Here’s to the BEGINNING of BECOMING! What do YOU THINK about money, wealth, value and a RICH LIFE? Because that’s ultimately what matters—what you THINK. And what you believe. After 50-something NEW YEARS, the conclusion I have come to is… NEW is NOT ENOUGH! New is the OPPORTUNITY, YOU is the rest of the story. What will YOU do with this NEW Year? We say it almost without thinking HAPPY NEW YEAR, but HOW? As I thought about rolling the big calendar over again at the end of December I couldn’t help but remember this time last year when I was writing my column for this magazine’s tribute to Zig Ziglar. I still remember that headline (Jan 2013 issue) Zig’s Message? BE YOURSELF; Then BE BETTER! NULL
I think of Zig often, still use his messages that I learned about once upon a time.
Notice I said learned “about” because you can’t LEARN personal development. It’s about LEARNING and APPLYING and that’s an ongoing thing.
Just this week I was sharing one of his messages with two different individuals on personal growth and the art of BECOMING whatever it is you want to be. BEING is what most everyone wants, the ARRIVAL at some destination, “I wanna BE a ________!” But BECOMING is the process that takes you there. Zig’s simple formula was based on a solid foundation— “You can CHANGE what you are, CHANGE where you are, by CHANGING what goes into your MIND.” That’s really the Zig translation for an ancient script that says you and I have at our disposal the ability (and in most cases the opportunity) to change most anything about us, no matter what’s happened in the past. “…Be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of your MIND,” that script says. And at least once every year we should set aside some time to CONSIDER the possibilities for this NEW YEAR that’s ahead. What TRANSFORMATION would you like to see in YOU? Ask yourself
1. What am I putting (allowing) into MY MIND? 2. How can I change the INPUT for THE BETTER? 3. What would I LOVE TO BECOME (or become BETTER at)? 4. Why not GO FOR IT…NOW?
In my book The 10 Commitments I added a BONUS commitment that has much to do with RENEWAL. I called it SLOWING and I wrote it like this… “PRACTICE slowing”. Yep, to get really good at most anything, especially anything NEW to us, we simply must PRACTICE. What exactly does that mean, to PRACTICE SLOWING? It’s different for you than for me. It’s what matters, what Dr. Stephen Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) reminds us is IMPORTANT, even if it may not scream or ring with urgency. It’s often called by names like meditation or even daydreaming, but it’s an I-N-G word so that means its ongoing and ever-changing, especially for you personally.
Find your SLOWING place and thing and allow it to RENEW your thinking, your health, your mood or attitude. Unplug, make time for SLOWING, because it really matters in the whole RENEWAL process.
Have you ever noticed in taking a vacation, I mean more than a 3-day weekend a real vacation, that by the end of it chances are you were actually looking forward to getting back to work? Feeling sharper, eager? Maybe having some new ideas about how to do something new…if not, then maybe it wasn’t long enough. Or often enough. Being in Africa for 16 days taught me a lot about this lesson. I kept saying I couldn’t go, or I couldn’t go for more than a few days or…but after 16 days a lot of things changed about how I thought and think, about a lot of things more than 10 years later. So, as we settle into this New Year I challenge you to make it a year of RENEWAL for you and your goals. For you and your dreams, your health, your family, your (fill in the blank)! If your goal should become a year of RENEWING then usually the first/best thing to do is to MAKE A LIST. Write some things down that are important to you and see if you don’t begin to THING in a different way or how you might move in that direction. TWO BIG KEYS:
1. Get your mind off HURRY, WORRY, STRESSFUL things, at least a little at a time, so you can THINK on what Zig called “The GOOD, The CLEAN, The PURE, The POWERFUL, and The POSITIVE. (see Philippians 4:8). 2. Next, PRACTICE SLOWING. If you need a little help in this area get a little book called The 10 Commitments and go right to the end of the book for the bonus information on SLOWING.
And one more thing, my friend the late Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once said to me in a kidding, but very direct way, “Michael, I DON’T CARE what you’ve LEARNED! What are you LEARNING NOW?” Wow. That was a challenge to me. Charles PROVOKED me that day to think in a NEW WAY. Actually, to think in a RENEWING way, about MY LIFE! And to think about it RIGHT NOW! Here’s to the BEGINNING of BECOMING! To a Happy RENEWAL Year for YOU—and to sharing the message with someone who needs to hear it. To Your Uncommon Success, Michael
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He has been called “Mr. Mastermind” for his ability to bring together individuals and ideas that radically change personal and business PROFITS.
He is a business and marketing consultant who speaks to over 50 audiences each year on Winning in the NOW Economy and Top Performance in Life and Work.
Michael’s most recent work revolves around the study of wealth, rich strategies for life, and what he refers to as “MONEYSHIFTING” in a constantly changing marketplace.
His columns appear regularly in national publications and online as well as in his monthly E magazine available at www.MichaelYork.com
Michael wrote the book on Becoming Uncommon (2003).
In 2009 he was named The International Business Coach of the Year.
He is a business owner, author, entrepreneur, consultant, coach and professional speaker and has delivered “critical messages” on personal and professional development to over 1000 live audiences since 2001.
His columns have appeared in The Network Marketing Magazine since 2007.
**EDITORS’ NOTE: Michael’s book The 10 Commitments is available at www.MichaelYork.com Or contact him directly at Leader@MichaelYork.com
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