HAPPY NEW YEAR! MAKE ’18 GREAT

#HappyNewYear #Make2018Great #joy #prosperity
Another year is about to begin.
We can look at it, to borrow from the song “Sixteen Tons” that Tennessee Ernie Ford helped make famous, as “another (year) older and deeper in debt.”
We can look at it as “how am I going to make it another year?”
Or, we can look at it as, “it’s going to be the best year ever.”
It’s not just how you think about the new year, it’s how you are going to MAKE the new year your best ever.
You may think, “how am I going to make the new year great, if things aren’t going great now?”
Well, you may have to look for something better. You could even be lucky, and something better will just serendipitously come along to make your life better. If that happens, you have to have the wherewithal to recognize it.
In other words, you have to be open to new things, even if they are things you’d never dreamed would be part of your life.
Pessimism partly comes from pigeon-holing your life. You may have even been taught that “this is what you were destined to do.” When that destiny disappears, you may think your destiny has gone with it.
Optimism partly comes from knowing that you deserve something better in your life, and making yourself available to it. It’s been said that good fortune comes to those who prepare for it.
If you are open to making your 2018 great, and are looking for a vehicle to help you do that, there are many such vehicles out there. To check out one of the best, message me.
Meanwhile, take stock of what is good in your life. How can you use what is already good in your life to make your new year even better?
How can you take the turning of a calendar and turn it into the life you’ve always wanted?
Don’t let a good cup of coffee, or whatever your favorite beverage is, just sit and get cold. Drink it while it’s hot, or at its best. Propose a toast that your new year will be filled with the joy and prosperity you deserve.
If things aren’t what you want them to be, the change must begin with you. To borrow from a spiritual song, “let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.”
The world is filled with issues and circumstances that could lead one to think there is little to celebrate. You may even have personal circumstances that can allow you to believe that struggle is just part of life.
Struggle CAN be part of life, certainly, but it doesn’t have to run your life.
So make a resolution to let 2018 be a great year. Then, make a promise to yourself that you will not just LET it be a great year, you will MAKE it a great year.
Peter

TRAPPINGS OF UPBRINGING: PART 2

#thinklikearichperson
Growing up, were you often told what was NOT possible?
Did your elders convince you that the world was going to hell in a hand basket?
Were you constantly reminded of your “limitations?”
And, were you told that if you didn’t do certain things, you’d be messed up for life?
These and other things are common in “middle class” thinking, as defined by author Steve Siebold in his book “How Rich People Think.”
He talks about how we are often steered on a path of security, scarcity and pessimism, as opposed to risk-taking, abundance and optimism.
The trick to getting off that train of thought, and potentially becoming wealthy, is relearning what IS possible, believing that things will always get better and knowing that the sky is the limit to your success.
There is certainly nothing wrong with respecting your elders – parents, teachers, preachers etc. There is nothing wrong with emulating their work ethic and empathizing with their struggles. But ultimately, you may realize that some of what they taught you may not work for you. The secret to becoming rich is believing you can be. The secret to becoming rich, as Siebold points out, is to find solutions to problems, or figuring out what people want and delivering it to them.
If you have a job, and most of us do, recognize it for what it is. Especially in this day and age, it’s hardly the security blanket it once might have been. Look at it as a means to move you toward what you really want – that is, if you think like a rich person.
If you monitor how a rich person behaves, you’ll learn that he doesn’t behave that way BECAUSE he has money. He has money because he behaves the way he does.
Sure, good ideas might come from outside the box. But a familiar pattern of limitless possibilities, optimism and fearlessness are pretty standard among those who have money.
As we grow older, we realize that many of our fears are taught. Much of what we view as “evil” was handed down to us. Much of what we see on the horizon we approach with extreme caution and wariness, out of concern that we might lose everything.
To think rich, you don’t have to be rich. But if you think rich, you might become rich. Start by getting comfortable with taking calculated risks. Then, believe that the world will definitely get better, and you are going to help make it so. Then, realize the security you so doggedly sought is at least teetering, if not collapsed altogether. But, that’s OK. Rich people don’t expect entities to give them anything, Siebold writes.
Take a good look at your life. Are you completely happy with it? You just may be. Perhaps you have a wonderful spouse , a supportive family and dependable friends. With all that, who needs financial abundance, right?
But if life is not giving you what you want, and believe you deserve, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. Feed your mind with good information, inspiration and possibilities. Learn that your future can be bright no matter what else happens.
To paraphrase Napoleon Hill, learn to think and become rich.
Peter

OPTIMISM BREEDS SUCCESS

Imagine being a pessimist and being a leader.
How can you lead people, or yourself, to success if failure is always in view.
That isn’t to say that leaders might not be realistic, but it would be difficult to find success if you never can see it.
Gregg Steinberg, professor of human performace at Austin Peay State University, uses the example of Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida in September 2013, after several tries. Nyad had been trying to complete the swim since 1978. She faced obstacles like stinging jellyfish and other occurrences, but on her fifth try, everything was finally in place to ward off failure and she completed the swim.
Steinberg wrote about Nyad and optimism in the Sept. 29,2013, edition of the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.
He says that even people who are natural pessimists can succeed by changing their view of failure. He talks about the TUF strategy, in which failure is viewed as temporary, unique and flexible. He says people who long for success must have internal dialogue that describes failure as TUF. It’s temporary, meaning today was not the day. Tomorrow we have another chance. Unique, because each situation is unique and a better situation will arise tomorrow. Today’s attempt was a strikeout, but there’s another turn at bat tomorrow. People talk within themselves about flexibility, because one or two tweaks in strategy may change the results.
All successful people have known failure. They’ve come to accept it as part of the journey. But they are always optimistic that failure today could become success tomorrow.
In recent years, it seems many of us are surrounded by failure. A good job may be gone. Our mortgage debt may have turned from manageable to underwater, with no action by us. The idea of getting a job, or working for a company for life has all but disappeared.
We see previous generations, now retired, who’ve never experienced this. They may or may not be able to help us. It’s not that we’re lazy. It’s just that our comfort zone has gotten very prickly.
What to do? First, as Steinberg suggests, maintain your optimism. If that’s not natural for you, try to change the inner dialogue you have with yourself. Sure, optimism isn’t going to give you a paycheck tomorrow, and it may not cover your underwater mortgage, but it will help you believe that there is something better out there awaiting you.
It may be a great job that you had never envisioned doing. It may be that person you had just met, who will become meaningful in your life. It may be something totally unexpected. But if you never believe good things will come, they may show up and you won’t recognize them. Your ship may come in, but if you don’t see it, you’ll miss the boat.
You also have to look at things that may be outside your comfort zone. For one such thing, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. It may not be your ship, but you won’t know unless you go to the dock to check it out.
Regardless, optimism and a positive attitude is the one thing you can do for yourself, despite your circumstances. Look at your life so far, and see where you are. Take stock about what’s good in your life. Be thankful for those blessings. Then, see about fixing what’s wrong. You may need some help, but don’t EXPECT help. Ships will come and go, but check out every one. A certain one may have your ticket to success.
Stay focused and positive. Be optimistic. Remember, employers are looking for people who have a genuinely good outlook on life. That may be the key to you landing that great opportunity.
Be optimistic that your ship is waiting.
Peter