It's How You FINISH That Counts

"It's not how you start, but how you FINISH!"

 

I've heard and read that many times before but, I heard it from someone personally just last month. This gentleman is very successful in his business that he runs but, like most people, it wasn't that way in the beginning.

 

THE business - a home-based business - that got him started and that he is still heavily involved in even after 9 years, started off at a snails pace. How much of a "snail's pace" you ask? He sold ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for his first six months. That's right...NOTHING.

 

What would YOU have done? Most of us would have, understandably, quit. Right? I mean, hey, come on, SOMETHING must not be quite right if, after six months, a person hasn't made one sale. But, he persevered and, during the last six months of that first year, he made $104,000 working that job part time.

 

About a month ago I heard him address this among a group of about twenty of us. He laughed and said something like, "Yeah, a lot of people still give me a hard time about going for six months without a sale. All I have to say is, 'It's not how you start, but how you FINISH!' "

 

Again, he is still very involved in working this business. Do you want to know - even though he is not done - how he has "finished" or how he has grown this business? He has made a six-figure income every year (including that first one) and, more often than not, he is actually making $250,000 + per year with that same business.

 

Don't ever forget that. You MAY be going slow as far as making the progress that you had PLANNED to make or that you WANT to make. However, even if the visible "results" are not what you wish they were, you are still ahead of where you were when you started.

 

And you are for SURE ahead of those that sit on the sidelines and criticize and mock what you are doing. Don't ever forget that.

 

Remember, even if you take two steps forward and one step back, you are STILL moving forward in the right direction and you are STILL one step ahead of where you were yesterday.

 

You never know how close you are to your "breakthrough". That's a fact, friend. You may be one day or one customer or contact away from a monumental surge in success.

 

Keep that in mind as you keep moving forward. And, as always, as you do so, be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

 

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A Great Attitude Becomes...

 

How does one become an adult?

 

Yes, I understand that there are certain rare diseases that a baby can be born with that causes them to grow old very quickly. But, in an "ordinary" situation, how does one develop into an adult?

 

Does a child grow into an adult in a week? A month? A year? Five years? Ten years?

 

I also understand that, in different cultures, children are considered "adults" at different ages. But, even with that being true, it doesn't happen overnight.

 

One day at a time, right? And, for most parents, those days seem to speed up as time goes by and, before they know it, their child is an adult with a child of their own.

 

Oh, believe me, I know. I have three sons that are all adults and two of them are married and, on top of that, our oldest has two children of his own.

 

We understand the concept of how things happen gradually just as is true in a child's education. Yes, again I understand  that there are some situations where a child "genius" moves ahead in his schooling. However, a child is never born and then receives his High School diploma the next week.

 

So, again, we all understand the idea of a process that involves time and progression.

 

So it is with the wording found on the graphic above. Every life is made up of years, which are made up of months, which are made up of days, which are made up of hours, minutes and seconds.

 

So, getting down to it, our life is made up of TODAY - one day at a time. And, what we do with TODAY (the seconds, minutes and hours that make today what it is) matters.

 

And, what we do TODAY is greatly dependent upon our ATTITUDE. That's right, our attitude.

 

Do you want to have a better day? Develop a better attitude.

 

Do you want to have a better month? Year? Life? Same answer...develop a better attitude.

 

Allow that "great attitude" to transform your seconds, minutes, hours and days which, in turn, will transform your weeks, months, years and - yes - THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

 

Attitude. How's yours?

 

Believe it or not (it's your choice, right?) our attitude really IS that important and impactful.

 

Until next time, whatever you do, always be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

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Positive, Patient and Persistent

Short and to the point today.

 

I hope that all of you understand the importance of remaining POSITIVE as we go along this journey called life. You do, right?

 

Not only does it make a big difference in OUR lives, but it also makes an impact - yes, a POSITIVE impact - on those around us. Many times we may never know what our positive attitude has done for someone else that has crossed our path through the course of a day.

 

And, thought it's not always easy, I would think that most of us also understand the importance of being PATIENT even as we strive to remain positive. Seriously!

 

For me, the testing of my patience will often determine whether I keep a positive attitude or if I allow my attitude to take a negative turn. IT'S MY CHOICE. But, wow, I have always tended to be an impatient person and it is literally, a daily struggle. Yes, I am much better than I used to be but, at the same time, I have a long ways to go!

 

What about you?

 

So, maybe we can even say it this way: "Stay POSITIVE so that you can practice PATIENCE."

 

Now, here's the kicker, friend. In order for us to be successful with either remaining positive or patient, it is going to demand - yes, DEMAND - that we be PERSISTENT!

 

Attempting improvement in anything - ANYTHING - by attempting that improvement for only a short period of time will NEVER bring about that improvement. Make sense?

 

You will never achieve IMPROVEMENT in anything unless you are PERSISTENT in your pursuit of that improvement. You can't quit or give up early.

 

Nope.

 

You MUST push on even when you give like giving up. Patience, remember?

 

Remaining persistent is where many fall short and fail.

 

How determined - how PERSISTENT - are you in achieving whatever it is that you have set out to achieve in and for your life?

 

The 3 P's of Improvement: Positive, Patient, Persistent

 

You CAN accomplish what you desire through this process, friend. But don't you DARE, EVER GIVE UP.

 

Remember, as you continue to "push through" each and every day, always be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

 

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Here We Go Again - "The Sky is Falling!"

How many times have we heard THAT before? When I showed my wife this graphic she began to laugh and said, "That reminds me of that New Madrid scare right before Jordan (our youngest, born in January of 1991) was born!"

 

Ah, yes! The New Madrid Fault "end of the world as we now know it" scare of December 1990. Anyone else out there remember that one? You see, living in Northwest Arkansas at the time made the "craziness" even a little bit crazier since we were fairly close AND not too far from the fault line as a whole.

 

Warnings were issued almost nightly from the television as well as the radio for everyone to be making "disaster relief kits" in order to be ready when "THE earthquake" hit.

 

I remember seeing news footage of all of the satellite trucks that had crowded the streets of that little town. Hey, at least BUSINESS was good for the locals, right?

 

The day - December 3, 1990 - came and went. No earthquake. Would you think that I'd be making it up if I told you that some people came away from that day a little disappointed? Well friend, I wouldn't be making it up simply because of the huge, relentless build up for this "event".

 

It came and it went without incident and the media had nothing else to talk about with such emphasis. Well, not until the next "big thing" came along.

 

Currently, if you turn on the national news (yes, and even the local news) you will find wild stories about the "ebola outbreak". Now, don't get me wrong. Death - to and for anyone - is a horrible thing to come due to some disease. I'm not taking that lightly at all. People have died.

 

But, what I AM saying is for all of us to step back, take a deep breath and realize that the sky really isn't falling.

 

Understand that the media MUST report such things to the point of hysteria in order to "stay in business". Like it or not, that is the truth. And, it is also true that there is fierce competition between the different stations to "out-do" one another in their reports and interviewing of "experts" (now, usually that term gets stretched to the breaking point!) or whatever it takes to get them the most viewers.

 

Still don't believe me? What does YOUR local station do when there is some sort of storm in your area that is a little out of the ordinary? You DO know what I mean, don't you? They even come up with daunting "names" for these events: "The Fierce and Frightening Flood of '01" . I just made that up but you've seen similar things, haven't you?

 

Here in Arkansas, the weatherman can predict a couple of inches of snow or a little ice and you would think that the Polar Ice Cap was planning to move in. EVERY newscast has some guy from the Highway and Transportation department being interviewed to find out what they are doing to prepare for this "life-altering event" that is headed our way!

 

And, honestly, "religious people" can be some of the worst ones of the whole bunch! Hey, just remember that I AM A BELIEVER, o.k.? But it seems that any little unusual event brings up the whole "end times" scenario that prepares us for the end of the world.

 

Here's the deal: you can allow yourself to get "sucked in" to all of this and get all worked up and stressed out over these things that are often presented as MUCH WORSE than they actually are. You can believe that or not - that obviously is your choice - but friend, this is part of the "negativity" that I always talk about us having a need to protect ourselves from...know what I mean?

 

I hope so because, after all, the sky really ISN'T falling.

 

Thanks for your time. Until next time, be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

 

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What Would YOU Do?

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