Technology and Growth

Here is a quick tip for today.  Make yourself a video of something you really feel good about that you did.  Add music.  Upload to your smart phone.  Throughout the day if you find your personal inspiration going a bit flat, take a few minutes and watch your video.  It will remind every cell in your body how great you really are! Have fun.

Bad is Stronger Than Good

I may have written about this research before, yet I find it comes into my daily conversations. I wanted to reiterate an important message in self-help, positive psychology, personal development -- or whatever you choose to call the process of life transformation -- and that message is this:

No one, no process, no program can promise you that life will be eternally happy and without pain and sorrow.  Bad things happen and we humans seem to remember those things more than we remember the good.  There is a physiological reason for that -- get over it!  It is a fact. 


However, and this is a big HOWEVER, you (and I) can traverse the sorrow and pain AND be happy.  Part of the answer is that we adjust our current attitude of 'normal' to meet the new situations instead of continually measuring life happiness using our past 'normal' as the yardstick.  That is an internal adjustment, not a statement about external realities.
Love * Learn * Prosper
and Remember: Live the 'Don't Die' Spirit©
Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
Dr. Success™
http://www.dontdiebooks.com/
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
866 975 3777 Toll-Free

Fear

Some may think starting the day with a reading about 'fear' would make the day a bit dark.  However, I it to be a challenge.  My morning reading started with a quote:

"Always do what you are afraid to do."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

So I thought about my business -- which in my case is also my life interest -- helping people remember how strong they are so they achieve what they never thought possible -- and I wondered what I am afraid to do to get that message out?  That gave me a few ideas of actions I had been sidestepping in the distribution of my book.  I made a commitment to do the top two things on my list that I have been avoiding.
What action are you afraid to take in your business -- or you life?  Always start your day doing that thing and see what happens. 

Sending my book to President Obama was one such thing for me.  I got this nice thank you note!  Still see him carrying it and quoting from it!  That may be a dream but my dream can not possibly become a reality if I did not at least first send the book. 

Thank you, Andrea Goeglein, PhD
www.DontDieBooks.com
www.ServingSuccess.com
www.YouTube.com/user/ServingSuccess
www.FaceBook.com/DrSuccessPhD

Help Your Self Live the Don't Die Spirt

Are you living your Don't Die Spirit Today?

Peace, Andrea Goeglein, PhD

http://www.dontdiebooks.com/

http://www.servingsuccess.com/

www.Facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD

Self-Help Hogwash

I do not believe the cliche "all things happen for a reason" as many use it...when something bad happens there is some 'reason' why it happened and your job is to find out what that reason is and learn from it.

Hogwash.

There is only one reason anything happens and that is because the purpose of life is the transformation of the spirit from one level of connection to our spirit to hopefully more complex levels of connection to our spirit and our spiritual source. That is the reason we live and take each breathe. What shows up in our lives are just opportunities to continue to transform -- the kickin and screaming down the road of transformation is just the noise we make!

So, how is your Monday starting out?  Peace,

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD

DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

www.ServingSuccess.com

www.DontDieBooks.com

1 866 975 3777

Give and Get No April Fool's

Okay, so I get Mercury is retrograde.  The post I just wrote was published with no content.  So being the persistent soul that I am, I will do it again. 

I have republished many of Dr. Biswas-Diener's blogs and suggested you purchase his great books on positive psychology.  Today he has made an offer I want to pass along.  He wrote another great blog summarizing the research of giving on the giver.  I will post those comments over the next few days.  In the meantime, please buy his workbook Positively Happy.  It is a self-contained 6 week course in a book on how to make yourself happier.  Buy purchasing the book in the next 7 days, all the proceeds go to Mercy Corp to aid the efforts in Japan.  Below is Dr. Biswas-Diener's offer.  Thank you.

A Happy Way to Help Japan

There are a number of ways you can help the people of Japan. Although they are a wealthy nation donations to groups like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps reflect your compassion and help rescue and reconstruction efforts in that country. As with the earthquake that recently devastated Haiti I want to throw my weight into the humanitarian effort. From April 1 through the 7th I will donate all the proceeds from sales of the Positively Happy workbook (http://tinyurl.com/3dtb97k) to the Mercy Corps


efforts in Japan. I am not donating 10%, or 20%, but 100% of the proceeds. Please allow for up to 24 hours for the electronic workbook to be delivered to you. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you so much. As always, feel free to contact us with ideas, suggestions, or questions at http://www.intentionalhappiness.com/  Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener

Thank you, Andrea Goeglein, PhD
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
www.YouTube.com/user/ServingSuccess

Mindfulness is Overrated!

I have incredible news for you.  Being aware all the time is overrated.  Research supports us taking a rest and NOT being so darned aware.  What follows is a reprint of an article by Robert Biswas-Diener.   As I prepare for my first real vacation in several years, I know I plan to heed the advice. 


The virtues of auto-pilot

Have you ever been driving and ended up in the wrong destination because you weren't thinking about where you were going? Perhaps you intended to head to the store but suddenly found yourself in the parking lot of your children's school? We often live on "auto-pilot," taking our minds off-line and allowing mental habits to take over. This is why, when we are at the airport and the ticket agent says "Have a nice flight" we sometimes say "you too," even though the agent is not flying anywhere. It is a kind of mindlessness that eases the burden of paying attention to every detail all the time.

Recently, there has been much talk about the other side of this coin: mindfulness. Mindfulness is effortful awareness. Rooted in meditation practices mindfulness is the true appreciation of each moment. Ellen Langer, the Harvard University psychologist, claims that Mindfulness is true happiness. The problem is, we cannot and should not be mindful all the time!

A groundbreaking paper on "psychological flexibility" argues that these "default" mental states are an important part of a healthy approach to life. Research is clear: exerting self-control such as refraining from eating a tempting cookie burns glucose in the brain and leads to worse self control and cognitive processing over time. The most psychologically flexible people understand that sometimes they need to exert effortful control but, at other times, they need to fly on auto-pilot to conserve their mental resources. This is not all that different from one of Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Covey suggests that a person cannot just use a skill or talent all the time; we all need to take breaks to "sharpen the saw" (rather than just continuing to saw).

In the end, mindfulness is associated with appreciation and happiness, but mindlessness conserves our mental resources to make mindfulness possible. So don't beat yourself up for occasionally living on "auto-pilot." Besides, life is more of an adventure if you sometimes end up in the parking lot of your kids' school rather than your intended destination.

Thank you Robert for granting permission to use this piece. 

Thank you to my readers for continuing to join me on our journey on the crooked road of success.

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
1 866 975 3777
http://www.youtube.com/user/ServingSuccess
www.facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD

Child's Play Part 2

This week I posted a copyrighted photo by New York City designer Roxane W. Isbey, Jr.  I asked you some questions to get your creative juices flowing and to reconnect with your natural sensing which may have gone dormint during your development from childhood into adulthood.  Since children usually get o play every day -- yes, remember that time in your life when you literally played every signal day!  Well, it is only right that I ask you to 'play' twice in one week!  Here is another of Roxane's incredible photos.  Now answer this challenge.

Dr. Success Challenge:  Look around your environment today.  Do you see beauty?  If so, where and what does it remind you of.  And of course, if this photo sparks a memory or two pay attention to those memories.  Now here is the real quesiton:  If this photo represented one of you most cherised life goals yet to achieve, what goal would it be and why does it remind you of that goal? 

Thank you, Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
www.facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD
www.twitter.com/DrSuccess
http://www.servingsuccess.com/

You Unstuck

Are you finished with the storyline you are telling yourself and others about how the recent economic trauma has adjusted your life and dreams? Are you ready to get unstuck? Can you imagine a life with You Unstuck?

This month’s AM AZ book segment, which will air live on Tuesday, October 12 at 10 a.m. PST, will feature You Unstuck by Libby Gill. I think it’s the right book for right now. As a country we are a year into the economic adjustment. Twelve months is a figurative and literal cycle in psychological adjustment. Figuratively because it signifies transitioning through the four seasons of growth: Winter going dormant, Spring planting and budding, Summer growth and Fall harvest.

Literally because a year is 12 months!

Gill has boiled down the steps of getting You Unstuck into a three-word process: Clarify, Simplify, and Execute. The words really do speak for themselves. From the different areas of your life, to your thinking patterns, to your willingness to accept risk, she offers questions, assessments and exercises to get You Unstuck. She uses the latest findings in the neurosciences to support the processes she provides.

For anyone with money issues, I strongly recommend her Chapter 9 Mind Over Money. The chapter takes you through a self-examination of your spending style, your mindset and offers a step-by-step tracking system. It is a perfect example of her Clarify, Simplify, and Execute model. It challenges you to track your spending, really grasp where your cold hard cash is going, and execute a new way of thinking and behaving by making different choices that work better for you and your current financial situation.

As I stated above, I think the timing of this book is perfect. Too early in the cycle of trauma and you would not be able to comprehend where you are or how you got there. You needed time to see how you might have contributed to your situation before you can design a plan to adjust your behavior and mindset.

As we transition into the beginning of another year, hopefully you are ready to get out of your story and into new possibilities. There is no time better than the present to get You Unstuck.

With appreciation, Andrea
Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
www.ServingSuccess.com
www.twitter.com/drsuccess
702 869 3729

Mayday, by Nora Klaver

“Asking for help is a universally dreaded endeavor.”


This is the first sentence of Nora Klaver’s book, “Mayday! Asking for Help in Times of Need.” If you’re nodding your head as you read this, you’re not alone. Our modern-day culture applauds independence at ever turn, but it is truly through interdependence that we find our biggest strengths.

As the author points out in her book, asking may be so frightening simply because we wait until we’re drowning before throwing in the towel. She suggests that we develop much bigger Mayday-muscles. That we learn to reach out long before we’re in crisis. Sadly, we all struggle through life, side by side, in isolation. Those around us would be empowered and thrilled to lend a hand, but we do not give them the chance. We are stopped by fear: What if the person I ask says no? What will I owe in return? Klaver explains that asking for help is, in fact, learnable. She suggests that we literally practice three times daily – a prescription to create balance.

Crying Mayday is the beginning of a conversation. It builds bridges and relationships. The invitation is really much larger than the situation at hand – it is a chance for community. Using exercise and real-life examples, Klaver gives specific tools to make asking easier. Number one: Name the need -- be specific. Number Two: Listen more deeply. Tell the person exactly what you need, and watch their body language. If they seem hesitant or uncomfortable, you don’t have to run for the hills, humiliated. Instead you can say, “You seem hesitant, do you need more information, or maybe my timeline is too tight?”

Mayday provides many other how-to steps, such as:

• What to do when pride or ego gets in the way.
• Why asking for help early and often reduces stress and restores energy.
• Why self-care is the new self-help.

It is oxymoronic that Klaver’s book would be categorized as “self” help. She is the first to admit that self can only take us so far. Self-help books don’t help anyone unless we take action. Even at work it is empowering to reach out. In a recent interview, when asked about the workplace, the author shared, “You show your team that you are thinking about your needs within the context of your organization, and that is impressive to everyone."

Besides making our lives easier, asking for help can be emotionally and spiritually enriching even make us more confident. The bottom line is that life is a journey. Sometimes the road is unclear, difficult or downright impassable, but you don’t have to go it alone. Asking for help is humbling and it is empowering.

It’s also worth remembering that like all applications of positive psychology, any time an individual is helped, everything around them is made better. One thing cannot be affected without ALL things being affected. Asking for help deepens connections, reduces stress, increases energy, ends isolation, and most of all, it serves others by allowing them to be useful and necessary. In the immortal words of Zig Zigler: "You can get everything you want if you help enough others get what they want."

To your success! Dr. Success, Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.
http://www.servingsuccess.com/

Click here to purchase your copy of, “Mayday! Asking for Help in Times of Need”

The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, by Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer

You know you’re willing to do what it takes to be successful. What you don’t know is what books will help you on your journey. 2,000+ self-help titles are printed each year, and everyone from therapists to Oprah recommends a different favorite. You’re too busy to read them all: You have a life, a business, and success to experience. You have to make choices: what business to pursue or which book to read. (With 2,000 books, you’d have to read almost 5.5 books every day, to even come close!)

As Dr. Success, I offer a powerful, valuable shortcut on your journey. I read self-help books as a vocation, a hobby and a business. As a business, I make appearances on television as a self-help expert who reads these books and shares how to turn the authors’ thoughts on a subject into specific actions that viewers can take to get measurable results. (For a sneak peek at my video synopsis of many of the books I will cover in my blog, visit my website: http://www.ServingSuccess.com.) This article will be the first in a series to translate my television segment into monthly articles. In short, I will show you how to use the books instead of just read the books.

Overview

The first book in my monthly series on self-help books is a must-have reference manual on the top 64 success principles by a long-time teacher in the personal transformation field, Jack Canfield. The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, by Jack Canfield with Janet Switzer isn’t necessarily a quick read, but it does put everything you need under one umbrella.

It’s a large book, but don’t let the size turn you off. The book is written in a way that allows you to pick a subject area, and then choose a lesson to turn into action. It is conveniently divided into six main themes, including: The Fundamentals of Success, Ways to Build a Success Team, and reminders that Success Starts Now. Definitely invest the time to read the seven-page introduction. I may disagree with the authors’ suggestion that you read the book from cover to cover, but I enthusiastically support their warning not to become discouraged with how long it may take to see results. The special integrity of this book is that it does not sugarcoat what it takes to achieve success: it takes time – and a lot of it. Yet if you invest the time, this book delivers on its promise: If you apply the principles laid out on its pages, you will achieve your goals.

What to Do

Here’s one technique to effectively use this book. Think of the six sections as potential growth areas. Whenever you have time, randomly choose a section and a reading from that section. “Randomly” means to let your fingers do the walking! Look through the table of contents and stop on a given page. Go there and, with your eyes closed, point to a spot. Open your eyes to see which growth area you’ll be working on. (Many people use this technique when looking for guidance from spiritual books such as the Bible. This can also be used with most self-help books.) Commit to working on only that chosen area for the next seven days. Read the chapter and do the suggested action for that week – then assess your results. Is it working, does it feel right, have you moved closer to where you want to be? This process of personal development may be similar to the way you learned to run a business or solve a challenge: observe, act, analyze, and adjust for greater results.

Another approach is to read the first chapter in every section and work with each one it until you have integrated the actions into your personal success repertoire. Using that technique you will be summoned to take 100% responsibility, drop out of the “Ain’t It Awful” Club and surround yourself with successful people, stay focused on your core genius, be mentally and physically present, develop a positive money consciousness, and most important, start now and just do it!

My Specific Experience with this Book and Results

For me, being reminded to take 100% responsibility also helped me remember that everything in life is the result of choices I make. I would like to share with you what was going on in my business life at the time I was reviewing this book. As I recount my story, try to think of a time you had a similar situation in your personal or work life. Recognizing how you contribute to any situation is the first action step you can take to positively influence a different outcome.

In addition to being an expert in self-help, with my husband, I own and operate two hotels and employ many people. At the time I was reading The Success Principles I felt I was being saddled with less-than-high-performing employees. They seemed to complain a lot, always had an excuse for why some goal was not met, and were quick to blame the one person who was not in the room for all of our challenges. When I was reminded through the first chapter that I needed to take 100% responsibility for my life, I was quickly able to see that I was replicating and creating, in my own life, the behaviors I was experiencing in my company.

That priceless awareness allowed me to see very clearly how the next section’s opening chapter on dropping out of the “Ain’t It Awful” Club and surrounding myself with successful people, might just be my ticket out of my current predicament and on to the next level of success. I monitored my own language about how and why the situation was the way it was, and like magic, the people around me began to do the same.

That different result was reinforced as soon as I began to build a team instead of trying to do everything myself. Staying focused on my core genius and allowing others to contribute to the overall success of the situation was a relief for me and for those who worked for me. Building the team required me to stay present in every conversation with every employee so that each knew would know that I was on his or her team too! It meant not responding to e-mails while someone was trying to speak with me, and it meant not answering a phone call – and turning off my phone if I was in a scheduled meeting with a team member.

As a business owner, I came to realize that my greatest business cost – salaries – would produce better returns if I actually invested time in my employees. I developed a money consciousness that said salaries were an investment, not a liability.

When I read the sixth section of the book, it was obvious that starting now was not a recommendation but an imperative. Success may start as a thought, but it must end in a whole lot of action for it to be sustainable. The Success Principles gives you 64 opportunities to take that action. All you need is the willingness to help yourself.

Action Step for RIGHT NOW

* Get the Book (available here – or check your local library).

* Read the seven-page introduction.

* Choose an action plan (either “random readings” or a chapter-by-chapter overview. Or, go for it, and read it all – every page is a business and personal treasure and a launching pad to your future.)

* Do it now. Success Starts Now!


Contact Dr. Success – Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.

If you would like to learn more about how to begin Serving Your Own Success™, please contact me directly at: info@servingsuccess.com or by phone: 702-869-3729.

Serving Success
Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.1975 Village Center CircleSuite 140Las Vegas, NV 89134

Visit http://www.servingsuccess.com/books.php for other great reviews and Serving Success Ideas from Dr. Andrea Goeglein