What these complainers did not understand is that Tony’s time is probably worth ten of thousands of dollars an hour. In case you did not know it the guy is worth in the neighborhood of a billion dollars. So, when you navigate in that stratosphere you have to prioritize your time. You have to concentrate on the major and forget the minor.

Being productive requires prioritizing the available time first and then it means being on focus. A definite objective needs to be established followed by a specific plan and finally, a controlled execution of the plan has to be directed.

The main roadblock to productivity is procrastination. In any major endeavor there will be some stumbling blocks and some major problems. That’s when procrastination shows it ugly head. Taking the easy road is the natural thing to do, so, when facing a stone wall, the natural tendency is to be distracted and concentrate on matters that are not relevant to the progression of the project on hand.

Work does not necessarily mean productivity. I have coached many up and coming young lions who were committed to succeed in business or in their professional life. One of the major point that had to be stressed with these guys was that there is a huge difference between business and busy-ness. Fussing over which tie should be worn today is not productive time. Planning an important phone call that could result in a big contract is quality and productive time.

Time and energy are restricted assets. They must be well invested. To accomplish that productively we must take on two roles. We must be the director and the manager of our time. The director’s role is to determine to road or path that will lead to the objective sought and the manager’s job is to make sure that we stay on that path.

Lastly, if we want to be productive, we must concentrate on our sphere of influence and not on our sphere of concerns. This needs a bit of explaining. We are surrounded by things over which we have control, that’s our sphere of influence and we are also surrounded with things over which we have no control and that our sphere of concerns.

Needless to say that whatever time spent worrying over our sphere of concerns or the things that we cannot change is a total waste of time and energy. To be really productive, we have to be disciplined which also means having control over our mind and the best way to exercise that discipline is by staying focus on what we can change and stop worrying over what can happen to us.

To succeed in any endeavor, we must be productive and to be productive we must be proactive in prioritizing, in managing procrastination and in exercising focus control. Time is money and the way that we use our time will determine the amount of money that we will earn. Simple application, huge results.

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We have limited time and just so much energy therefore we are also restricted in our efforts so both time and efforts have to be invested as judiciously as possible.

There are three ways of investing time and efforts that stand out way above any others because, in each case, the returns are inestimably profitable. None of these three types of investment are more important than the other so they will not be described in order of their importance because that evidently cannot be done.

The first that I would like to talk about here is the time invested in our close relationships, that is, our immediate family or our spouse and children but especially in our spouse.

The couple is the nucleus around with all human relationships revolve. A good, solid and loving relationship between the two partners is central to a happy and rewarding life. So, if it’s so important, it stand to reason that time and effort should be devoted to make it flourish and grow.

Nothing in life is static. It either blossoms and grows or it withers and dies. The dynamic of the couple needs to be nurtured and fed. Time and efforts have to be invested if we wish to see it remain solid and growing.

Another investment that pays untold dividends is the one that we make in our education or to put it another way, the time and effort that we invest in a quest to personally expand and grow.

The quality of our experience of the world depends on the debt of our general and specific knowledge. Appreciation and enjoyment depend on comparison. The finer things in life cannot be really appreciated if we have nothing to compared them to. That is where general knowledge comes into play. A well garnished intellect is a prerequisite to really appreciate what life has to offer.

Knowledge will also guide us in making those small but very important distinctions that will guide our path to prosperity and happiness. To take wise decisions, first, we must be informed. Another basic premise to successful living.

Lastly, but just as important, is the time and efforts that we invest in our health. Hygiene, nutrition, exercises and stress control are the pillars upon which health is best preserved and protected.

Without health, nothing else really matters. So, again, it deserves quality time and efforts. Nature has been generous with us but it will not withstand continuous neglect.

Bottom line, if you really want to be rich in a way that your life will keep on acceding to higher and higher plateaus, invest time and efforts in your spouse, yourself and in your health. No greater dividends can be found anywhere else.

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First and foremost, writing is a wonderful way of expressing ourselves. There is no “pacing” as we see in conversation. That is, we can stop in mid-sentence and evaluate where we are going with our train of thoughts. We can stop for as long as we want to chose the exact word to convey the precise meaning of the message.

Expressing ourselves through writing also give us the opportunity to stop writing at any point in order to do the researches necessary to confirm a notion or extend our knowledge on a particular subject.

We can also scratch anything that we have written so far and start anew with a different point of view, a different optic and even a different position on the subject.

These are all reason why writing can get to be so fascinating but the most important reason of all is the fact that putting down our thoughts on paper or other medium helps us to clarify our thoughts.

Even if we know instinctively about a great number of subjects it does not mean that those opinions are clear in our head. If someone asked me if I love the form a beautiful female foot. The answer would be immediate. I do love to look at a pretty lady’s foot but if I was asked why, I would be dumbfounded. That’s when writing comes in so handy.

During my career I’ve had to give talks on a great number of subjects. Most of these subjects were very familiar to me but I found that if I took time to put my thoughts on paper first, before giving the lecture, my opinions would be much clearer, more specific and easier to convey to others.

Writing is also a wonderful way of learning. The simple act of copying an important passage from a text or a book will help to clarify and impregnate the crux of the message in our reference of information.

Great thinkers were also prolific writers. They knew and appreciated the power of the written word even if it was their own.

We learn from repetition and we learn from experience. And the best way to learn is by combining the two modes and by using different variations of the two modes. That is through the visual, auditory and kinesthetic which means reading, hearing and writing.

Bottom line is, writing is one of the most effective tool for self-growth and personal development yet it’s also probably the least used option. That may be something that we should think about… and maybe write about.

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Charisma is a very elusive trait. It can be found in the most diverse characteristic qualities but it is not attached to anyone of those qualities.

According to Wikipedia the word charisma refers to a rare trait found in certain human personalities usually including extreme charm and a ‘magnetic’ quality of personality and/or appearance along with innate and powerfully sophisticated personal communicability and persuasiveness.

Most of us would certainly like to acquire a higher level of charisma but since it is such a elusive trait, it is not easy to accomplish. However, all is not lost. There is one possibility and that is, having a sense of mission.

The masses are just begging for leaders. They want individuals that can be relied upon to show the way. People who can offer hope of a better future. In one word, there is a need and a want for someone who is on a mission and the person who can fulfill this need will be seen as being charismatic.

This simple truism can easily be seen in something as mundane as a singer. Most of the times very few people in the audience will know much about the singer but the simple fact that he is leading the audience on their quest for entertainment will be enough to convey to that person the characteristic of charisma.

Though it is very often repressed, the need to lead, to be the alpha, is one of the most fundamental and basic urge. So, when we see this leadership quality displayed in someone else, an attraction toward that person is formed and that attraction is what we call charisma.

The formula to acquire that elusive quality known as charisma then becomes relatively simple. Develop a sense of mission for a cause. Exert leadership for that mission and the inevitable will happen. You will be seen as having charisma.

Granted that, even if the formula is simple, implementing it is not easy. It requires a burning desire, perseverance, passion and energy. But it is a working plan and one that almost anyone can use successfully if it is so desired.

It has been said that charisma is a gift of the gods. That may be true in some cases but for those of us who have not been so blessed, there is something that we can do about it. We can find a mission, lead in that mission and become blessed with the aura of charisma.

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When we read the biographies of great men and women we find that they all had one thing in common. They were all deeply involved in something that they felt was larger than themselves. They were serving a cause. That is what gave them the inspiration and the energy to accomplish so much.

Even someone like Donald Trump, who seems to personify the self-serving attitude, said that he wanted his life to be a statement.

One can wonder what he meant by that. My guess is that he wants to show the world what a person is capable of if he puts his mind to it and dares to accomplish great things.

In his own way, he has been a role model for millions of people and he knows it. It was said that his show, The Apprentice, received over one million applications from people who wanted to be contestants. That says something about the influence that he’s having on up and coming young wolves.

Another great example of someone who achieved greatness by being involved in a cause that was larger than he was is Dr Robert H. Schuller who built the Crystal Cathedral in the city of Garden Grove, California in 1977.

Even if he had no money, Schuller was able to built this $17,000,000 magnificent glass Church. He had a cause. He had imagination and nothing else. It took three years but he achieved what seemed impossible at the time.

Books are filled with the stories of people who achieved the impossible by investing themselves in a cause that was larger than themselves.

People have achieved greatness by devoting themselves to music, the arts, medicine, research, politics and a world of other great causes.

The door that opens up to super-achieving and greatness it the one to leads to causes that we are passionate about. Causes that are greater than we are. Life gives us a choice. We can focus on the self and be limited in our achievements or we can focus on the greater good for all and see unlimited opportunities open for us.

Dare to be great. Get involved in a cause that is greater than you are and watch miracles happen.

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Laws, rules and regulations are so prevalent in our lives that it has almost become a cosmic reality. We have come to believe that what is right will be rewarded and what is wrong will be punished. That is where reality becomes distorted.

Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. That is a fact. That’s how life is and we must accept that reality even is it goes our sense of fairness and what we believe that justice should be.

Misguided people will do good deeds in order to be rewarded and when the reward does not come, frustration will occur. That is where the tragedy lies. Good deeds should be its own reward. There is no other cause and effect for goodness.

The sense that justice is built into the laws of nature is simply false and misleading. The most virtuous person will be treated by nature’s law with the same yardstick that will be used against the worst of villains.

The notion that good begets good and that wrongdoing is punished is prevalent in almost every story that we hear or read and in almost every film that we see, so, no wonder we have come to believe it.

Successful living depends very much on rational and logical thinking. Just because a notion is widely accepted does not necessarily make it true. Justice is served in courts of laws but not in every day living.

Living the good life for the sake of being a good person if fine but doing so in the hope of being rewarded by outside influences is just plain deceitful. Chances are that no reward will be forthcoming and that frustration will ensue.

It goes without saying that this is not an incitation to lead a selfish or immoral life. It is however a reality check. Living a life of sacrifices thinking that it will somehow be rewarded is illusionary. Chances are that it will not happen.

Good deeds, done for the right reasons is one of the secret of successful living. Good deeds done for the right reasons is the path to self-growth and self-actualization. And, that’s how it should be viewed.

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Some things are important, these are the majors, others have little significance in our lives, they are the minors. Some things can be changed to improve the quality of our lives, those also are also the majors. Some things are beyond our reach and cannot be influenced no matter how much we try, they, again, are the minors

Successful living requires controlled focus, dynamic passion and a sharp sense of direction. None of these factors can be ignored or wasted on unproductive minor endeavors.

That is not to say that life should be all work and no play. But it does suggest that we should get our priorities straight. What’s important comes first and is given major consideration whereas what is only matter of interest should take the back seat and be relayed to secondary positions.

The problem with what has been proposed so far is the fact that what we have been qualifying as the majors, or to put it into other words, what is important in the quality of our life, demand work and efforts that are not considered compelling. They are not considered to be fun things to do.

They have not considered fun things to do because they have been initially undertaken without the proper preparations. No time or thoughts have been given to set up the optic from which those tasks will be viewed.

Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good or bad but our thinking makes is so.” It can also be said, no job is either good or bad, fun or dull, but our thinking make it so.

Changing the lens with which we view our job or profession, which usually is the number one “major” that can affect the quality of our life, does require some imagination, it does require some thinking but it can always be done and it must be done.

It must be done if we want to see our life’s work as fun, exciting, and compelling so that we can be passionate about it and make it simple for us to major on what matters rather than wasting our time and majoring on the minor.

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Almost everyone is adversely affected by stress to some degree. The good news is that there is something that we can do about it. There are many techniques that can be used in stress reduction such as yoga, meditation, sports etc… but there is one very simple and effective technique that is almost completely overlooked and that is, Present Time Consciousness or PTC.

PTC, though highly effective, is incredibly simple, and that may be its outdoing. People find it hard to believe that something so simple and easy to learn an use can so effective. PTC is a discipline where the practitioner strive to keep his mind focused on the present. Thus the appellation, Present Time Consciousness.

With PTC, the practitioner will not let his mind wanders unto the future. As soon as thoughts of what could happen in the future enter the mind, a conscious effort is made to get back to whatever the person is doing in the present.

The reason for that is simple. Most of the time, we don’t fear what is happening now. We are dealing with it, so it is not the cause of great concern or stress. But, on the other hand, what could result from whatever is happening in the present can bring frightening scenarios of gloom and doom. And that is where most of the stress comes in.

PTC, like any other skill gets better with practice. At first, staying focused in the here and now can seem like an impossible task. However, after we have made a reasonable amount of effort to develop that skill, we get to be increasingly effective at it.

It is relatively easy to maintain Present Time Consciousness when we are involved in activities that require concentration. It is more difficult when we are involved in more mundane activities such getting dressed, doing some cleaning or mowing the grass. However, these are the best activities to practice PTC. And the way that it can be done is by caring about what we are doing.

When we care about something, we feel that it is important and we give it all our attention. So the secret is to threat everything that we do as if it was important. A disciplined mind can find as much satisfaction from cleaning pots and pans as it will solving an important problem. And the best part of that is that if we can care about menial tasks we will be even better at caring while involved in more complex endeavors.

So, to recapitulate, the best way to combat stress is to mentally stay in the present moment and the best way to stay focused in the present moment is really care about whatever it is that we are doing. The formula would then be: “Caring = Focus = No Stress”.

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Self-confidence is having the feeling that we are in control and our level of self-confidence is determined by the extent of the situations that we have that feeling of being in control.

Self-confidence applies mainly to social conditions but it is also relevant in intellectual and physical activities. As an example, a person could feel very confident while playing a certain sport and be a total zero in social situations or in intellectual endeavors.

Our main objective here is directed toward self-confidence in social settings or situations. To acquire that sense of assuredness while mixing with people.

In 1936, Dale Carnegie came up with the most effective technique to acquire self-confidence. To this date, it remains the best and most effective technique.

For over seventy years people have developed self-confidence through public speaking.

The number one enemy of self-confidence is the fear of rejection. Rejection is a primal fear. In antiquity, if you were rejected from the pack, you were condemned to die. That basic fear is just as present with us today as is was when man first assumed the erect posture of the primal man.

Now, we all know that the best way to overcome a fear is by facing it and overcoming it repeatedly. And, one of the best way to face and overcome the fear of rejection is through public speaking.

I still remember my first experience in public speaking. It was in front of about twenty of my chiropractic patients and, of course, the subject of my talk was Chiropractic. I knew the subject very well and my audience was more than friendly. Yet, the experience was tantamount to facing a firing squad.

Somehow, I got through the ordeal but that thirty minute experience left me totally wasted. Wasted but somewhat elated. I was still alive and feeling very grateful for it.

The experience was repeated over and over again with ever increasing ease and satisfaction. And, best of all, with ever increasing self-confidence.

You want to increase your self-confidence? Join a Toastmasters club or find any other way of doing some public speaking. It’s the most effective and fastest way of acquiring the inestimable gift of self-confidence.

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Nothing could demonstrate with more accuracy the veracity of that quote by Tony Robbins than the following anecdote which can be found in his book, Awaken the Giant Within.

“Do you know the story of the four-minute mile? For thousands of years, people held the belief that it was impossible for a human being to run the mile in less than four minutes. But in 1954 Roger Bannister broke this imposing belief barrier.

His experience provided them with references strong enough to create a sense of certainty that they, too, could “do the impossible.” And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing!”

The prize will not go to the one who wavers on his capacity to attain accomplish a specific objective. Certainty is the key. With certainty we have clarity. With clarity we have a very specific purpose. And a very specific purpose will allow the complete focus necessary to slay the big dragons.

To do, we must dare. Daring excludes timidity. And the best way to exclude timidity is to instill certainty. That’s the winner’s edge. It’s the key to success.

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