9/15/2010

Action Quotes for all of us

Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

- Bishop Desmond Tutu

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

- Vincent van Gogh

Push on -- keep moving.

Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.

- Abraham Lincoln

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

- William James

You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.

- Arthur Ashe

Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.

- John Wesley

If you want things to be different, perhaps the answer is to become different yourself.

- Norman Vincent Peale

I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.

- Jimmy Carter


Best,

Andy Rodie

Wisdom Quotes

Living gives you a better understanding of life. I would hope that my characters have become deeper and more rounded personalities. Wider travels have given me considerably greater insight into how cultural differences affect not only people, but politics and art.

- Alan Dean Foster

You have to pay the price. You will find that everything in life exacts a price, and you will have to decide whether the price is worth the prize.

- Sam Nunn

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

- Diane Ackerman

Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?

- Mary Oliver


It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don't want to believe that. But if you're over age twenty-one, your life is what you're making of it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities.

- John C. Maxwell

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.

- David Steindl-Rast


If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.

- Buddha


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

- Marie Curie


You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.

Best,

Andy Rodie

9/14/2010

Quote of the week

"Don’t join an easy crowd. Go where the challenge is great and the emotions are high. Go where the expectations are so strong that they provoke you, push you, and urgently insist that you not remain in one place. That way, you will grow and change." —Jim Rohn

Best,

Andy Rodie

9/13/2010

Vitamins for the Mind by Jim Rohn

Happiness

Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.

Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is something you design.

How sad to see a father with money and no joy. The man studied economics, but never studied happiness.

The greatest source of unhappiness comes from inside.

Happiness is the art of learning how to get joy from your substance.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present


Best,

Andy Rodie

Vitamins for the Mind by Jim Rohn

Emotions

Our emotions need to be as educated as our intellect. It is important to know how to feel, how to respond, and how to let life in so that it can touch you.

Civilization is the intelligent management of human emotions.

Measure your emotions. You don’t need an atomic explosion for a minor point.

Emotions will either serve or master, depending on who is in charge.

Women have an incredible ability to pick up on emotional signals. For example, there are some wolves that are so clever they have learned to dress up like sheep. Man says, “Looks like a sheep. Talks like a sheep.” Woman says, “Ain’t no sheep!”


Best,

Andy Rodie

A Jim Rohn quote

"Everything you need for your better future and success has already been written. And guess what? It's all available. All you have to do is go to the library. And there's probably a library in every neighborhood." -Jim Rohn

Best,

Andy Rodie

The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn (part two of two)

Next is spring. Fortunately, following the turbulence of winter comes the season of activity and opportunity called springtime. It is the season for entering the fertile fields of life with seed, knowledge, commitment, and a determined effort.

However, the mere arrival of spring is no sign that things are going to look good in the fall. You must do something with the spring. In fact, everyone has to get good at one of two things: planting in the spring or begging in the fall. Take advantage of the day and the opportunities that spring can bring.

It is the promise of spring that as we sow, so shall we also reap. Faith further provides to us an irrevocable law decreed in heaven which assures that for every disciplined human effort we will receive a multiple reward. For each cup planted, a bushel reaped, for every good idea given to another, many shall be given to us in return. For every demonstrated act of faith, a multiplicity of rewards; and for every act of love given, a life of love in return.

Just remember it is a natural characteristic of springtime to present itself ever so briefly, or to lull us into inactivity with its bounteous beauty. Do not pause too long to soak in the aroma of the blossoming flowers, lest you awaken to find springtime gone with your seed still in your sack.

With the intelligence, wisdom, and freedom of choice given to us as humans exercise the discipline to plant in spite of the rocks, weeds, or other obstacles before us. The rocks, weeds, and thorns of the world cannot destroy all your seeds if you plant massively enough and intelligently enough. My suggestion is to choose action, not rest. Choose truth, not fantasy. Choose a smile, not a frown. Choose love, not animosity. Choose the good in life in all things, and choose the opportunity as well as the chance to work when springtime smiles on your life.

Spring shows us that life is truly a constant beginning, a constant opportunity, a constant springtime. We need only to learn to look once again at life as we did as children, letting fascination and curiosity give us welcome cause to look for the miraculous hidden among the common.

Get busy quickly on your springs, your opportunities. There are just a handful of springs that have been handed to each of us. Life is brief, even at its longest. Whatever you are going to do with your life, get at it. Don’t just let the seasons pass by.

The third major lesson in life to learn: how to nourish and protect your crops all summer. Sure enough, as soon as you’ve planted, the busy bugs and noxious weeds are out to take things over. Here is the next bit of truth: they will take it, unless you prevent it.

There are two key phrases to consider with the third major lesson. The first is “all good will be attacked.” Don’t press me for a reason. I was not in on some of the early decisions, so I don’t know why. I just know that it’s true. Let reality be your best beginning. Every garden will be invaded.

The second phrase is “all values must be defended.” Social values, political values, friendship values, business values—all must be defended. Every garden must be tended all summer. If you don’t develop this skill, you’ll never wind up with anything of value.

But for those who make diligent efforts to plant, protect, and preserve there are not enough birds, bugs, or other obstacles to destroy all the efforts of last spring.

Now, the fourth season is fall, the time of harvesting the fruits of our springtime labor. Fall also presents us with our fourth major lesson to learn in life, and that is to learn how to reap in the fall without apology if you have done well and without complaint if you have not.

For nothing is more exciting than a bounteous crop, and nothing more dreadful than a barren field in the fall. We must remember that in all areas of the human existence, what we put into this world, we get back from it. It is nature’s way of evening the score. So regardless of the results, take full responsibility for your crop. One of the highest forms of human maturity is accepting full responsibility for our lives.

Which brings me back to the beginning of our discussion. We must remember that life is constantly recycling itself. Much of life is about the balancing of two opposites; like the positive and negative charge on a battery. Life’s balancing of opposites totally surrounds our lives; man/woman, day/night, good/evil, life/death, water/land, summer/winter, recession/expansion, joy/sorrow, etc.

Yes, I believe we will have major changes, but I also believe we will continue to have just one winter, spring, summer and fall each year. Much of our success will lie in our ability and philosophy to plant in the springtime of opportunity. To weed and cultivate in the testing time of summer, to harvest without apology and-or complaint in the season of fall, and to get stronger, wiser, better in the transition and learning times of winter.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Best,

Andy Rodie

. The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn (part one of two)

It is the promise of spring that as we sow, so shall we also reap. Faith further provides to us an irrevocable law decreed in heaven, which assures that for every disciplined human effort, we will receive a multiple reward. For each cup planted, a bushel reaped; for every good idea given to another, many shall be given to us in return. For every demonstrated act of faith, a multiplicity of the rewards; and for every act of love given, a life of love in return.”
—Jim Rohn

In past years, as I traveled around the country and world lecturing, one of the most frequently asked questions was about what I expect to happen over the next 6–12 months and-or even years. Well, I’m no expert, but I can share with you my thoughts. Whether it is preparing for the next few months or the next several years, I still believe there are overriding principals that we should follow and be led by. So I’d like to devote my message this week and next to my view of the period of history we’re in now and how it relates to words I wrote almost 30 years ago in my book, The Seasons of Life. Forgive me in advance if I sound a bit philosophical, but as you know by now, I do believe your philosophy is critical to your life’s success.

Life is about constant, predictable patterns of change. For the 6,000 years of recorded history, as humans have entered this world, received parental instruction, classroom instruction, and gathered the experience of life, many have set for themselves ambitious goals and dreamed lofty dreams. As the wheel of life continues its constant turning, all human emotions appear, disappear, and appear once again.

A major challenge faced by us all is that we must learn to experience the changing of life’s cycles without being changed by them, to make a constant and conscious effort to improve ourselves in the face of changing circumstances.

That is why I believe in the power and value of attitude. As I read, ponder and speculate about people, their deeds and their destiny, I become more deeply convinced that it is our natural destiny to grow, to succeed, to prosper and to find happiness while we are here.

By our attitude, we decide to read or not to read. By our attitude, we decide to try or to give up. By our attitude, we blame ourselves for our failure or we blame others. Our attitude determines whether we tell the truth or lie, act or procrastinate, advance or recede, and by our own attitude, we, and we alone, actually decide whether to succeed or fail.

How incredibly unique that a God who would create the complex and immense universe would create the human race, and give to those humans the free choice that would permit them to select their own achievement or their own destruction.

This strange but all-knowing God gave to us a delicately balanced sphere called Earth. On it, he placed the intelligent human, who would either develop it or destroy it. How terribly fascinating that a God would leave both projects—Earth as well as humans—unfinished! Across the rivers and streams, he built no bridges; he left the pictures unpainted, the songs unsung, the books unwritten and space unexplored. For the accomplishment of those things, God created the unfinished human who, within his heart and mind, had the capacity to do all these things and more, depending upon his own choice.

Attitude determines choice, and choice determines results. All that we are and all that we can become has indeed been left unto us. For as long as you continue to draw breath, you have the chance to complete the work in and for the Earth and for yourself that God has begun for you. In the cycles and seasons of life, attitude is everything!

So let’s begin our discussion of the four seasons. I’ll start by making two comments. First, life and business are like the changing seasons. That’s one of the best ways to illustrate life: It’s like the seasons that change. Second, you cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself.

Now, with those two key phrases in mind, let’s look at what I consider to be the first major lesson in life to learn, and that is how to handle the winters. They come regularly, right after autumn. Some are long, some are short, some are difficult, some are easy, but they always come right after autumn. That is never going to change.

There are all kinds of winters—the “winter” when you can’t figure it out, the “winter” when everything seems to go haywire. There are economic winters, social winters and personal winters.

Wintertime can bring disappointment, and disappointment is common to all of us. So you must learn how to handle the winters. You must learn how to handle difficulty; it always comes after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions; they come right after expansions. That isn’t going to change.

The big question is, What do you do about winters? You can’t get rid of January simply by tearing it off the calendar. But here is what you can do: You can get stronger; you can get wiser; and you can get better. Remember that trio of words: stronger, wiser, better. The winters won’t change, but you can.

Before I understood this, I used to wish it were summer when it was winter. When things were difficult, I used to wish they were easy. I didn’t know any better. Then Mr. Shoaff gave me the answer from a part of his very unique philosophy when he said, “Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge; wish for more wisdom.”

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Best,

Andy Rodie

9/12/2010

T. Harv Eker: The Three Keys to a Thriving Personal Economy

We’re in the midst of the worst global economic downturn in decades. Do you see a problem or an opportunity? If you had a millionaire mind, you’d say, “Neither! I see a million opportunities!”

Contrary to popular belief, there are still tons of opportunities to be found, so long as you’re looking in the right places. Business opportunities abound, but you may have to change your mindset in order to achieve success. The key to prosperity is how you choose to approach and react to the current environment.

Even for the most optimistic among us, it’s hard not to lose hope when the media tells us that we’re in a depression. Where is the motivation to succeed, much less to excel? Why, all of a sudden, does the target of becoming wealthy seem to be completely out of reach for the average person?

The truth is, it’s not. In any economy, good or bad, there are people who make money and people who lose money. This dynamic doesn’t just disappear when things get a little tough. The real question is, which economy is struggling—the general economy or your personal economy?

Think about it: You have your own views on life, your own belief systems, standards and results. You look at things differently than anyone else—why wouldn’t you have an equally unique economy? Everyone has his or her own economy.

There are three elements to be aware of to ensure that your personal economy does well, regardless of how the majority fares: mindset, cash flow and streamlined business.

Set yourself up for success by creating a mindset that focuses on opportunities instead of problems. What you focus on expands, so if you want to have more opportunities, focus on opportunities. Don’t get hung up on obstacles, barriers or all the bad news you see in the media.

Change your thinking and look at things from the other side: As stock prices decline and property values plummet, everything is on sale. If you bought stocks or real estate two or three years ago, you almost certainly paid a premium. Today, everything, from real estate to the stock market, is on sale, and these are sales you don’t want to miss.

When this current economic meltdown began, Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, said, “This is the day I’ve been waiting for the last 10 years.”

"There are three elements to be aware of to ensure that your personal economy does well, regardless of how the majority fares: mindset, cash flow and streamlined business"
The law of duality states that what goes up must come down. Eventually, what is on sale now will rise and prices will go back up, which makes today’s climate a great place to invest for the future. A lot of people are losing money right now because everything they sell is at a loss. But look at the flipside: If a seller is taking a loss, the buyer is getting a discount.

Warren Buffett has also been quoted saying that when everyone is greedy, you should be fearful, and when everyone is fearful, you should be greedy. True to his word, while so many others are frozen with fear, he’s taken $10 billion and put it into just two companies: Goldman Sachs and General Electric. I’m not telling you to rush out and do the same, but I will tell you that that’s how someone with a millionaire mind operates.

Now let’s look at cash fl ow. If you are looking at investing, you fi rst need to arm yourself with a sound understanding of investment principles and strategies. Avoid going strictly for asset appreciation, and look instead at creating positive cash flow. Interested in stocks? Find ones offering the prospect of excellent dividends. Considering real estate? Look at commercial options, such as buying part of a plaza or small retail mall with strong tenants who serve necessities.

When investing in real estate for cash fl ow, whether the value of the real estate goes up or down has little effect, because the goal isn’t to sell it, at least not in the short term. It doesn’t matter if the property appreciates $1 or $5 million or if it goes down $3 million. If the tenants pay their rent, that all-important revenue comes in every month.

We’ve looked at mindset and investments—now let’s talk streamlined business. It’s never a bad idea to start your own business—as long as you do your homework, follow your heart and commit yourself 100 percent to the challenge. Be mindful of the kind of business you’re operating. If your market includes high net worth individuals and you have an expensive product, you’ll probably be OK. Most of the people I know who have a high net worth aren’t overly affected by this downturn; in fact, they’re the ones buying what everyone else is selling.

Another relatively safe type of business is one that caters to people’s needs. Remember that your business is competing with people’s disposable income. As people have less disposable income and lose confidence, they quite naturally focus on necessities, not luxuries. For example, people still need to eat, but they might not go out to restaurants as often as they did a couple of years ago.

Take this as an opportunity to set your business up to be failproof. Be flexible—trim the fat off your business and make it run in a way that will allow you not only to survive, but to perform well even if revenue decreases.

The most important thing is to stay positive—focus on increasing your sales, and, if worse comes to worst, you will have set yourself up to survive. If, for example, your revenue decreases by 40 percent, then you will need to cut your expenses by 40 percent or more, if possible. The result is that your business will become more efficient, more viable and more sustainable in the long run.

Success is all about attitude, knowledge and the willingness to learn and grow. Set yourself up to prosper by taking an objective look at your business, your investments and your mindset, and make the changes that are necessary for you. Look for opportunities, and get involved with people who are doing well; model these people and make it a point to study their thought processes and habits. Think rich! If you change your mindset and build one that supports your success, your personal economy won’t have a choice: It will have to thrive.

T. Harv Eker is an author, success trainer, and founder and president of Peak Potentials Training. His books include the No. 1 New York Times Best-Seller Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, and his international bestseller, SpeedWealth. Eker also offers the Millionaire Mind Intensive, a three-day seminar that helps people take control of their minds and nurture self-empowering thoughts.

Best,

Andy Rodie