Take Good Care of It!
You will most likely have more than one home in your life. You may have several jobs, multiple bosses and countless cars. You will have friends that come and go. You might even have more than one spouse. Change is inevitable and mistakes are forgivable. But, as far as anyone knows, you will only have ONE body.

New Habits
With that being the case it stands to reason that you should take good care of it. Good fitness habits will serve you as you get older. There’s no need to be obsessed with it; just get some form of regular exercise, eat the right stuff and avoid the bad stuff. When you go to the mall, park as far away from the entrance as you can. As an added bonus you will have fewer door dings. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. When you use an escalator climb up or down on the steps. Eat less and move more. Little habits add up to big differences.

Discipline
When it comes to exercise I have found that a gym with a trainer or coach is next to essential. Most people can use or need someone to get them to do what they know they should do. If you are one of those organized, disciplined, self motivated persons that knows how to use the latest gym equipment and can stay on top of yourself, well… you probably stopped reading this after the first paragraph.

So Many…
I feel deep sympathy for animals born on a factory farm, a chicken or turkey ranch. I feel empathy however for human beings born into poverty, broken homes or despair. The difference is that the animals have no choice; they are confined and destined to live a life of suffering, only to end up with a brutal death on their way to becoming food on some human’s table. I hope to live long enough for evolution to reach the point where people realize that this is wrong and unnecessary.

People on the other hand have the opportunity to rise above their birth conditions. People may or may not follow in the footsteps of their parents. My father owned a meat market; I am a vegetarian. There is no shortage of “rags to riches” stories that can be used to motivate people who may be citing their heritage as justification for their current position in life. Some people born with physical handicaps excel in athletic competition. People whose ancestors were slaves hold executive positions in Fortune 500 companies. Children raised by ignorant parents go on to become college graduates. Kids too poor to afford college go on to succeed in business. People can become anything they want to be. Choose Success! It IS an option.

Yes You Do!
I love quotes that have passed the test of time. I cannot recall who said some of them, but they work for me just the same. WHAT was said is more important than WHO said it. One of my favorites is, “I don’t have time to do it all, so I won’t do any of it.” this may be a variation of how it was originally said, but ask yourself, “Am I ever guilty of that?”

Little By Little; Day by Day
How long it takes to do something is not as important as doing it. The best time to start doing something you would like to do is BEFORE you HAVE to do it. One of my personal mentors was W. Clement Stone. Clem, as he was known, lived to be 100 years old.  I had the opportunity to meet him when he was in his late 60’s. I was in my mid 30’s but his energy was more than I could keep up with. The intensity of his glare when speaking burned a hole in me as he repeated his famous words, “Do It Now.” Those few words stuck with me over the next 40 years and have moved me to do many things I didn’t have the time to do.

Start Now
When marine artist Wyland asked me when I was going to write a book, my reply was, “One of these days.” He countered with, “Have you ever looked at your calendar and saw that it was one of those days?” WOW! I decided to set aside one hour on Sunday mornings to write. A year later I had my first book, by the end of the next year I had three. Today I have five. The time would have gone by anyway, nothing was left undone, and today these books bring thousands of dollars a month into my pocket from amazon.com, bookstores, my website, my speaking engagements, and my clients who buy them for their employees. I’d say that the one hour a day; 30 out of the 7,200 hours available each month was well spent.

What Do You Want To Do?
This question could just as easily be, “What should you do that you are not doing?” Would you like to write a book, or even just read a book? If you wrote or read a mere one page a day, you would have 365 pages in a year. The time will go by anyway.
Do you want to get into better shape, but don’t think you have time to exercise? Set aside just 10 or 20 minutes out of the 1,440 minutes you get every day to walk, bike, run, swim, or pump iron, and you will be different person in a matter of months. The months are going to go by anyway.
One who wants to finds a way, one who doesn’t finds an excuse. A good philosophy to live by is, “No EXCUSES!” When you get right down to it, there aren’t any anyway.

Headlines Can Be Deadly

When I wrote this front page story for the then Honolulu Advertiser’s Island Weekly magazine, there was a war raging in the Persian Gulf. Businesses were shuttering their doors, people were worried and complaining. It was a challenging time. It lasted from 1990 to 1991. It was during the same year that I started Success Dynamics. I was told that I was crazy to start a business at this time, but the business I was starting was one to help people succeed regardless of the circumstances. I had to take my own advice. I asked my clients to join me in a bond to “Not Participate” in the fear and negative rhetoric being perpetuated by the media, and shared by nervous retailers.

In the 20 years that followed we experienced 9/11, two hurricanes, a few tsunami warnings, a major earthquake, rock slides that closed roads, an economic recession, and most recently an earth quake and subsequent tsunamis in both Japan and Hawaii. I saw many companies go out of business during these times. Just today I received an email from a prominent retailer at Ala Moana announcing to his customers that after 10 years in business the economy had finally caught up with him and that he is shutting down at the end of this month. 

I feel for those who have been unable to weather the storms, but during the same time and conditions, I have seen many others go on to have their best years ever and even continue to set records every month, some right next door to those posting “Going Out of Business” signs in their window. I have come to think of the disasters as “Exterminating Angels” that come along to put the weak ones out of their misery, while making it even easier for the strong to succeed. It’s a lot like a hurricane that takes down the weak buildings first.

The best way to survive challenges in business, or life in general is to build a mental shield around a positive attitude and protect yourself from the negative news and talk that will accompany any hardship. Say to yourself, “I refuse to participate” and seek evidence to the contrary to what people are saying. Focus on the successful people, and say to yourself, “If they can do it, so can I.” The reality is that you can. Thoughts are things. One who wants to finds a way, one who doesn’t finds an excuse.

Know It Well
When selling in a retail store, it’s important to tell your customers the “W’s” about your store; WHO you are; WHAT you are, WHAT you sell, and WHERE it is in the store, BEFORE you start selling product. Doing this breaks down barriers, makes the “trust sale” and gives the customer direction.
To be prepared, you must have it memorized and practiced to the point that you can deliver it as if it were the 1st time you ever did.
I was delighted to get a call recently from a sales manager asking for ”my take” on this memo he was sending to his sales staff. It went something like this.
Do You Have Your Elevator Speech Ready?
Think back to the times you may have met and talked to strangers in an elevator? You probably told them a little bit about yourself; such as where you’re from, what you do, and why you’re in town. Now think about the length of the ride. It was probably no more than a minute or two, tops. It had to be. This short conversation is called an “Elevator Speech.” Now think about a short, to the point “Elevator Speech” that you can use when you “TELL” (Step 4) your customers about your store. In Retail Selling Made Easy, Ron says, “Tell your customers who you are, what you are, what you sell and where it is in a pro-active, no-pressure manner.” Pro-Active, No Pressure Selling enables you to make the most of your time with customers while effectively following the 9 Steps to Sale City.
Needless to say, I approved of this memo.