Let it Rain
Visitors to Hawaii often become depressed when it rains, yet they love to see the rainbows.

Mahalo Bill Wyland
I was reminded of this earlier post today when Bill Wyland posted the rainbow above on Facebook.

It’s important to remember that with no rain there would be no rainbows.
Life is much like that. When things seem to be coming down on you, look for the rainbow in the shower. There is always one there; somewhere!

“I Read That”
People tend to read a book, put it on the bookshelf, and then say, “I read that.”
While that may be okay for a novel, a self help book requires more. Maybe a second read, or some highlighted sections, or some notes in the white space.
When I first got this e-mail below from Rod Newbound in Mount Vernon, Washington, I was deeply touched and asked his permission to share parts of it on this blog. He gladly provided that permission, so I did. I looked at it again recently and was moved to post it again, so here it is:

Dear Ron,

A friend of mine suggested I get your book, Success Made Easy, so I managed to find it in Hawaii and have read almost half. Your approach is so different from all the mumbo-jumbo out there. I really appreciate it. In front of me on my desk, I have the words, “What can I do right now, this minute, to create more success?” Yesterday, after writing it down on a red note card, I began applying it.
Frankly, I was quite amazed at how my subconscious took over and directed me all day. The ideas just kept flooding out. I could hardly work fast enough to keep up!
I have taken a look at your website, and will be ordering your other books very soon. When you asked what I do, I had no idea our interests were so similar.
Kind regards,

Rod Newbound
Direct Marketing Consultant
Mount Vernon, WA

“Step Right Up…”
Have you ever wondered how they train fleas to do tricks on a small stage? A flea can jump 350 times its body length. It’s like a human jumping the length of a football field. In spite of that, “Flea Trainers” get them to stay in one place with no restrictions.

Here’s How
The fleas are put into a jar with a lid on it. Their natural instinct is to jump out of the jar. When they jump and hit their heads on the lid of the jar, it hurts, and they begin jumping with less and less intensity until they are jumping up and down in the jar, but not high enough to hit the top.
Once they reach this stage of conditioning, they are removed from the jar and will continue to jump, but no higher than the height of the jar they were “trained in” for the rest of their lives.

It Hurts
Have you ever hit your head on the lid of the jar? If so, did you keep jumping? If so, how high? Human beings often times limit themselves because of past painful failures and cease to jump high enough to succeed from then on.

You are not a flea.

JUMP OUT OF THE JAR…

Get it All
Most people will keep squeezing that toothpaste tube until they get the very last drop out of it.

It’s Costly!
Even millionaires will do this in spite of the fact that they have a new tube in the bathroom cabinet. The point here is that people are reluctant to throw money away.

Time is Money
Yes, time IS money. If you wouldn’t throw money away, don’t waste time. You only get 24 hours every day to achieve the things you want from life. When you squeeze the most out of your day, like you do the toothpaste tube, you will wind up with much more in the same amount of time.

Mahalo Wally
I had the pleasure of hearing Wally talk this morning at the Winners Circle Breakfast in Honolulu. He told a story that has changed my thinking about something important; more on that in a minute. I have known Wally since he was “Famous Amos” in Hollywood, California where our businesses were down the street from oath other.

Still Famous
When Wally sold his Famous Amos Brand, the new owners prohibited him from using his own (Famous Amos) name, but that didn’t stop him from making and selling great cookies.

Passion
Wally told us all about his major passion today, which is reading aloud to kids and encouraging parents to do the same. I’m sure the kids get some good cookies as well.

Paradigm Shift
Here’s the story in brief. While giving his presentation this morning, an ambulance siren was wailing in the background. It reminded Wally of a time when he found himself waking up in an ambulance on the way to Queens Hospital.  He had no recollection of what had happened, but knew he was in distress.

This was ironic, because 12 years ago the same thing happened to me, and it was after giving a talk to 700 people at an annual Rotary Convention. The ironic part is that it was Wally who introduced me at the convention. Wally’s message was that when he hears a siren go by, as irritating as the sound is, he remembers that somebody is in distress and help is on the way. I live in a building that is two blocks from the fire station. We hear fire truck, ambulance and police sirens more than we would like to. I find myself pausing the TV or computer and gritting my teeth, possibly even cussing under my breath as they as they go by. Well, whine no more, I will now remember that somebody is in distress and they are on the way to help him or her get through it.
MAHALO WALLY!!!

Are you passionate about what you do?

If you are, then the passion needed for success will come out effortlessly. You will become more and more successful at whatever you are doing.

On the other hand, if you are “going through the motions”, watching the clock waiting for the time to go home, you are destined for a life of mediocrity.

To set yourself apart from the masses, arrive early, leave late and do the things you don’t have to do. Start your day with an unbridled level of energy not seen in the “Nine to Five Johnny Lunch Buckets” that drag their behinds through the day and dread Monday morning.

Monday morning arrives for everybody. Welcome It!

In Napolion Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich, he states that when you are ready for it, one word will jump out at you on a page in this book and reveal to you the secret of great success.
In my 20’s, I read and re-read the book many times searching for that one word, unable to detect it. I later came to realize that it was the 1st word in the title of the book; THINK!
You bring about what you think about. Once you learn how to control the thoughts going through your mind throughout the day, you can then determine what you will get from life.
Just think about that!

Contemplate:
When researching successful people to write Think and Grow Rich, Napolian Hill discovered that they all practiced what he labeled R2A2. Whenever ANYTHING comes up on their life’s screen, they see it as a “lesson”, and they RECOGNIZE the principle within it, RELATE that principle back to their own life or business, then ASSIMILATE what they just learned, and finally APPLY it.
Recognize
Relate
Assimilate
Apply
When you practice R2A2 you learn and grow all day every day as a result of the things you encounter.
There are lessons EVERYWHERE for ANYONE and EVERYONE. You just need to think positively as you encounter the “Stuff of Life.”

24 Hours Every Day
I made the case in Success Made Easy that we all have 24 hours every day. Both the busiest person in the world as well as the one with nothing at all do get the same amount of time.
If you are closer to the busiest than the other, the keys to getting it all done are organization and priorities. Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People offers a great tool for both of these.

Four Time Quadrants
Steven Covey first of all suggests identifying the important things to do, the unimportant things to do, and then those that are urgent and the the ones that are not urgent. To get the most out of your time, Covey suggests that you “live in” Q2. Spending time in Q3 and Q4 forces people to live in Q1.

To move into Q2, do these three things;
1. Write down all of your current Quadrant 1 and 3 activities.
2. Determine what you can do to eliminate or lessen the urgency of these activities.
3. Identify your activities that should be in Q2, schedule them and stick to your schedule.

You CANNOT “Train” People!
I am oftentimes introduced as a “trainer”, or “sales trainer” and I quickly deny that description of what I do.
I have heard, “People are a part of the animal kingdom; if you can you train one, you should be able to train the other.” I can accept the “should be” part of that statement, but the reality is that there are some major differences between the human animal and the others.
A dolphin can be “taught” and then “trained” through repetition and reward to jump through a hoop every time the whistle blows. The dolphin (or other animals) will do what they have been “trained” to do, regardless of their mood that day, the weather, or what the other animals are doing.
People can surely be taught to do something, however they may or may not do it depending entirely upon their mood that day, the weather, or what other people are doing.

Coach
In professional football, where we find the best of the best, there are more coaches on the sidelines than players on the field, and the head coach never misses a down. In addition to teaching, people need coaching, watching, critiquing, praising and sometimes even reprimanding just to get them to do what they were taught to do.