes that they’ll keep me from losing my home and living in a tin shack. Oh well, maybe just to say thanks they’ll send us all one of those $5.00 movie coupons or give us a dollar off our next $12 bucket of popcorn.

Movies, arrows, bikes, squirrels, rum and race cars; all important to someone I’m sure. I just don’t see how this stuff got tagged onto the “most important piece of legislation in our generation.” I don’t see how any of this pork does anything pull us back from the “brink of economic disaster.”

If you’ve got it figured out; please let me know. In the meantime, I’m going to barbecue a squirrel I’ll shoot with a wooden arrow, drink some rum, watch a movie and wonder what the hell just happened to my money.

How to Make a Million, without Spending MORE…

A few years ago I sat at my computer performing the excruciating but necessary year-end bookkeeping review for my martial arts business. I was fully immersed in the tedium of correcting account assignments, reconciling bank statements and trying to remember what the heck I spent $49.95 on that ended up somehow in unassigned expenses.

Just for fun I punched up a profit & loss statement and entered “ALL” in the date range. I thought; let’s take a quick look at the big picture. To my surprise and I must say, with a tinge of pride the gross income total was just a whisker over one million dollars. I had made my first million!

It didn’t seem to make sense. I still hadn’t drawn a real paycheck on any consistent basis. I had no cash reserves and the only profits I’d made existed only on paper. Thankfully before I put a deposit on my Learjet, I took a good look at my gross expenses, debt service and balance sheet. I had indeed made my first million; but it had taken a million and a quarter to do it!

Here are a few tips from my How to Make Your First Million as an Entrepreneur without Spending More than a Million to Do It seminar, whew! I share my experiences and offer some advice with the hope that you’re your day of becoming a millionaire will be a little more satisfying than mine!

1) Ever hear the scalded frog story? Debt works the same damn way!
Borrowing a large sum at once may be a challenge to a new entrepreneur, but it’s all too easy to borrow small sums and those small sums can add up to big debt. It’s very easy to use unsecured credit, lines of credit and credit cards to dig a big credit hole.

If you dropped a frog into a pan of boiling water he’d jump right out. Put him in a pan of cool water and slowly turn up the heat and he won’t notice the gradual change; despite becoming a par-boiled frog! In the same way short borrowing can turn you into a par-boiled entrepreneur.

Part of the problem is that debt service on your principal doesn’t show up on your profit & loss statement. It does reduce the liability on your balance sheet, but only interest is an expense. Be sure to create full cash flow reports with all debt service, principal and interest included, to see where your money is going. This is how you can inadvertently create “paper profits.”

2) Family business is above all, business.
You’ve no doubt had someone tell you never to do business with family or friends. From personal experience I may be inclined to offer the same advice; but for many of you involving family and friends may be a great way to get started or expand your business. Before accepting help from family and friends there is some business you should take care of.

In matters of business treat family like strangers. That means above all get everything in writing. Nothing can destroy a business or a family faster than leaving business matters to trust. Blood may be thicker than water, but ink is thicker than blood.

In writing establish how the business relationship will start and how it will operate. Clearly define rolls, responsibilities and distribution of revenues. At the beginning, establish in writing how the business will end. Provide clear exist plans for each person involved or investing in your business.

3) Contrary to popular belief, your passion does not always make a great business and you need more than passion to succeed.
There are a lot of books, seminars and speakers that teach that the key to success is to find your passion and pursue it relentlessly. Well, not exactly bullshit but not exactly true every time. Your customers don’t necessarily have to care about your passion as much as you do; but they have to care enough to want to buy it! If there aren’t enough customers who want what you love and you still want to pursue your passion; you better be prepared to move.

The next problem with this line of thinking is that there are people who are extremely passionate about something, but just plain suck at it! An essential part of creating your vision of success is to identify your talents and abilities. You’ll also need a good inventory of your material, emotional and spiritual resources to make sure you’ve got what it takes to get where you want to go. If you find you lack the talents and abilities to make a living at your passion, make it hobby and enjoy it! Hobbies are an important component of emotional and spiritual wealth. Chasing off creditors and worrying about keeping your home while you try to save your business of passion is stressful, unhealthy and just plain sucks.

I’ll support the theory that passion is an important part of success. Rationally assessing your passion in relation to your talents, abilities, resources and market is just as important.

I’m not throwing water on your entrepreneurial fire. If your talents and abilities are raw, your first step may be to develop those talents. If you’re lacking in resources, you may set short-term goals to increase these resources. If you truly believe in your ambition and you have the courage to risk failure, you’ve got most of what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur. You can learn the rest.

Passion without balance becomes obsession. With focus, timing and some planning your passion can fuel your greatest success.

Join Jim Bouchard, America's Black Belt Powervator for a special webinar on Business Expert Webinars:
How to Make Your First Million as an Entrepreneur…Without Spending More than a Million to Do It!

Click here for details and to register!

Are You Sick of it Now?

Here’s how today’s headlines should read: “Congress Devolves into Name-Calling, Hair-Pulling Clutch of Petulant Children.” Of course, that might not be too far off the mark on any day in Congress.

I’m not picking sides; they’re all making me completely sick. We’ve got to try to figure out what the impact of the banking meltdown is going to have on our own businesses and on our neighbors. As someone who prides myself on being a student of politics and current events I have to admit painfully that I throw up my arms in frustration and disgust.

Hourly I’ve listened to partisan pundits blame the other side for current conditions, or brag about the heroic efforts their side is making to bring this wildfire under control. For the record, I’m a registered Independent and this is why. I’m absolutely sick to death of the constant petty partisan bickering, name-calling and accusation that is in fact the root cause of this entire debacle.

I’m sorry to shatter any illusions, but in legislative bodies legislation is not created in a spirit of bi-partisan interest in the American public. Articulate arguments and well-crafted oratory are not what seduces members of one side of the isle to the other. The fact is that on a national and state level, our laws and regulations are the result of a vestigial and wasteful quagmire of constant deal brokering, vote exchanges, earmarking and pork trading. Let’s throw in a healthy dose of nepotism and insider favoritism and we’ve got the system that has devolved to our current state of affairs.

The greater fact is that nearly everyone we’ve elected to office is complicit in this criminal abuse of our trust. There are some who claim they didn’t create the regulation or de-regulation that led to this crisis or those who did or didn’t carve out personal deals on loans, under the table compensation and favors and campaign contributions. Shame on you for not keeping your eyes on the ball; shame on you for keeping quiet when you smelled the leaking gas and didn’t warn those of us who put you in office and most of all, shame on you for not trusting us to understand this problem. Stop your selfish squabbling, stop your foolish CYA maneuvering and tell us what the hell happened, in plain English with names and addresses attached.

I have one more finger to point: To everyone of you who has said at one time or another that your vote doesn’t count, that the government is going to do whatever it wants anyway, that you don’t have time to get involved, that you don’t read the papers or watch the news; shame on every single one of you.

A single vote is not statistically significant when dealing with the vast numbers associated with a national election. When you do not exercise this responsibility the lack of your single vote resonates across the country. Your single vote may not decide an election; however by refusing to participate you surrender the one power guaranteed to you that makes you different than the citizens of most of the world. You surrender your voice; the voice that gave birth to our nation.

America is facing pressing problems. There are many issues on your state and local ballots that can make the difference between prosperity or bust in your communities; and in these elections a single vote just might be the difference. Vote your conscious; I don’t care if you agree or disagree with me. If you responsibly vote your conscious and your position is different than mine so be it; I respect your point of view and we have a basis for discussion. If you don’t vote, I don’t want to hear it!

I have faith that we will persevere and we will prosper, but only if you participate. It’s your responsibility to vote. It’s your obligation to learn as much as you can so you can vote responsibly. I know that’s difficult, but let’s do the best we can.

This November if nothing else let’s take back what’s rightfully ours: government by the people.

Jim Bouchard is America's Black Belt Powervator: speaker, coach and author of Dynamic Components of Personal POWER. Learn more about Dynamic Components and Jim at JimBouchard.org!

Ask Not What Anyone Can Do For You…

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address


What the hell has happened? When did we become a culture of spiritual beggars pressing the fence with our hands crying for scraps from the very people who derive their power from us?

This isn’t about politics or religion. I’m talking about the dormancy of the American spirit. This complacency crosses partisan lines and the spiritual power I’m talking about is not the domain of any particular religious group.

It’s likely that in this argument I’ll be accused of a lack of compassion. So be it; but I’ll quote a far greater philosophical mind than mine. Whatever happened to the idea that giving a man a fish only feeds him for a day where teaching him to fish feeds him for a lifetime? Which is more compassionate, throwing fish to the begging masses or making sure everyone has the opportunity to learn how to fish?

I don’t want to be misunderstood. I did not say we need to make sure we teach everyone to fish; I said we need to provide the opportunity to learn how to fish. Ultimately the responsibility for learning is the student’s.

The only person responsible for your success and happiness is the same person who brushes his teeth in your bathroom mirror. It’s not the job of the government, or your company, or your neighbor to provide the essential resources you need to create your personal vision of success & happiness.

Our government is supposed to be the mechanism whereby we can cooperatively assure we each enjoy the basic security we need allowing us the freedom to pursue our dreams as individuals. More enlightened companies know that productivity and profitability of the organization increases when the organization is proactive in providing the opportunity and resources that encourages the success of each individual.

We’re much more powerful as a group when we each accept personal responsibility for becoming powerful individuals.

Times are tough and it is right and generous to help your neighbor. When you’re the recipient of generosity it’s right to respond with appreciation and gratitude. It’s counterproductive at best to respond to generosity with demands for increased charity. It’s destructive to create a system where our cooperative institutions become the primary resource for this continual stream of entitlement.

Part of our current economic state is due to conditions and circumstances well beyond the control of any, if not most of us. That’s no excuse for a lack of participation in the solution. The first part of the solution is for each of us to make ourselves more powerful and effective. Power: your ability or capacity to act or perform effectively is what makes you more valuable to yourself and those around you. Value is what drives commerce; at all levels our system is based on commerce.

Much of our current economic state is due to conditions and circumstances beyond the control of the President, Congress or the Supreme Court. A democratic system of government is by its very nature slow. It takes time to develop a consensus; a dictator can change conditions at will. Which do you prefer? We’re also the first generation to deal with an authentic global economy. Today nearly any service and many goods can be delivered across borders at the speed of an internet connection. Speculation in global markets creates conditions tomorrow that we have to deal with yesterday.

As individuals and as a community we still have to work within the scope of that which we can really do something about. Most of the conditions we face today are not the result of what’s going on today, but a product of what we’ve allowed to happen in the recent past.

The solution is clear: let’s step up and take control of our own lives. At any time you can acquire new skills, knowledge and experience that will position you to take advantage of new opportunities. You can make a direct impact on your life and the lives of others by maintaining a positive outlook; and before I’m accused of naiveté, there are no solutions in negativity. Positivity does not guarantee desired results, negativity assures undesired results.

Negativity is blinding. Positivity opens your eyes, ears, mind and heart to possibility. The more open you are to possibility, the more you increase the probability of success. Simple, not easy.

Not convinced yet? Let’s apply positivity to an immediate real world problem. Many of us have grown accustomed to the freedom of driving solo anywhere we want to go at any time. Take a look at the other cars on your next morning commute and notice how many are still driver, no passengers.

Now you could continue to complain and wait for the government to institute some policy to affect the price of gas; but bear in mind that reactive policy usually results in some deficiency somewhere else. For example, we could drop a state tax on gas; but then don’t complain as you drive through unrepaired potholes. Negative thought and action usually results in substituting one problem for another.

Or, you could car pool: positive and immediate action! Share a ride and you just cut your gas expense in half; that’s reality! If that’s too inconvenient, fine; just stop complaining! Put three people in that car and you’ve lowered gas expenses for your commute to near a dollar a gallon. Notice I said “expenses,” you still haven’t affected the price.

Get a million people to share a ride and your regional gas dealers start to pay attention. Ten million of us and suppliers may start to get nervous. Fifty-million of us sharing a ride and the speculators and the producers start to worry; we just might lower the price of fuel for the entire world. Simple, not easy. Of course, neither was going to the moon!

Times are tough; let’s get tough right back. Let’s fight negativity with the only weapon that works: positivity. Let’s stop wondering when someone is going to save us and start accepting full personal responsibility for our success and happiness. Let’s start sharing solutions instead of commiserating in misery. Let’s start where we can have the most impact; with ourselves and with those in our daily lives and local communities.

Let’s not ask what our neighbors can do for us, but rather what we can do for our neighbors. Let’s offer encouragement in place of discouragement and sweat in place of tears. That’s how we create opportunity from adversity.

Two Filthy Words Again!

I’ve been watching very little television lately. Quite by accident I happened upon a panel discussion on one of the early morning newsertainment shows featuring a group of college students and someone who was offering advice for managing finances during and after college; it got my attention!

Then I nearly threw up! I had just eaten breakfast as these words, as nearly as I can remember them actually came out of the mouth of one of these babes: “I thought that when I started cutting back on my Starbucks frappacinos it would really make a difference; I really didn’t realize how hard it would be!”

About two years ago I decided to investigate the cries that college costs were out of control. From the perspective of my all too often squandered youth: I can remember feeling the world was unfair, costs were too high and college was indeed very expensive. Point of fact: college was expensive for me because I wasted the opportunity. I skipped classes, partied too much and never graduated. I post a zero return on investment from my college degree because I don’t have one.

At any rate; the crying about high college expenses was beginning to severely impact my martial arts business. Parents were telling me that they had to make a decision between continuing their children’s martial arts programs or saving for college. For the record; investing in a quality martial arts program is one of the best ways to assure maximizing your investment in college tuition; but more on that in another article.

I had to find out if college expenses were really that out of control and if I could make sensible adjustments to keep my students while honoring those parents who were at least recognizing, and here come the two filthy words, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for educating their children. There’s no way I could argue with a parent prioritizing the assumption of financial responsibility for higher education, particularly in this age of entitlement.

FACT: Post-secondary education is a privilege, not a right!

Before I completely piss you off; at no level is education a right. Historically you’ll find many examples of education being denied to Americans because of gender, ethnicity and race. In part to correct these injustices we enacted policies to not only guarantee, but in most cases to require education to at least a high school level. Still, this is not a fundamental right as spelled out by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. I only labor this point for one reason: If we could somehow restore the appreciation of education as a privilege we could go a long way toward helping students appreciate and take full advantage of the great opportunity of education at any level.

Back to our TV show: The next young genius was belaboring the impending burdens of student loans he was apparently forced into as the only option he had to finance his college tuition. I apologize for any lack of clarity in relaying this young man’s obviously well considered opinions as my thinking was clouded in this moment by a searing pain I was genuinely concerned may be a brain hemorrhage. At the word “unfair” it felt as if a stick was driven into my skull! “Exploitive loans, unfair interest rates, it’s not fair,” the words ripped at the back of my eyes. Once I knew for sure I was still conscious I did my best to maintain focus and follow the flow of this conversation when Frappacino Girl chimed in again!

I remember thinking that beer and a weekend ski trip were higher priorities than books and my next tuition payment. I also remember how easy “they” all made for me to dive into the deep end of college loan debt. What I don’t remember is anyone holding a gun to my head and forcing me to make these choices. I also clearly remember that when I complained about not having money for a ski trip because tuition was due; I was just as clearly told that it was up to me to decide which was more important in my life; of course I chose skiing! My fault, not theirs!
Sorry to be jumping around so much; this is a complicated subject, isn’t it?

Back to the parents of my martial arts students: is college really that expensive? Enter Michelle Obama; she claims that college expenses place an unfair burden on many families. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for providing assistance to help level the playing field and to make sure talented kids get the opportunity to share their talents with the world. This argument is not political; I’ve frankly gotten to the point where even I can’t tell the players without a scorecard. It seems any candidate that wants young voters is using some form of this platitude. Let’s just look at Mrs. Obama’s words and what they mean in this context.

Mrs. Obama attended Princeton and Harvard Law School. Her father, who worked at a city utilities job despite having MS should be held up as a model for trying to make life better for his children. Still, Mrs. Obama could have decided to attend less expensive institutions; attending Princeton and later Harvard were choices, not mandates.

Michelle herself should be held up as an example of how hard work pays off in school. She even skipped second grade based on performance. This early dedication to her work ethic no doubt served her well at university and later in professional life. She succeeded at two Ivy League colleges despite discouraging advice from her counselors and lingering prejudices.

I don’t know if she got financial aid to help her attend these schools; I’ll assume from her story that she did and she openly talks about taking student loans. Wonderful! These are both great tools to help finance a college education.

But…expensive? We can’t argue the fact that both Princeton and Harvard cost a lot of money to attend. I won’t even bother to lower the cost of Mrs. Obama’s education by adjusting for tuition in the 1980’s; let’s just assume she’s attending today at a cost of around $50,000 a year. Even if fully self-funded, let’s estimate the total cost of her post-secondary education at around $200,000. Given her last reported salary as Director of the University of Chicago Medical Center in excess of $320,000 a year. Isn’t that about a 65% return on investment for just one year in that position? I’d take that in business every day of the week!

College can cost a lot; considering the return on investment it may be considered cheap. The average return on a college degree is one million dollars over the course of a lifetime compared to people with only a high school diploma. Expensive?

Back to the TV show: no offense to Starbucks their reputation for a quality luxury product is beyond reproach. It just seems interesting that these young people don’t have a problem spending $6.00 on a cup of coffee, yet consider their college tuition expensive.

And…we haven’t even considered the average cost of a college education or less expensive alternatives. My research found a list of the top 20 business schools offering MBA degrees for $15,000 or less. Here are some sobering, and in my humble opinion, very encouraging figures:

• 56% of 4 year college students attend schools charging less than $9,000 a year.
• 43% of students attending public colleges & universities pay between $3,000 & $6,000 a year.
• Even at the high end, only 6% of students attend schools that charge more than $33,000 a year.
• Public 2 year programs charge an average of $2,300/year; less than 2% of average family income.
• More than $130 billion dollar in financial aid is awarded to students EVERY YEAR!
  2/3 of all undergrad students receive financial aid averaging $2,000 at public 2-year colleges, $3,600 at public 4 year schools and here’s the shocker: $9,300 for private 4 year colleges!

Is my math way off, or are we doing a tremendous job at making college affordable? Where’s the disconnect? Of course, this information has to come from some slanted source with an agenda for wasting money on anything but education, right? Actually, this data is readily available for your own scrutiny at CollegeBoard.com, a website designed to help you find and finance a quality college education.

Now for the “unfair” loans cited by our frappacino drinking friends:

• The average loan burden of a needs based student according to CNN is $13,800. Compare that to around $10,000 in average credit card debt for Americans.
• These “unfair” loan rates have just been reduced by Congress from 6.8% to 6.12%, and you don’t start paying on these loans until after graduation. Kind of like “no payments until fill-in-the-blank” loans for furniture? Compare again to average unsecured debt interest rates at 22% to 25% and it really looks like a rip-off, eh?

What’s the story? Time to get back to our 2 filthy words: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!

The fact is that college is still a great investment. My message is POWER: Your ability or capacity to perform or act effectively. Can you perform or act effectively without college? Can you be successful without a college education? Certainly! I consider myself successful on many levels and I absolutely squandered my college opportunity. However…

…I wouldn’t advise anyone to do it the way I did.

I learned the hard way; with the gift of hindsight I can honestly say I wish I had completed my degree and entered the real world with a college diploma. A college education is a wonderful opportunity for expanding your effectiveness for the rest of your life. A college degree can be an incredible resource in developing Power for personal and professional success and happiness.

If you or your family have the resources to finance a college education; then do it. Quit bitching and whining, make the sacrifices you need to make and invest in yourself and your future.

If you genuinely need assistance to pursue a college education; here’s some useful advice:

• The best thing you can do to access merit scholarships is to perform well in high school. Pay attention, get good grades and take full advantage of your high school education privilege.
• There are circumstances and conditions beyond your control. If you’re attending a high school in an underprivileged area, focus on what you can control. Same advice: study hard, develop good work habit and earn good grades. You may have to work harder than some to get where you’re going, but that’s much more effective than waiting for conditions to change. Later, when you’re successful you can go back and change those conditions for others.
• Investigate all your options including:
  a) 2 year programs…at least to start!
  b) State and public colleges and universities. Many of these institutions provide top-quality educational programs at bargain rates!
  c) If you are targeting the most prestigious or expensive programs, consider starting at a less expensive college and earning the grades that will support a higher financial aid package at your target school.
  d) Consider a smaller course load that will allow you to work during your studies to support your tuition and living expenses.
• Most of all, start saving early and prioritize your spending during high school years.

Did you know that according to the Indiana Business Review the average American under age 25 spends over $1,500 a year dining out and $1,000 a year on entertainment? Cutting dining & entertainment expenses in half just during high school could pay for a full associate’s degree or cut the need for college loans in half for a four-year program.

Ultimately Power is about freedom. When you make yourself more effective, you become more valuable to others. Your opportunity for material, emotional and spiritual abundance increases. You have more choices; you enjoy greater freedom to live the life you choose. The foundation is Personal Responsibility.

I did not learn this lesson early. It took me over 30 years of living a life of cyclical scarcity to learn my lessons. My fault; I will not place blame anywhere but squarely on my own shoulders. With just a few years of focused effort you can save yourself from the cycle it took me my entire adult life to transcend.

You can apply a college degree to generate enormous Power in your life. Take Personal Responsibility and start creating your opportunities for a college degree now. Can you live without your frappacino today?

Check out Jim's CampusPOWER program for college & university students! How to get the most out of your tremendous opportunity, your talents and your abilities!

Possibility...Positivity...Probability

Possibilities: Everything is possible. Success is always a possibility, so is failure. The first step is to be open and receptive to all possibilities...

Positivity: Focus on the possible positive outcomes. Simple, not easy. Failure is the only outcome you can guarantee. To fail, all you have to do is quit. To succeed you've got to stay focused on the positive even when the crap is hitting the fan. The more you train yourself to focus on the possible positive outcomes, the greater your...

Probability: The probability of success is dependent on two major factors:

1. Opening your mind and heart to the boundless possibilities that exist around you at all times.

2. Training yourself to focus on the possible positive outcomes of your efforts.

Failure can be guaranteed. Success is always a risk; and always a risk worth taking!


Power is your capacity or ability to perform or act effectively! POWER! Get yours NOW!
Visit JimBouchard.org!

The Importance of Effective Leadership

The cost of ineffective leadership is enormous.

• Some industries report as high as 65% annual employee turnover as a result of ineffective leadership.
• Disengaged workers, often caused by ineffective leadership cost American business over 300 billion dollars a year.
• Lost and wasted time, often due to poor or disconnected leadership averages 2.9 hours per employee per day.
• Over 70% of CEO dismissals cite ineffective leadership as the reason for termination.

The economy is challenging and budgets are tightening. Those who act tomorrow will be too late. The time to improve the effectiveness of your organization leadership is now…and always!

Effective leadership is one of your organization’s most valuable assets. One of the hallmarks of any leader is a dedication to continual self-improvement and perfection. Like mastering a martial art, leadership is a skill. A martial arts master dedicates a lifetime to self-perfection. Those leaders who recognize that perfection is not a destination but rather a never ending process are those who create the most effective and productive organizations.

What would a Black Belt do?

The Sensei or martial arts master is an iconic symbol for one who embodies inspiration, wisdom and respect. The relationship of master to student engenders loyalty, respect and effectiveness. A Sensei earns respect and becomes an effective leader by honoring the relationship of teacher to student. The measure of an effective Sensei is not just in personal accomplishments, but more importantly in the accomplishments of his students.

An organization is most effective when leadership provides teaching, mentoring, coaching and motivation to empower every individual to perform most effectively. You can apply the techniques and traits of the Sensei to increase your effectiveness as a leader at work, home and in the community.

The fundamental reason that a Sensei enjoys the loyalty and dedication of his students can be found in the unique relationship of teacher to student. I’ve found that effective leadership is accomplished through two major disciplines:

1. Gratitude.

2. Generosity.

An effective teacher praises and supports the efforts of his students. This praise and support is recognition, a form of gratitude for the efforts and results produced by the student. At the same time the effective teacher shares experience, knowledge and wisdom unconditionally. It’s the job of the teacher to share; it’s the responsibility of the student to learn. To accomplish effective teaching, the teacher must share unconditionally with no expectation of return. When there is a return, it’s the role of the teacher to provide recognition, acknowledgement and reinforcement. That’s the cycle that creates the student to teacher bond.

Leadership is fundamentally teaching. A leader must communicate information and enthusiasm. A leader is more effective when can demonstrate experience and share the fruits of that experience by sharing wisdom. The more effective a leader is as a teacher, the more respect and loyalty he will earn.

In business this respect and loyalty translates directly to increased productivity and decreased losses due to disengagement, uncaring workplace practices and lost personnel.

Not everyone will feel comfortable teaching to large groups or motivating an auditorium full of people. Every leader can teach effectively at some level and the most effective leaders will develop skills at all levels. This includes one-on-one coaching, training small groups or teams and networking with peers.

One of the most valuable traits you can emulate from the Sensei is that of “Beginner’s Mind.” The martial arts master’s personal development is never finished. He approaches each day with a sense of wonder and curiosity and a longing for continual self-perfection. The greatest leaders are never those who rest on past accomplishments or current position. The greatest leaders are those who continually embrace the process of self-improvement.

After all…

“Perfection is not a destination, but a never-ending process!”

Become a Sensei in your workplace and in your community and you’ll enjoy a new level of effectiveness and power that will translate into greater success in all areas of your life, materially, emotionally and spiritually! There is no greater gift you can give another than a continually improving you!

Join me for the most unique webinar on Business Leadership you’ll ever attend!

Sensei: The Art of Effective Leadership by Teaching

• Where? On your DESKTOP! Through the unique gateway offered by Business Expert Webinars you’ll attend this event by phone and view the presentation on your computer!
  
  
• When? Wednesday, September 10^th at 11:30 AM Eastern Time
  
  
• Registration? $79…No travel expenses! Bring your own lunch! In fact, why not book your conference room and bring your entire team?

For complete details and registration click here! Includes download link for session audio!

The Bull by the Balls…Literally!

Walking up Broadway in the Financial District of New York City I happened upon a crowd of tourists posing with one of the huge bronze bull statues that represent the power of Wall Street. Of course the bull represents a profitable, charging marketplace.

At this particular monument, the bull’s horns are pointing up the hill toward the heart of the District while those of us walking up the grade are treated to the rear end of the bull revealing a bowling ball size set of, well, bull balls! That’s not the funny part. Something a little unusual caught my eye as an Asian woman who looked to be about 60 years old crawled under the hind end of the bull.

As soon as she got underneath the bull’s bottom, she turned around, smiling grandly at her husband who was ready with his camera. Grinning ear to ear she cupped her hands and pretended to support the bull’s massive family jewels!

That’s when it hit me! I wish I had my camera; I would’ve snapped this picture and made a deal with this woman to produce a complete line of motivational posters & t-shirts. In one spontaneous moment of fun she summed up exactly what we’ve all got to do when the bull is turning his backside to us: We’ve simply got to take the bull by the balls!

We can waste time bemoaning the high-price of energy and the struggling economy, but haven’t we been through this before? We’ve faced hard times as a country and most of us have faced hard times as individuals. What should we do? It’s certainly our right as Americans to bitch and moan; but I don’t remember that tactic doing me any good in the past. I’ve done my share of complaining but this time I’m simply not going to do it.

I’m going to take the bull by the balls and focus on what I can do. I can make myself better. I can make myself more valuable. I can market myself better. I can look for opportunities where others see disaster.

This time around I’m not looking back; I’m going to be the bull.

For more thoughts on dealing with difficult financial times and, gack, reccession, listen to recent PowerPOD episodes with William R. Patterson, Joan Sotkin, George & Mary-Lynn of BiggSuccess.com and Marsha Petrie Sue.

When to Quit

Never! I know that sounds trite. Everyone says “never quit,” but sometimes you’ve got to know when to fold ‘em, right?

I’m not even going to try to be funny here. Most of us have been through times when it seemed the only sensible option was to quit. Sometimes the decision to keep going seems too painful and even at times vain. Most of us will experience this moment of decision again; should I keep going or would surrender be the better part of valor?

The problem is that when you keep going in the face of adversity there is absolutely no guarantee that you’re going to succeed. Yes, I did say that! You want me to be nice or you want me to be honest? No matter what secret movie or seminar you’ve watched that’s the truth. As an author I can’t guarantee that you’re going to succeed just because I told you that staying the course greatly improves your odds of success. If I’m speaking to you I may be able to share some of my enthusiasm for the battle but if I were to tell you that if you keep going despite all odds you will succeed I’d be lying.

The fact is that no amount of positive thinking or even positive action can absolutely guarantee a successful outcome. There are no guarantees at all!

There’s only one way to guarantee a predictable outcome: QUIT! When you quit you know the results instantly: Failure (note the capital “F”).

There are alternatives to quitting:

1. Tactical re-deployment: Take your resources, drop back and re-deploy your energies in a new direction.

2. Retreat: Sometimes it’s best to lay low for a little while, put some distance between you and your enemy and rest your troops. I don’t like this option, but I’ve learned to honor it!

3. Full Frontal Attack! Damn the torpedoes and all that; simply put your head down and charge into the line. Sometimes the extra push will get you through.

Finally, you can decide that your tactics or strategy should change. There’s no shame in recognizing that a particular strategy didn’t work. You can take what you’ve learned into the next campaign.

Some people might say that all I’ve done is mess around with semantics. Guilty as charged! However, if you’re of the mindset that words are not powerful you better find some new words! Have you ever marked yourself as a quitter? How does that feel? Change the language to “tactical re-deployment” and suddenly you’re looking for new opportunities. Words are important; words are the connecting point between ideas and realities.

Next time you feel like quitting just apply these three steps:

1. Assess the situation; sometimes it’s useful to retreat to do so.
2. Re-deploy or change your strategy.
3. Get back into the fight.

You may choose to fight a different enemy, on a different day on different ground. Once again there will be no guarantee of success; but the only way to assure a specific outcome is to quit. Personally, I will not accept that outcome; I’ll take my chances!

Have you listened to PowerPOD? Great guests...Powerful conversations on a range of topics to help you enjoy a Powerful day! Click here for PowerPOD!