How To Take Advantage of Opportunity and Achieve Success Striped Bass and Music City Opportunity is everywhere. If you learn to recognize and take advantage of the rightopportunities you can achieve success in life. And, the TTO Opportunity Road Trip was a huge success. On the road for a week []

Attitude is Everything Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or []

Success 5 Success Tips fromJim RohnsMotivational Quote Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals. ~Jim Rohn This is such a powerful and inspirational quote. If we want to create success in our lives, we simply have to follow some basic []

Monday Motivation Desire is the key to motivation, but its the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal a commitment to excellence that will enable you to attain the success you seek. ~Mario Andretti Read more motivational quotes.

7 Steps To Achieve Financial Freedom How To Multiply Your Income By The End Of The Year Its mid-year, and by now many of us have given up on the financial goals we set in way back in January. But that doesnt matter, because Im going to share with you []

How To Make Sure Your Financial Goals Actually Happen!Creating Success as an Entrepreneur Its mid-year and usually by now many of us have lost track of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. If you are on track, then consider yourself fortunate or at least persistent. Regardless []

Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind A mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously and never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop this picture! ~Dr. Norman Vincent Peale #pma #positivementalattitude #succeed

If at first you dont succeed, try, try again. ~William Edward Hickson Keep trying, you will succeed! #success #tryagain#keeptrying

How To Live A Life Of Abundance The Value of Your Time, Money and Health Reflecting on time gone by helpsme torealize my value to society and my worth to myself. Not the tasks I completed or the purchases I made, but the time I have spent with my family []

With PMA or a Positive Mental Attitude, dreams are realized, motivation is improved and greater confidence is created. You can learn how to program your mind to achieve success with positive input that will motivate you to achieve your goals. Your vision of your world is created by your attitude. []

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PMA101 - Positive Mental Attitude

The benefits of maintaining a good attitude in the wilderness seem implicit. Daily experiences have taught us that mood influences outcomes. But just how does this "Pollyanna principle" affect your brain in survival situations?

A little positivity goes a long way when you're calling a handmade hovel miles from civilization "home." While it may sound like a page ripped from a self-help book, positive mental attitude (PMA) is an integral part of survival.

In general terms, PMA combats your unconscious stress, allowing you to think more clearly and make better decisions. For example, remember how the fight-or-flight response limits the amount of things you observe around you? By improving your attitude and, consequently, lowering your stress, you reinvigorate your awareness of your surroundings. Imagine how vital that would be when sharing habitats with unfriendly neighbors.

But how can you think positively when you're in such a jam? Among the many tips offered, here are some from survival handbooks:

Now we know that looking at the glass half full can increase our chances of survival, but how exactly does that happen? Why can positive thoughts breed positive results?

The study of positive psychology that analyses the effect of positive thinking and emotions on people sprang up a relatively short time ago. Research revealed a link between positive thinking and emotions and successful survival. That's because it opens up global thinking capacities in the brain, allowing for more innovation and creativity. In the wilderness, once your initial needs are met, you will require new ideas and prioritization of tasks to keep yourself alive for the longer term.

Physiologically, PMA reverses the toll of stress on our bodies. Think about your body language when you watch a funny movie. You're often more relaxed than when you see a nail-biting thriller. This loosening up will help you conserve precious energy. Proper wilderness preparation and training also contributes to positive thinking because you will better know how to fend for yourself. That, coupled with PMA, can help you cross the bridge to survival.

Want to learn more tips on surviving in the wilderness?Cruise tothe links on the next page.

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Positive Mental Attitude - How does your brain impact your ...

IN THIS ISSUE:

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT AND GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION The Fall and a new season are upon us. Are you really ready? Do you have what it takes to get the VERY most out of your physical abilities this season? Do you know what you need to do in order to elevate your training to the next level? Is this going to be the year that you finally take those crucial steps towards turning that big dream of yours into a reality? How smart and efficient will you be about it? The vast majority of athletes out there enter their new seasons fueled by external motivations. Whether its a fear of getting cut, a dread about how much of your free time is about to get swallowed up, or a knowing that they have to do some painful, distasteful things in order to get ready, these athletes seem to be motivated by a moving away from something unpleasant rather than a moving towards something pleasurable. For example, if I dont do all this conditioning, the coach will be really ticked off at me, or I hate having to do these stupid weights, theyre such a waste of time. Its this kind of negative motivation that will insure that you get the very least from your training efforts. However, if you go into the season actually wanting to train, looking forward to and driven internally by your own goals and dreams, then you will, by far, get the very most out of your God-given abilities. So whats your attitude going to be towards this season? How are you going to approach your training? As an athlete, your attitude makes the performance world go round. A positive one will make it turn in the right directions and take you as far as youd like to go. A negative attitude will spin you out of control, move you away from your goals and leave you wishing you had signed up for underwater basket weaving instead of your Fall sport. In this issue of the Mental Toughness Newsletter we will discuss the importance of training with a winning attitude.

ATHLETES LOCKER The heart of a champion Whats in yours? PARENTS CORNER The apple never falls far from the tree COACHS OFFICE Have you had your attitude checked recently? DR GS TEACHING TALES Dont change the world, change yourself!

ATHLETES LOCKER

The heart of a champion Whats in yours?

At the start of this (2003) rain-soaked (at least in the Northeast) US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York, the tennis world formally recognized the retirement of Pete Sampras with a brief ceremony the first evening of play. Sampras currently holds the record for most grand slam events ever won and is considered by many to be one of the greatest male tennis players in the history of the sport. I dont know about that. What I do know is that over a tennis career that has spanned almost 30 years, Pete was always a class act. He was a true champion, a winner who played with style and heart. Interesting enough, over the years, so many fans missed just how much of a class act this guy really was.

During his career Sampras has had a ton of detractors. He was criticized for being boring, for bringing nothing to the pro game. All he did was win! He wasnt controversial. He didnt swear at the umpires. He just won with class. He didnt throw temper tantrums. He didnt lose emotional control and yell and scream. He just won and was a good sport about it! He was just plain, predictably and totally uninterestingly vanilla. And, oh yeah, did I mention that he just won, and won and won. Critics wanted color in the game. They wanted controversy. They wanted players to be poor sports who threw the finger at the crowd, demeaned the lines people, called the chair umpire unprintable names, smashed their rackets down in disgust and tanked matches when they decided that they just didnt feel like playing that day.

Sampras did none of that! He played hurt. He played sick to his stomach. He played wracked with cramps. He played emotionally devastated after losing his long time coach to cancer. He gave it his all, all the time! He refused to quit. He played with unbelievable heart. He never gave in to his emotions until after his matches were over. He carried himself like a winner at all times, especially when he was out there in front of all those cameras. And for this he was criticized? For this he was called boring?

For the last two years Petes star has been steadily falling. It was clear that he was nearing the end of his illustrious career. He hadnt won a tournament in well over a year. Predictably all the experts pounced on him and said that he was all washed up, finished, over the hill! Last September, 2002 at the US Open he did what he does best. He shut those critics up just one more time with class and style. He spoke loudly without once opening his mouth. He played his heart out and dominated the tournament getting all the way to the finals and, in the process, beat several top ranked players in the world. And then, to make his statement that much more powerful, he faced his long time archrival, Andre Agassi in the Championships and decisively beat him in 4 sets to win the tournament and yet another Grand Slam title.

Want to become a REAL champion? Then model yourself after Sampras! Learn to play with Sampras heart! Learn to control your emotions. Be a good sport. Give it your all, ALL the time, NOT just when you feel like it. Perhaps there is something very wrong with how we as a sports culture measure championship make-up. Maybe we have our priorities completely screwed up that we find boorish, unsportsman-like behavior more interesting than class and heart? Maybe we need loud, cocky, outspoken, immature acting athletes to get us interested and fired up? Maybe we need our role models putting others down and having public temper tantrums like two year olds? Perhaps we are more inspired by cheating and quitting than we are by the Pete Sampras of the world.

Not me! I know a real champion when I see one and the tennis world is out a big one with Sampras retirement. But even if you never watched Pete play, you can still learn something valuable from him right now. Forget the crap you see on television from the majority of professional and high visibility D-I athletes: The grandstanding, celebrating, fighting and cheating. Dont model yourself after athletes who openly feel the need to tell you and everyone within a hundred mile radius that they are Gods gift to creation. A true champion may feel that way inside, that theyre the best, but inside they are also mature and well adjusted enough to understand that its in poor taste to shove that self-centered garbage down others throats.

So like Sampras, ACT LIKE A CHAMPION. Conduct yourself with class and dignity. You may hate losing with a passion. It may be the bitterest of pills for you to swallow. But when you do lose, and you WILL, be a gracious loser on the OUTSIDE. Congratulate your opponent. Concede the defeat while you rededicate yourself to using the loss as a source of motivation for getting better. Dont make excuses for why you lost. Dont blame the refs, the crowd, the playing conditions, bad luck or your teammates mistakes. Take responsibility for the failure. True champions dont make excuses. They dont whine and blame others. Similarly, conduct yourself like a champion when you win. Dont rub it in your opponents face. Dont gloat. Keep the post game on-field celebration respectful. Be a gracious winner because the very next time you compete, it could be YOU at the losing end.

Like Sampras, COMMIT yourself to your sport. Dedicate yourself to excellence. Dont just go through the motions. If youre going to take the time and energy to participate, you might as well go all the way. Commit yourself to becoming the best that YOU can be. Work your butt off. Be willing to sacrifice. Watch what you eat. Take care of yourself physically. Get enough rest. Keep your studies up. Dont cut corners. Champions dont become champions by cutting corners or looking for the easy way out. This means that you must be willing to do more than your best. Instead you must be willing to do whatever it takes to become successful. You must be willing to step outside of your comfort zone on a daily basis.

Be COACH-ABLE. Sampras continued to grow as an athlete right through his career because he was always open to feedback. He always had a coach. Youll never reach your true potential without good teachers. No successful athlete can really go it alone. Dont be hard-headed here. If you think you have all the answers and dont need someone else telling you what to do, then youre flat out wrong and youre deluding yourself. Dont limit your development as a champion. Dont try to re-invent the wheel. Be open to and look for good coaching. Its always the fastest and smartest way to get whereever you want to go.

Be HUMBLE. Champions may feel inside that they are the best. However, they arent deluded enough to really believe that just because they are good at their sport, that this means that they are a more worthwhile person than their neighbor. Being good at athletics makes you good at athletics period! Contrary to popular belief it does NOT make you larger than life! It doesnt make you better than others! You may think that youre a big man on campus because you just won the championship. You may think youre far more important than that little shlub who plays in the band! Keep in mind though that what youre great at is NOTHING MORE THAN A GAME! What really makes you larger than life are the things that REALLY matter. How you hit a baseball or shoot three pointers isnt that important in the game of life. What really matters is how you are as a person. Do you conduct yourself with dignity? Do you respect those that you interact with? Do you make the people around you better? Are you honest and trustworthy? Do you have a generous spirit? Can the people in your life truly count on you? These are the things that REALLY matter!

So if you truly want to go as far as possible as an athlete, if you really want to become a champion, then overall your attitude. Go find yourself a Pete Sampras to model yourself after. Set your ego aside and start acting like a winner. Because, in the end, the only thing that really matters is not whether you won or lost, but HOW you played the game. If you cant look yourself in the mirror after a win and know that you conducted yourself like a champion, then you didnt really win! You cant lie to that guy in the mirror. He/she always knows the truth! PARENTS CORNER

The apple never falls far from the tree

So theres that old clich again, THE APPLE NEVER FALLS FAR FROM THE TREE. Truth be told, its actually a very important principle in parenting and coaching. In fact, if youd like to shape your child in any particular way, then you had better pay pretty close attention to how this parenting (and coaching) principle operates.

So what does this homespun statement really mean? Well, on the surface, its just another version of like father, like son. For good or bad, better or worse, in many ways your kids grow up to be very much like you. While they come into this world with their own, very unique sets of temperament, response-ability and resources, they will still end up more like you than not. Of course, this is an extremely obvious statement for me to make because who else are they going to resemble if not their parents? In addition to the issue of genes, they will be more like you than anyone else because thats what happens when you live with your primary teachers for some 18 odd years.

The fact that you as a parent are your childs most important teacher is another profoundly obvious statement. However, as obvious as this may be, far too many parents lose sight of the obvious: You are constantly teaching and influencing your childs behaviors on a daily basis. EVERY interaction you have with them is yet another opportunity for them to learn. In fact, they ARE learning in every interaction that you have with them and many of these lessons are going on at an unconscious level. It is a fact that as a parent, you CANT, NOT TEACH your children. Even if you are an absent, neglectful parent, you are still continually teaching your children lessons about dependability, responsibility, relationships, intimacy and, depending on how they interpret your absence, their own self-worth. Good or bad, the lessons that they learn from you can last a lifetime and then be passed on to the next generation.

Unfortunately, way too many parents lose total control over what they are teaching their kids. Why? Well dont go off and blame the terrible influence of those friends you disapprove of. And I dont want to hear about all that nasty music that todays young folks listen to or the violent movies that they watch that you think is leaving them twisted. YOU lose total control over what your kids learn because YOU stop being AWARE. Primarily you allow yourself to lose awareness of just how powerful an influence you are. You forget that EVERYTHING that you SAY and DO with your children is being soaked up by them like a sponge. EVERYTHING! They dont miss a trick. They pick up your voice tone, attitude, truthfulness, you name it, and then they go and learn from it!

Forget the words that you use with them because what you say to your children is not nearly as important as how you say it and how you conduct yourself in your interactions with them, your partner and everyone else in your life. Simply put, its who you are as a person that does the primary teaching, NOT what you say. Its the behaviors and emotions that you live and model with them that provide the most powerful teaching. So if you think that you can teach your kids with the do as I say, NOT as I do principle, then youre delusional!

As the youngest of three kids, I regularly watched my father embarrass and humiliate my older brother at the dinner table. I watched him treat my brother as if the poor kid was an idiot. And I learned. Boy did I learn! I learned that if I opened my mouth, the same thing could happen to me. I learned that authority figures will humiliate you the first chance they get. I learned to live in constant fear that this kind of treatment was just around the corner waiting for me in EVERY interaction that I had. And I learned to not trust and be terrified of my father! Did my father have even the slightest clue that this was what he was teaching us? Absolutely NOT! My father was totally unaware and it was his lack of awareness that was so destructive to all of us growing up.

As a consequence of all these early learnings I grew up painfully shy. My father, however, couldnt understand this. He was always trying to get me to speak up, to be more assertive, to not be so timid. But his verbal attempts to teach me these foreign behaviors fell on deaf ears. I had already learned what happens to you when youre assertive and speak up! No way was I ever going to put myself in that situation!

When you forget that youre always teaching your children, and lose awareness of the specific lessons that youre imparting to them in every interaction, then and only then will you end up getting both them and you into some serious hot water. Example: I talked to a swim coach today who was referring one of his athletes to me. He feared that she was on the verge of burnout and didnt know what to do for her. She hadnt taken time off from the sport for several years, swimming almost non-stop year round. She had stopped having fun about 5 years ago, right around the same time that her race times stopped improving. As this coach and I chatted, I was thinking, stick a fork in her, shes done! Shes definitely burnt to a crisp. When I asked for some detail on parental involvement, the real picture quickly emerged.

It turns out that her father had been pushing her to swim ever since she turned 12 and began having some success in the pool. Before then, she was just another average swimmer who loved training and competing, but who wasnt really that good. When dad got a whiff of how talented his little girl was, he decided that he was going to help. He began placing more and more demands on her. If she wanted to take time off and hang out with friends he would discourage it. If she put up a stink about it, hed make her feel guilty. He kept a close watch on her diet, training and social life. He spent time with her after her meets analyzing her races and making suggestions. He did a lot of things that he thought were helpful. He knew she had talent and he wanted to help her maximize that talent. He wanted her to swim in college.

When the girl weakly protested that he was too over involved, he made her feel guilty for it. He refused to listen to what she was saying and, more important, to what she wasnt saying. He was totally unaware that she was getting more and more unhappy. He had no clue that swimming was becoming a distasteful chore for her. All he saw was that her times werent dropping and chocked that up to her lack of intensity when she trained. So he put more pressure on her to work harder! She lost her motivation. She started just going through the motions. She cried at practice all the time. She wanted to quit, but felt trapped. She desperately wanted to try other high school sports but dad wouldnt hear of that and made her feel awful just for asking. Didnt she realize that she would be hurting her swimming career if she did that?

Now, I dont know how this story will end, but I can certainly make some pretty good educated guesses. If things remain as they are, and dad continues to be totally oblivious to his daughters emotional well being because of some crazy need that HE has, then this young woman is heading for some very serious heartache and unhappiness, learning a tremendous amount of destructive lessons along the way. At what point will this poor girl feel that she has to up the ante in order to get her fathers attention? Will she get so desperate that she ends up making a suicidal gesture? She sure sounds pretty depressed to me. At the very least, she will probably quit swimming for good. She has certainly learned to hate the sport over the last five years. And thats probably the most innocuous lesson shes internalized. The other things that shes learning in her current interactions with her dad are lessons no caring, loving parent would ever want a son or daughter learning.

First of all, this young woman is a senior in high school! What has dad been teaching her about trusting yourself, following your heart and listening to your own internal feelings? Whats dad teaching her about being independent and taking care of yourself? Not a whole hell of a lot! Instead this probably well-meaning man is unknowingly teaching his daughter how to be and stay in an abusive relationship! Hes teaching her that its not OK to speak up when youre unhappy and being abused! Hes teaching her to keep her mouth shut, ignore her feelings and passively suffer silently! Hes also providing a lousy male model for her future interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex. Guess what kind of men shell unconsciously be attracted to? Thats right, those without an ounce of empathy that use guilt to get what they want!

And another question for you parents out there: Since when should a parent be that over-involved with their 17 year olds sport? NEVER! Thats not your job! You are NOT the coach or the manager! Your job is to give your soon to be independent young adult full responsibility for his or her sport. It belongs to them, NOT YOU! However, if you insist that you know best and continue to force your opinions and needs on your child, then youll be inviting some serious heartache into your home and will end up making your child an excellent candidate for extensive long-term psychotherapy! Sadly, this is exactly where this dad is going with his daughter.

Finally, what is dad teaching his daughter about their relationship? You can trust me? I really care about you and your feelings? Your happiness is what Im most concerned about? Remember, when you are not aware of what youre teaching your kids when theyre kids, then YOU will ultimately be the one that suffers later! What kind of relationship do you think this young woman is going to want to have with this kind of a father? Do you think shes going to want him to play an active role in the life of her children? How close do you think I wanted to be with my dad after growing up in that kind of abusive environment?

Have you had your attitude checked recently?

If theres one thing that coaches across every sport and at every level really want, its athletes with great attitudes. More than tremendous ability, great strength, solid conditioning, or even an in-depth tactical understanding of the game, an athletes attitude can make or break a coachs experience on the team and his or her ultimate success. This is one of the reasons why the best teams or stronger athletes dont always come out on top. Attitude is what wins. Athletes who work hard, are willing to learn from you and can take constructive feedback, care about the team more than themselves, are positive, enthusiastic and passionate about the sport, and who are unselfish role players are a joy to coach and make your job so much easier.

On the other hand, selfish, cocky, primma donnas who think they have all the answers, who are unwilling to take constructive feedback from you, who are only concerned with their playing time and their publicity, who are disrespectful to you and their teammates, and who are brimming with negativity which they always tend to share with everyone around them can make your life a living hell and get you considering that early retirement on an uninhabited desert island. After a while, talent becomes less and less important when compared with attitude. Great athletes with rotten attitudes DONT make those around them great and certainly DONT win championships. You as a coach are making a deal with the devil every time you ignore your instincts about a player and shut out negative feedback about his attitude because hes so good and you just have to have him on your squad.

So, if attitude is so important to an athletes and teams success, what, if anything does that say about the significance of the coachs attitude? It seems quite obvious to state here that if a coach has a rotten attitude, everyone around him or her will lose. The fact of the matter is that the coachs attitude is 100 times more important than any individual athletes attitude because the coach is in a primary position of teaching and leadership. If the coach is the builder and the architect of a winning program, then who he is as a person, how he acts and his attitude are his primary tools. However, as you read these words, how often have you had the courage to take an honest look at yourself in the mirror? How often to you question your interactions with your athletes? How much responsibility do you take when things go wrong? When an athlete has a persistent and annoying performance problem, do you look to yourself first for the cause or do you simply get frustrated with and blame that athlete for being a head case?

As you well know, modeling is by far your most powerful and effective coaching tool. Its how you carry yourself on the court, field or track and who you are as a person in your day-to-day interactions with your athletes that does the real teaching here. Sure your knowledge of the game is crucial, but your actions and behaviors always speak so much louder and more forcefully than your words. In the end, what you have to say is totally worthless if your attitude demeans or alienates your players while youre saying it. What you have to say will always fall on deaf ears if your behaviors consistently contradict your words.

A few years back I was called in to work with a D-I team by the assistant coaches. It was explained to me that the head coach wasnt really interested in what we were going to be doing because he didnt believe in any of this mental crap. As a result he never came to any of our 5 meetings over the course of the season. I doubt that he had any clue what his closed mindedness was modeling for his players. In private, the assistant coaches complained to me that the head coach was incredibly negative; always putting the players down and just flat out not doing his job. He wasnt teaching them. He just yelled and swore at them for what they did wrong and offered no constructive or positive feedback. In our team meetings, the players bitterly complained to me about this and the head coachs failure to listen to and teach them. They had no confidence and felt that the head coach didnt really believe in them. Furthermore, they felt frustrated by his refusal to accept any kind of feedback from them and felt hopeless to change the situation.

As much as I may walk on water as a Sports Performance Consultant, I dont feel like I even got off the bottom on this one. Truth be told, my efforts, just like the those of the players and the assistant coaches, were doomed from the start because the head coach was negative, closed minded and totally unaware of the impact of his words and actions on those around him. He simply walked around on a daily basis completely out of touch with the reality of his situation! He had absolutely no clue what was really going on for his players and apparently didnt really care. How else can we explain his attitude and behaviors? As a coach you certainly wouldnt want this kind of athlete on your squad. How can you expect to be successful, when you conduct yourself in this manner? This is NOT a winning attitude!

As your new season starts, how about a good dose of courage? Courage to be self-aware enough to take an honest look at who you are in relation to your players and assistants. Courage to be open minded. Courage to be open to feedback from those around you, even if you dont like the feedback. NO ONE can achieve a high level of success without introspection. NO ONE can reach his/her goals without self-awareness. NO ONE can develop a WINNING ATTITUDE without feedback! Remember, FEEDBACK IS THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS!

Dr. G's Teaching Tales

Dont change the world, change yourself

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a king who ruled a very prosperous and very large country. Because he had never been to the far borders of his land and he was king of the people, the king decided one day that he would go for a trip to all small hamlets of his country, regardless of how far away they might be. He felt it quite important that he stay in touch with all his people. The trip proved to be quite long and arduous. It lasted many weeks. The poor king spent a fair amount of his journey on foot as he interacted with his people. Naturally by the time he got back to his palace, his feet were blistered, painful and swollen. He bitterly complained to his aides about his physical discomfort because this was truly the first of many times that he would like to go on such a long, but important trip. Unfortunately the roads that he had to follow were very rough and stony, and frequently not even fit for his carriage. Knowing that he had to make the trip sometime again in the not-to-distant future, he sat down with his closest aides in an attempt to figure out how to make the journey, if not more pleasurable, at least more comfortable. No one had any useful ideas. Suddenly the king lit up! A brilliant idea had popped into his mind.

He explained, we will cover all the roads in my kingdom with leather! Why had I not thought of this before! Then I shall walk more comfortably from town to town, village to village! As he and his aides discussed this seemingly brilliant solution they began to consider the reality of accomplishing this task. First, they would have to secure huge quantities of leather, thousands and thousands of cows would be needed. The cost of this alone was staggering, never mind where they would find such a large quantity of cows. Next, they would need many, many skilled workers to prepare and process the leather for the roads. Finally they would also need skilled laborers to lay the leather out and secure it to the roads. As they began to consider the massive costs this project would incur, the kings enthusiasm began to fade. Being a thoughtful man, the king realized that this would be a far too costly and nearly impossible project.

It was at this point one of his wiser aides spoke up. Good king. Why must you spend all that unnecessary amount of money and effort on this project when you can simply cut a few little piece of leather that you can use to cover your feet and keep them more comfortable?" The king was surprised and delighted at the obvious simplicity of his aides suggestion. Of course! he exclaimed, This is a brilliant solution! Why should I waste all that time, money and energy trying to change the roads when I can simply change the comfort of my feet. So he ordered one of his craftsmen to make a "shoe" for himself and the problem was efficiently solved.

I dont know what kind of lesson you take away from this story: perhaps its better to look inward to try to resolve your unhappiness than outward. Rather than investing all that emotional energy trying to change all those around you, youre probably better off looking in the mirror and changing yourself. Its your attitude thats the agent of positive change, not the worlds.

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Positive & negative attitudes in sports | Competitive ...

Adults who practiced loving-kindness meditation daily for nine weeks had more positive emotions, a better sense of self-acceptance and fewer symptoms of depression than those who didnt meditate, according to a 2008 study at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Want to try loving-kindness meditation? Listen tofree audio tracks from UCLAs Mindful Awareness Research Center.

Positive mental attitude tip #7: Use your strengths. Identify your top five strengths. For example, they might include a sense of humor, compassion, curiosity, patience and intelligence. Then try to use each one in a new way every day.

For example, if curiosity is one of your best assets, learn something new, go to a museum youve never been to or read a book by a new author.

This exercise, developed by positive psychologists at University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, reminds you of what you have to offer yourself and others, Layous says. It also encourages positive thoughts and boosts your self-esteem, she explains.

Positive mental attitude tip #8: Share good news.A good grade, promotion or just sleeping late one morning is sweeter if you share it with others, according to a 2010 study at University of Rochester, N.Y.

Positive events are associated with higher self-esteem and reduced depressive symptoms, and just remembering them later can boost your mood, the researchers concluded.Plus social support helps you focus on positive events rather than negative ones, they found.

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Fight Depression With a Positive Mental Attitude ...

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We want to help you eat healthy, feel healthy and be healthy. We offer customers of all ages a vast collection of nutritional supplements, diet aids and exercise accessories to help you reach your health and fitness goals. Many of our exercise products are perfect for persons with limited mobility.

Our online healthcare catalog is packed with items to help you see better, hear better and enjoy healthy teeth and gums. Check out our giant selection of readers in a variety of colors and styles at great prices. Our hearing aids and sound amplifiers ensure you wont miss a sound. And our dental collection includes items for denture and appliance care as well as tools and accessories for good oral health.

Discover our selection of scissors and groomers, handy manicure and pedicure sets, hair products, hair growth treatments, shaving products and more.

Reading glasses are some of our most popular items at Carol Wright Gifts. Men and women will find quality readers made with high-impact lenses, sturdy frames and spring hinges for a comfortable fit. Most of our readers are available in sets of three or four, so you get several styles and colors to match your clothing, mood or activity.

Carol Wright Gifts believes sexual health is vital to overall health and wellness, so we offer a wide range of products for men and women. Youll find popular and unique items including massagers, gels and oils, supplements and how-to DVDs.

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We understand your priorities youre looking for health and beauty products that are effective, high quality and a great value. At Carol Wright Gifts, thats what we deliver. No matter what type of health and beauty products you need, well make the shopping process easy and convenient. Our Customer Service Representatives are ready to help you find just what you need, via telephone, mail, fax, email or even online live chat. When youre ready to order, use our catalog quick shop or search CarolWrightGifts.com to find products to meet your individual needs. You can also choose to shop from our Virtual Catalog to bring the catalog shopping experience to your computer, page by page. No matter how you shop Carol Wright, your satisfaction is our top priority. If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with any product you purchase from us, you may return it for a prompt refund.

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The following are five free sales training activities we have used for more than a decade with clients during our sales training courses.

We frequently receive requests for sales training ideas from organizations wishing to develop their own sales training programs. In the interest of improving sales skills, we are sharing these activities for use by others.

You may also link to them.

However, we request that you not publish them in an online guide, for-profit printed guide, or otherwise without our permission.

Each of the activities listed requires a basic knowledge of customer service. While we are happy to answer questions about the mechanics of the games and activities, we kindly request that you do your own research on questions related to content.

For easier reading away from the computer, Five Free Sales Training Games is an easy-to-read PDF document containing the games listed here.

For more information about onsite customer service workshops and seminars for your group, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-934-3250.

Ask or Tell?

Purpose: To illustrate the importance of discovering needs before launching into a sales speech.

Note: This activity can easily be used as a sales training icebreaker.

Goal: To remind salespeople that selling is not about the product or service. It is about how products and services can solve problems for customers.

Materials Needed: Object available in the training room

Directions: Ask the participants to find a partner and then decide who will play the role of the buyer and who will play the role of the seller. Once the decision is made, instruct the sellers to sell an item in the room to the buyers. Next, while the activity is in progress, take two to three minutes to walk around the room and listen in on the conversations. Take note of which sellers are discovering needs versus those who are pushing the features of the objects theyve selected. End the activity after four or five minutes.

Debrief: Ask the buyers if they were asked questions to determine needs or if their sellers immediately launched into pushing the features of their items. If buyers report that they were sold features without discovering or confirming need, make the point that even seasoned salespeople can fall into this trap. If nobody failed to discover needs, congratulate the group for their good work.

The pacing of this activity should be fast. Most salespeople have little interest in games for the sake of games. It is critical that you tie activities back to actions that they can take for improvement and better results back in the field.

Time: 5 Minutes

Your Order, Please

Purpose: To teach participants how to uncover a buyers priorities.

Goal: To emphasize identifying priorities as part of the sales process.

Materials Needed: Pen and paper

Directions: This activity can be run by choosing two people to interact in front of the larger group or in groups of two run concurrently. Where you insert this activity in your training and the activities and exercises that surround this one should determine the format you choose. After deciding on a format, tell the group that the role of the seller is to determine the buyers priorities.

Next, share the fact that the seller represents an art warehouse that carries a wide range of products. The buyer represents a hotel undergoing a major renovation. The buyer must prioritize several attributes: price, quality, delivery dates, product originality, and payment terms. Then by asking questions, the seller must discover the buyers priorities.

The buyer should write the priorities for the hotel on a sheet of paper. The buyer should also determine the particulars of the hotel. For example, the hotel may be a high-end property, or it may be a budget location. During the conversation with the seller, the buyer should reveal information when asked. The seller should make a written list of the buyers priorities in order.

Allow between five to ten minutes for dialogue.

Note: You can adjust the scenario to your industry if desired.

Debrief: When the questioning is complete, ask the buyer and seller to compare lists. If they match, congratulate the seller. If they dont, ask what happened. With either outcome, ask the group to talk about the value of discovering priorities. Next, ask them how much time they typically devote to this part of the process. Do they feel they invest enough effort?

Time: 20 25 Minutes

Mr. Parker Schroeder

Purpose: To show the value of doing sales research.

Goal: To increase participant awareness of the resources available for researching people and organizations.

Materials Needed: Flipchart and marker

Directions: Divide the group into teams of four or five people. Next, tell each team that they will be sending a representative to meet with Mr. Parker Schroeder, the CFO of Gapland Industries.

Gapland Industries manufactures high-end equipment used in hospitals. You are there to sell leasing financing services that Gapland can offer its customers. (If this scenario does not fit the group you are working with, you should rewrite it.)

Ask each group to list all of the places they would go to research Mr. Schroeder and Gapland Industries.

Debrief: Each group should come up with multiple places to look for information. Here are a few of our favorites:

Ask the participants how much time they devote to research. Make the point that it is no longer acceptable to show up not knowing publically available information. People expect you to do your homework.

Time: 15 Minutes

So Whats My Line?

Purpose: To demonstrate the importance of establishing rapport with those you have researched.

Goal: To encourage salespeople to plan for their sales calls.

Materials Needed: Pen and paper for each participant.

Directions: Explain to the group that they must each develop one or two conversation starters and a list of topics that might be better left for self-disclosure. As with the last activity, this game focuses on Mr. Parker Schroeder and Gapland Industries. The participants have done a good job of researching Mr. Schroeder and have learned the following:

Mr. Schroeder earned a BS in finance from UCLA and an MBA from Rice University.

He is divorced from his first wife with whom he had two kids.

He remarried two years ago.

He is on the board of the citys art museum.

He is on the board of the citys Humane Society.

He enjoys skiing, science fiction, and golf.

He has worked for Gapland industries for six years.

He recently bought a house.

He was sued by a neighbor.

He donates to Republican candidates.

Debrief: After reviewing the conversation starters and lists of inappropriate topics, make any suggestions for improvement. Then close the activity by summarizing how to be informed without appearing to be a stalker.

Time: 15 Minutes

Seat 4C

Purpose: To demonstrate to participants that they should always be prepared to make a new business contact.

Goal: To encourage participants to be ready to meet new prospects anywhere.

Materials Needed: None

Directions: Explain to the group that they are traveling for work and have just received a first-class upgrade. When the lady in seat 4D sits down, you see from her reading material that she works for an organization you are planning to approach for business. When the pretzels come out, conversation starts. The lady in 4D asks, So what do you do? In this activity each participant must craft an answer. Once they are done, have them share their answers with a partner and then with the larger group.

Debrief: After listening to each answer, you will probably discover that some are much better than others. You should encourage those with responses needing work to put some additional effort into introducing themselves. You should also make the point that introductions can get stale and should be updated from time to time. Finally, you never know where the next deal is sitting!

Time: 20 Minutes

Read more here:
Five Free Sales Training Games and Activities

Everybody is always selling something. Sadly, however, few people do all that they can to delight existing clients and attract new ones. Are your salespeople trained to do all they can to grow your business?

What if you could put processes in place to increase your existing sales and increase your market share? Would you invest the time?

Taught by professionals with decades of experience, our sales training courses are designed to help salespeople and non-salespeople alike improve their ability to build relationships, close deals, and retain clients.

Our solutions can be used off-the-shelf, tailored, or completely customized to your groups industry, corporate culture, and environment.

For information beyond what we've posted, please contact us to discuss your training need and how we can educate your staff and realize your goals.

To review course overviews for our existing sales training courses and programs, click on the links to the right. Alternatively, review the short descriptions found on this page.

If you dont see exactly what you are looking for, contact us to discuss program tailoring or fully customized content.

B Conference Breakout Session or Lunch Program

H Half-Day Training Course

F Full-Day Training Course

M Multi-Day Training Course

W Webinar

W2Two-Part Webinar

O Self-Paced Online Course

Selling Made Simple: Tools to Jump Start Your Sales Success

F

M

Basic Sales Training: Selling Fundamentals

H

F

The Six-Step Shift: Transform Your Sales and Grow Your Bottom Line

F

M

The Ultimate Sales Pro: Three Days to Stronger Selling

M

Finding Gold: Prospecting for Sales Leads Like a Pro

B

H

W

Calling All Callers: Tools and Techniques for Better Phone Sales

B

H

W

Great Exhibitionists: Mastering Trade Show Sales and Booth Etiquette

B

H

F

W

The Relationship Advantage: Connecting with Customers and Increasing Sales

F

W2

This onsite sales training program focuses on all of the elements of selling. The course includes self-evaluation exercises, customer and client needs analysis, tactics for making initial contact with customers, creating sticky sales (repeat purchasing), and methods for improving follow up. It is designed for those already in a sales position.

This introductory course presents the fundamentals of the sales and selling process. During the workshop, participants will learn how to get into the salesperson's mindset, distinguish between features and benefits, present competitive strengths, find new clients, and network more effectively. This workshop is ideally suited to those new to the sales role.

This workshop is about putting systems in place to take sales from "blah" to "ta da." Topics include articulating goals, addressing failures, asking the right questions, adding value, positioning and building strong relationships, and maintaining momentum.

The Ultimate Sales Pro: Three Days to Stronger Sellingcovers all aspects of sales and selling. It can be adjusted to accommodate experienced salespeople and those new to the profession. Depending on your needs, we can teach this multi-day training seminar in either a consecutive or nonconsecutive day formats.

Finding clients, networking, and growing a customer base are the key elements in this program created for those people who need to improve their sales prospecting skills. This courses focuses on building an electronic Rolodex and then knowing what to do with it. As with all of our professional selling programs, this course includes multiple role plays and practice cases.

This phone sales training course addresses skills needed for effective selling over the telephone. It can be combined with customer service training for participants sharing service and sales responsibilities.

Too many companies deploy staff to a trade show with no plan for making the most of the organization's investment. This trade show sales and selling course covers the ins and outs of successfully staffing a booth, setting realistic goals, generating traffic, qualifying leads, acting with professionalism, and following up after events.

Our relationship sales training course is designed to develop skills needed to foster long-term sales and client loyalty. The program examines the elements of the sales process with the end goal of building relationships to better serve clients and grow sales. This workshop is designed for businesses in which better relationships are essential to the bottom line.

We love free stuff just as much as anyone, and weve put together several tools to help our clients and site visitors improve their selling skills. From reading lists to training games and activities, weve posted several documents to help you improve your chances of making the sale. Check out the links in the left column of this page. Enjoy!

Read the original here:
Sales Training Courses Directory - Business Training Works

TrainOne offers innovative, award-winning online and classroom training products in Sales Techniques, Attitude, and Customer Loyalty, based on the work of Jeffrey Gitomer.

Our basic 'Core' library includes 78 online training modules with extensive video, interactivity, downloadable resources, and pre- & post-tests. They're hosted on our Learning Management System (LMS), which offers managers real-time 24/7 reporting on multiple levels.

We also offer live classroom programs and 'train the trainer' (T3) programs to bring your own training and coaching people up to speed quickly, as well as DVD/CD training products.

For larger clients we offer custom course development services mixing Jeffrey Gitomer content and your own market or company-specific content, delivered online with our LMS, through SCORM modules for your own LMS or through blended solutions mixing online and offline components. We have delivered products in over a dozen languages to date, and offer extensive student survey, polling and feedback options to fine-tune your training as needed.

Go here to read the rest:
Sales Techniques, Attitude & Customer Service Training from ...

Overall

If you've been considering retiring in the Empire State, here is information on the best places to retire in New York. This website has useful data and opinions on the exciting active adult retirement communities in New York. The Empire State has over 19 million people and 62 counties. It includes America's most famous city, the Big Apple, to charming sea coast villages on Long Island; from wealthy New York suburbs to the vast Adirondacks; from upstate to the Finger Lakes wine region; there is definitely a New York community where you can be happy in retirement. TheWikipedia entry for New Yorkhas more facts.

New York Climate The New York climate is called humid-continental. There are 4 seasons and the climate is influenced alternatively by the Gulf of Mexico and the Northeast. Summers are hot and winters are cold with occasional snowstorms. Western New York has a more severe climate, Long Island more moderate.

Economy and Home Prices New York has one of the highest household incomes ($55,223) in the United States. Median home prices can range greatly - in wealthy New York City apartments routinely cost over a million dollars. In the bigger NY Metro the median home price was $368,300 in the first quarter of 2013. In Albany, however, the median home price was $194,300. Cost of living in the New York Metro is very high but differs in other regions - 135 index in New York City and 101 in Ithaca.

New York Taxes

Tax Burden:New York is generally regarded as a high tax state. Its state and local tax burden is 2nd highest in the nation.Total tax burden inNew York Cityis the second highest in the nation at 12.3%.

Marginal Income Tax Rates.New York's top marginal income tax rate is 8.97% on the top bracket of $500,000.

Retirement Income Exemptions.When it comes to taxation of retirees, the tax situation is quite friendly. Military pensions, civil service pensions, NY State and local pensions are not taxable. Up to $20,000 of qualified pensions can be excluded if you are 59 years of age or older.

Social security exemption.Social security is not taxed.

Sales Tax:State sales tax is 4.0% but many towns and cities can and do add 5% additional tax.

Property Taxes:The worst tax problem for retirees is property tax, which is 2nd highest in the nation.

Homestead Exemption.New York has a homestead exemption.

Estate and/or Inheritance Taxes.New York has a new estate tax as of April 1, 2014. The exemption for 2014 was raised to $2.062,500 and is set to rise by just over $1 miilion each year until it reaches the federal exemption of $5.3 million (indexed for inflation) by 2017. The tax rate is 16%.

Here is more information abouttaxes for senior citizens in New York.

Topretirements named NY as the 8th worst state for retirement on its 2012 list.

Certified Retirement Communities New York does not have a certified retirement community program.

Best retirement communities in New York New York is a great state for active adults and people over 50, particularly if you live there already or hanker for "car-free" life in the Big Apple. For example, active adults looking for retirement information on thegreat City of New Yorkwill find vital information to help assess pros and cons of living there.

Other "best" retirement communities include the beautifulcollege town of Ithaca, the North Folk coastal town of Mattituck, or the state capitol in Albany. Towns like Poughkeepsie, Elmira, and Yonkers are other retirement places to consider.

Get started withreviews of the best retirement communities.

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new_york retirement guide - Find Your Best Place to Retire