Looking Back to Move Ahead

In 2007 when I was working with a web design team to create my ServingSuccess site, I provided photos to be included on the home page.  I felt the photos represented different emotions that people go through as they transform and develop.  I had taken all the photos submitted.  One was of the rays of sun coming through some gray clouds.  I really like that photo.  When I took it, the scene was in front of me as I drove through the entrance of the development I live in.  The web designer recommended that I not use that photo.  She felt it did not show hope and might make people feel sad.  I did not use it on the site although I did have note cards made using it as the cover. 

On my walk yesterday, I was prompted to turn around and look back.  I don't know why I did that. This blog is what I saw.  I took out my phone and took a photo.  I then continued my walk imagining a life where the clouds were behind me, there was still lots of road, and the sun was still there to send its rays of hope.  I had an incredible walk and a very productive day. 

Dr. Success Challenge:  Look at the photo.  Think about what it is telling you about your life right now.  Write down your thoughts and allow them to be.  No further action necessary. 

Thank you, Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
www.DontDieBooks.com

Darkness and Growth

What grows in darkness?

I was deep in a conversation about how to use the DiSC profile to increase self-awareness and harness ways to communicate when my colleague asked, “What about the shadow side?” Of course, I responded, “What about it?”

Dr. Success Motto: You can spend time exploring your shadow, or you can continually work toward the light, but you can’t do both!

Yet my colleague offered that he was deeply committed to understanding the dark side – or shadow – so that he could help transform it. I offhandedly suggested that nothing worth having grows in the dark. Stay focused on the light as it will help you see where you are going, including making adjustments as you go along.

We then lightened the conversation and playfully attempted to find examples of things that grow in the dark.

Predator birds and animals seem to like the dark. Snakes, rats, even owls seem to like the dark. Mushrooms grow in the dark. There is a funny business joke that when you don’t want the boss to know what you are doing you should treat him or her like a mushroom. That means cover them in crap and keep them in the dark. So much for darkness.

Later that day, however, I thought about the blackness of the deepest parts of our oceans and how important life in the oceans is to our eco-system. Humans can’t live in the depths of the ocean, yet we are dependent on it remaining healthy to survive on earth. That then helped me appreciate the shadow side of the psyche a bit more. I have always wished adversity was not a necessary part of human existence yet accepted the evidence that it was and that adversity actually served to further human growth. I don’t understand why it works that way, but I accept that observation the same way I don’t understand how the organisms in the depths of the ocean help sustain life on earth. Seems my understanding is not necessary for something to be true.

I ended my little thought play by appreciating that when I look at my life objectively I spend far more time in the light than in the dark periods. For me adversity cannot be avoided, but its meaning no longer needs to be understood.

See what can come from a conversation about a self-assessment profile about how you communicate and how to build better relationships!

Thank you,
Andrea Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
1 866 975 3777 Toll-Free
http://www.youtube.com/user/ServingSuccess
www.FaceBook.com/DrSuccessPhD

A Question of Ethics

When one question keeps showing up in conversations, I know its time to pay attention.

This week in three separate situations the question of business ethics and more specifically, "Dose a business have ethics?" came up in conversation. (Yes, yes I know, I hang out with people who don't really know how to have fun!)

The first time the question was put to me -- over cocktails I might add just to show I am not really that much of a wet towel to hang out with -- I was surprised. I was confused anyone would even ask that question. I felt my contribution to the conversation reflected my confusion so bright and early the next day I sought out my conversation partner and elaborated on my stance.

What had come to me during the night -- or maybe after the effects of the wonderful drink I had at the new, beautiful River City Casino had worn off -- was that, "No, businesses don't have ethics, but people do!" A business is nothing but a legal entity. A business is actually not a business except for the people who create it, work it, and those customers attracted to it. And all of those people do have ethics.

What do you think? Let me know. Thank you.

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success™
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
http://www.YouTube.com/user/ServingSuccess
www.facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD

How To Stay Motivated

Recently I was sent a list of questions by a freelance journalist interested in developing an article for an artesian trade magazine. The article was about how to stay motivated during economically challenging times. What follows was the response I submitted:

The things you do to stay motivated in a down economy are the same things you do in any economy – it is just more difficult to be inspired to do them. So the question is not how, but what – What additional energy and focus do I have to exert to traverse this economy, this set back, or this anything? And the answer to the “what” is where – you will find the energy and focus by surrounding yourself with others – a real live social network – who will cheer you on, hold you accountable to stay the course, and hug you when you don’t. People, and your relationships with them – whether they are your customers, your family, or your artisan or trade association – are the answer and they are ready, willing and able to help. Just ask.

A common tip I recommend is the following: Go back through your customer or client base. Look for those you have not been in contact with for at least 90 days – and even go back years – make a list and each day write at least one hand-written note or make a call – just to say hello, remind them of the work you did together, and that you appreciated them as customers. By the end of each week you would have contacted a minimum of 5 people. Don’t directly ask for business, just listen to where they are and always circle back to why you enjoyed working with. It is your responsibility to keep the conversation positively focused. The last thing you leave them with is what they will remember, so if it’s helpful, have a sincere quote or phrase to touch them with as you close.

What your social network will do is keep you accountable to yourself to take the steps. What this activity does is several fold: It helps you review your business. It helps you remember who you liked working with and why. It helps you remember all the great work you have produced and given the world. It helps you connect with others. And most of all it helps you get into action. Because the real answer to “what” is “what additional ACTION do I need to take.”

Action creates energy, and energy creates a focus.

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success™
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
www.ServingSuccess.blogspot.com
866 975 3777

Our New Cathedral

The book Be The Hero by Noah Blumenthal has been a big part of my life the last ten months or so. On January 30, 2010, about 80 lucky people in Las Vegas got to hear Noah present his thinking which is incorporated in the book. As you would expect, we spoke about his presentation and what follows is the blog he posted about that conversation. For those who enjoy his thinking you can follow Noah on his blog.

Our New Cathedral
February 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Where do we learn our values? Who teaches us what is important in life?

Some of these lessons come from our parents and our upbringing, but they continue to be shaped throughout our lives.

My friend Andrea Goeglein made an interesting observation. We were talking after a speech I had given to the Stillpoint Center for Spiritual Development in Las Vegas. She said that whereas people used to regularly attend weekly religious services and draw moral guidance from that experience, attendance in such services is dwindling. Instead people are spending more and more time at work, and we as a society are drawing more and more of our values from the company we keep.

This notion will undoubtedly scare some who see corporate America as evil. However, there is good and bad in every system. Some organizations bring out the absolute best values in their employees, their communities, their customers. I’m not talking about the official corporate values on the plaque in the lobby (e.g., teamwork, honesty, integrity). I wrote recently about why those values fail to stick.

I’m talking about the unstated values. What is important to your organization? Materialism? Relationships? Personal fulfillment? Winning at all costs? Shareholders over employees? Customers above all else?

If you don’t pay attention, your organization’s values will become your own without you even noticing. So sit up straight. Listen carefully. Services are in session

With appreciation to Noah for this contribution to a lifetime conversation, Andrea
Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
866 975 3777
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

Seth Godin and Lemonade

There are a few blogs which I regularly follow. At the top of that list is marketing mastermind, Seth Godin.

Recently he posted a link to a film that explores in a very creative way the emotions of those fired or laid off and how they recreate themselves. The title is Lemonade – and it caught my eye since I was in the mist of developing a presentation with Branden Collingsworth. I featured Branden several times in 2009 since his story and how it acts it out is an example of not only how you make lemonade from life lemons – but how you create whole new drinks.
Here is the link Seth recommended. I recommend viewing it and following Seth’s blog.

Free inspiration and insight

The Lemonade movie is so professional, engaging and inspiring that you've probably already seen it. If not, here it is.

With appreciation, Andrea

http://www.servingsuccess.com/

Seth Godin's Blog

This information is too important not to take a quick break from my morning prayer and quite time to spread the word. Seth Godin is a master in his field -- marketing with integrity with a focus on new technologies. His blog, however, has so much good information, I recommend everyone sign up for it. Although he makes daily entries which I am not a fan of, his are short, to the point, and generally actionable.

Take today's entry as an example. You can change the words a little and the situation, yet this advise would apply to any part of your life and any relationship.

The relentless search for "tell me what to do"
If you've ever hired or managed or taught, you know the feeling.

People are just begging to be told what to do. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest one is: "If you tell me what to do, the responsibility for the outcome is yours, not mine. I'm safe."

When asked, resist.

Dr. Success Challenge: Don't resist signing up for Seth's blog. www.sethgodin.com will get you there.

Gift from Author of Positive Psychology At The Movies

Wanted to share a note I got from Ryan Niemiec, author of this week’s featured book, Positive Psychology at the Movies.

If others are interested in one of the extensive handouts from the book (a comprehensive list of films categorized by each of the 24 character strengths), they can get it for free at: www.hogrefe.com/books/978-0-88937-352-5.html

Thank you Ryan!

With appreciation, Andrea
Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
www.ServingSuccess.com
866 975 3777

How You Start Your Day

I believe how you start your day sets the tone for how you feel at the end of the day. If you ever want to know one of the most perfect ways to start a day, try this. Start with a one mile hike in one of the most beautiful places in America (http://www.redmountainspa.com/), pause mid hike to have Bud Howard, Reiki Master extrodinare, call your mind to attention with his flute playing prior to a guided meditation on the rocks. It was perfect for me!

Dr. Success Challenge for today: Find a "perfect" way to start your day. Then take note of how the day goes. How did you handle the usual daily stresses? Better? If it worked, keep working it.

With appreciation, Andrea

http://www.servingsuccess.com/

702 869 3729

866 975 3777

The Rachael Ray Show

Read all about the Happier You segment which aired January 6, 2010. Hints and links provided! http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/2010-guide-happier-you/

Positively Moving Forward

I enjoy the last week of each year. I enjoy seeing all the year in review articles and shows on TV. Granted, not all of the review is good stuff, yet seeing it all together allows me to appreciate why I might be feeling a bit like my get-up-and-go has gotten-up-and-went. As I reflect on all that has occurred I am amazed how much I have traveled through. Yes, the road is crooked, with lots of bumps and really big potholes. And, yes, at the end of it all I am amazed with how much life is squeezed into 365 days.

Dr. Success Challenge: Throughout the day think of the sentence, “My life is amazing because…”. Notice what thoughts come to mind. If any are negative – or as I like to say, “less than productive” – re-craft the sentence from a positive perspective. Example: “I am amazed I lost my best friend this year” can be re-crafted to: “I am amazed I was so fortunate to have Susie in my life for so many years.”

One of the things I did this week was review the twelve months’ of AM AZ segments. I was amazed the territory we covered in less than 15 minutes a month.

I will start and finish this blog with the thought that came to mind. The year ends as it began: No matter how many books are written, television shows are aired, or conversations you have, we all have the same gift and it is the gift of moment-by-moment choice. My 2010 motto will be Vicktor Frankl’s now infamous observation:

“Everything can be taken from a man [or a woman] but one thing; the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

You can view any of the segments on my YouTube station. Here is a recap of suggested actions from the shows to positively move 2010 forward:

December: Whale Done Parenting. Ignore undesirable behavior and redirect the attention. All people appreciate: Attention, Approval and Acceptance.

November: Entrepreneur Sherry Campa and her Dreamy Comfort Pillowholder. You are never too old, too disabled, to economically challenged to create and bring to market a great product – especially when it helps those with a disability. Sherry is an example of what it looks like when the things in the books we talk about become the things that create our livelihood.

October: You Unstuck. To get yourself unstuck you need to clarify, simplify, and execute.

September: When God Winks. Notice all the coincidences, synchronicities and serendipities in your life. Really make note of them by writing them down. Helps build your storeroom of memories so you never think you are alone.

August: Be The Hero. Change how you speak of your life and your life changes. And a book that told us that story will go on changing lives for years to come. The author is donating 10% of his royalties into perpetuity to the Miami Children’s Hospital. That is what it looks like when your life work helps others. You do what you want and it benefits others.

July: Happier.com Stop and check yourself daily. Am I sticking to my resolution to re-craft life situations so they work for me and not against me? Could I use a daily reminder like those offered on Happier.com?

June: The 5 A’s of Achieving Successful Relationships – always. Learn how optimistic you naturally are, what your natural strengths are, and how to take responsibility for all the relationships in your life. Love yourself and you will learn to love others.

May: Happy Up Any Conversation. Notice how you describe the daily occurrence in your life and re-craft how you say it.

April: If you don’t like the news, change it! Play a game of changing the headlines to a more neutral or positive phrase. Helps you do it in your daily life. If that is too difficult, take an action like writing a note of support to those whose misfortune is reported.

March: Positivity. Resilience is not something you are born with – it is something you do not something you have. Positivity is nothing but a group of positive emotions we can all work to grow. Love is the one emotion that includes all the other positive emotions. Invest your life growing love.

February: The How Of Happiness. 50% of how happy you tend to be you were born with and you can’t do anything about that, 10% of how happy you are or are not is life circumstances you can’t do anything about, 40% of how happy you are is in your control. It’s what you do, what you say, and what you are willing to practice every day.

January: You Are Not Who You Think You Are. Always, always, always take responsibility for your life and your life will be filled with the joys of responsible outcomes. And a great piece of news, this book just came out in paperback.

So the year ends as it began: No matter how many books are written, television shows are aired, or conversations you have, we all have the same gift and it is the gift a moment-by-moment choice. My 2010 motto will be Vicktor Frankl’s now infamous observation:

“Everything can be taken from a man [or a woman] but one thing; the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Here’s to choosing your way 2010 on The Crooked Road of Success™.

Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
Dr. Success™
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
866 975 3777 Toll-free
702 869 3729
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

Am I Happy?

At the June conference of the International Positive Psychology Association (http://www.ippa.org/), I came across a website resource that I endorsed wholeheartedly. Six months later I support them more than ever.

http://www.happier.com/ is one of those daily things you can do that reinforces and supports your desire to happier, no matter what is going on in your life. Most of the site is free, and for a small subscription price you get maximum value. Each day I get a gentle reminder to visit the site, do one of the survey’s, hints about the positive emotion I might be striving to develop at that time, or a new finding in the field. A tip I received last week is a perfect example of why I like the site so much.

Today's Tip: "Am I Happy?" is a closed question that suggests a binary approach to the pursuit of the good life: we are either happy or we are not. Happiness, according to this approach, is an end of process, a finite definable point that, when reached, signifies the termination of our pursuit. This point, however, does not exist, and clinging to the belief that it does will lead to dissatisfaction and frustration. We can always be happier; no person experiences perfect bliss at all times and has nothing more to which he can aspire...a more helpful question is: "How can I become happier?" Tal Ben-Shahar - Happier

Dr. Success Challenge: During this week that may be more challenging than others, as many times a day, ask yourself this question, “How can I become happier?” Then take one action that comes through your answers.

With appreciation for the work I have the opportunity to do, Andrea

Dr. Success™

http://www.servingsuccess.com/

1 866 975 3777 toll-free

DrSuccess@Servingsuccess.com

http://twitter.com/DrSuccess

Asking Part II - What You Ask For

Never has clarity been more important as when you are setting goals and asking for assistance – especially if the assistance you are seeking is from God or your universal source. I know, I know, I am using that “G” word again. Do yourself a favor and just get over it. You would not be reading my work if you did not have some belief in something greater than yourself. Unless, of course, you are a real glutton for punishment.

Dr. Success Challenge: Think of a time you set an intention, or a goal, and the result was not as you intended. Or you felt the request you stated in a prayer was not answered. Now look back on what you exactly asked for. If you used prayer, examine honestly if you were begging for a result or requesting guidance toward a desired outcome.

There are two important points I want to bring out. The first is the importance of incorporating some form of prayer, meditation, or reflective process in your daily personal development. This is not something I am requesting because I was brought up in an environment where that was taught and accepted. I bring it up because the seminal researcher in the field of well-beginning and happiness actually included the process of daily prayer and/or meditation as one of the key exercises in her book on using a scientific approach to getting the life you want.* When you have a practice tied to some belief in a greater good source, such as God, and something goes wrong, you will recover faster.

Second, be clear about what you ask for! That may seem simple but let me give you an example. A young woman was new to the practice of setting goals through the use of stating an affirmation or intention. She had a daily spiritual practice and supported her affirming with that practice. Her particular intention was around attracting a love interest who adored her. See believed she was clear on her intention because she had just come out of a relationship with a very respectable young man, but she realized that he never really adored her. From her perspective, he loved her, but she felt it was in a very competitive way instead of an adoring way.

So she was clear, her next relationship would be with someone who adored her. Well, she got exactly what she had intended. She attracted a very nice man who adored her and that was when she realized the error in her intention. You see, as much as she enjoyed and loved this young man as a person, she did not adore him the way he adored her. The relationship was not balanced in a way that could work long term.

To paraphrase her experience, “This affirmation and intention stuff really works, but you need to be careful that you are clear and complete in what you intend to attract.”

My advice: Ask, ask, ask – and invest time making sure that what you are asking for is really what you would like to attract.

*The How Of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky

Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
Dr. Success™
http://www.servingsuccess.blogspot.com/
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
http://twitter.com/DrSuccess
702 869 3729 Office
866 975 3777 Toll-Free
702 682 4759 Cell

When God Winks Part 2

Dr. Success Challenge: This one should be easy. All that is needed is that you tell yourself the truth. Last week's challenge was to keep track of all the coincidences that occured during the week. This week's challenge is to answer this one question: Did you complete last week's challenge? "Yes" or "No".

Nothing changes unless you change something.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Think globally, act locally.

If you do not take action on the small stuff, you cannot create big stuff.

No matter how small, every action is big.

May the wink you need today be nothing more than this reminder to take any small step.

If you are interested in how others have noticed winks read, When God Winks by SQuire Rushnell.

With appreciation -- especially for the incredible photographic talent of Stew Gibbons, President of Connerton who provided the photo for this blog, Andrea

http://http://http//www.servingsuccess.com/

http://twitter.com/DrSuccess

702 869 3729 Office

866 975 3777 Toll-free

All a Twitter in Las Vegas

To Twitter or Not To Twitter, That seems to be the big question!

Here is a Dr. Success suggestion for judging whether or not you should use Twitter, or any of the other untold number of social networking tools available. This suggestion comes in the form of rules I use to judge my participation:

1) Do not use any new technology for the first three months. Let the 14 year olds work themselves to death seeing how to use every available part of the new system. After three months observe how it is being used, whether you see a life-enhancing purpose for in you, then make your decision as to join or not to join. Reconsider your decision every 30 days.

2) Remember you are not 14 and generally don't need to see or hear from your friends 24/7. If what they were doing was so darned interesting, you would most likely be doing it with them.

3) The most important rule I use to assess most things in my life: Does it make me money and/or happy? If the answer to that is no, there is a second tier question: "does it allow me to deepen...I wrote "deepen"... a human connection. For this rule I use T. Boone Picken's suggestion of spending my time developing relationships that are a foot wide, but a mile deep.

Check out a current blog on Twitter at www.MarketPlace.org

Wishing you continued success,


Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
Dr. Success™
http://www.servingsuccess.blogspot.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/goeglein
www.ServingSuccess.com

Positive Psychology Takes A Holiday – 5 Steps to for a December to Remember!

Well, it’s that time of the year again. The days are shorter, and the to-do lists are longer. There are gifts to buy, decorations to hang, festivities to attend (and host), as well as all the normal things that come with the year’s end, like wrapping up financial decisions along with all the gifts (especially challenging this year). But with every single one of holiday challenges we face, there comes another chance to find the hidden gifts wrapped up inside all of the work. The question is, just how are we to do that?

First, take an honest inventory of your burdens. This can give you great insights to managing them, prioritizing them, releasing them, and even turn them into opportunities for camaraderie. Used properly, those burdens are a chance to activate the laws of attraction (which definitely work better when we actually do the simple, courageous thing and just ask for help). Here are five steps to turning your December burden into a basket of cheer.

First, as you start each day, be sure to begin it with true appreciation. Before you tackle a list of chores, be sure to create a list of gratefulness. Some things are obvious (or should be). List them anyway. Even in a time of recession, we still live in a very abundant society. Making that list and checking it twice should definitely NOT be left only to the guy in a big red suit!

Second, keep your sense of humor. Positive psychology is a tool that we use and not a theory. By having a light hearted funny bone readily available when others are stressed out, their antics will not throw you off center. Remember, your goal is happiness – and if you start it with you, you will surely spread a little cheer to others. This will also allow you to live THIS one holiday season with no regrets.

Third, set your own personal priorities. There are a LOT of people to please and respond to during the holiday season. Saying “yes” to all of them is just a recipe for disaster. Forget about perfection – Hallmark holidays just don’t happen very often. So stand back and take the time to consciously decide what is right for your family. What is important to you? Then just say no to all the rest. Believe me, the world won’t stop revolving. Done effectively, this effort (and the ability to say no) accomplishes the sneaky side effect of allowing you to Live in the moment.

Fourth, ask for help! One of the basic tenets of positive psychology is to ALLOW. When to-do lists are measured in feet, not inches, asking for help is a great way to practice allowing. Be courageous. Seek support. If you feel isolated or overwhelmed, reach out to family and friends for support (and companionship). Besides making our lives easier, asking for help can be emotionally and spiritually enriching. And any time an individual is helped, everything around them is made better. Asking for help deepens connections, reduces stress, increases energy, and ends isolation. And you never know, the person helped the most may be the other guy!

Finally, surrender “old stories” (and your worries!). As human beings, we like to assume that we “know” how things will go – or we worry ourselves to death with what may or may not happen. What that often means around the holidays is that we allow ourselves to get stuck. We worry so much that we subconsciously volunteer to repeat unhealthy patterns over and over. The good news is, we don’t have to do that! Real success begins when we author and articulate our own definition of personal happiness. And by consciously reminding ourselves that life is always a new, uncharted adventure – we can create an entirely different holiday season. And in the process, write a new story and make it one you will LOVE to remember for years to come.

To your successful holidays and your happy new year!

Personal Care: The Foundation of Personal Development

So how much time each day, week, month, year, do you spend tending to your spiritual, physical and psychological well-being? Given the time of the year, this may appear a loaded question, yet there is no better time to examine where you put yourself on your list of things to do. This time of year we could take on an additional 40 hour work week just to create and participant in The Holiday Season. I have wondered, for all of my adulthood, exactly who is this season a holiday for?

If the cornerstone of personal development is self-esteem, the foundation is personal care. Self-esteem is how we value ourselves. It is not what others think of us, but what we think of ourselves. Self-esteem is your measure of your value. It requires you invest time, thought and energy into the care and development of your spiritual, physical and psychological well-being.

I will share what that looks like for me. Ten years ago, I started writing down my goals. In the personal area, when thinking ten years out, I wrote that I wanted to be able to get to a spa retreat four times a year – basically, once a quarter. It was an ambitious goal, yet I envisioned those weeks as a time to realign my fitness and health plan and to reinvigorate my spirit and clear my mind of clutter. I saw my personal life and my business life benefiting in a major way from this seemingly self-indulgent activity. What I knew for certain back then was that I was committed to maintaining the best health and fitness, and yet remaining involved and invigorated throughout my career.

Now for the reality of that goal. At best I have succeeded in scheduling a week-long trip once every two years. As this year evolved, I realized the last time I had prioritized that “necessary for my well-being and success” week was almost three years ago. My body showed it, my spirit longed for it, and my psyche was in overload.

Enter the Red Mountain Spa in St. George, Utah (http://www.redmountainspa.com/). A convenient and easy two-hour drive from Las Vegas, the Red Mountain Spa took all the thinking out of the equation. All you have to do is get there. The scenic outdoors provides the spiritual and psychological lifts, and the fitness schedule of classes provide the physical maintenance. To round out the experience, executive chef Dale Van Sky presents a nutritionally balanced menu in the form of three incredible meals a day, and any of the Sagestone spa treatments will guide you back to your road of well-being and success. A personal favorite was the Lavender Marine Bolus Massage I received from Jennifer. It was a mix of light pressure, with Thai stretching and the wonderful aroma of lavender salts. After that treatment, all was well with the world.

There was also a terrific personal growth side of the Red Mountain Spa experience. One such experience took the form of an ego adjustment. On the first day I gleefully anticipated a morning hike at the Trekker 3 level, their highest offered. After slugging through the sand, I was informed that we would be traversing the sandstone faced elevation of the 1,500 foot peak in front of me. The elevation was not the challenge; the fact that I was to take it at 4.5 miles per hour stopped me in my tracks. I tucked my ego back into its rightful place and announced I could not attempt that speed. Graciously, one of the two trail leaders simply took me another way! Then there was a personal growth of the ego enriching kind. On Friday evening I signed up for the Evening with the Stars with John Kolb. John is a master, yet amateur, astronomer and geologist. I learned much about the value of life and following your dreams from John in two short hours under the stars. When I got to see clearly the sites in the heavens 400 light years away, I knew that no matter how crooked my road of success might be, the Red Mountain Spa and John Kolb’s stars would help me find my way.

A powerful Zen saying offers us this path for success in life and work: “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between work and play, labor and leisure, mind and body, education and recreation, love and religion. The master hardly knows which is which. The master simply pursues the vision of excellence in whatever there is to do, leaving others to decide whether it is work or play. To the master, it is like always doing both.”

The DiSC Profile – A Self-Contained Toolkit of Success through Self-Knowledge

There are limitless resources for personal development available to us in today’s world. And while many of them come from external sources in the way of books, courses, lectures, meditations, videos, teachers, podcasts … get the picture? Using those tools as the key to success is a tough road if we haven’t figured out what our personal assets, locks and doorways are.

Almost a century ago, Dr. William Marston created a method to examine the behavior of individuals based on their environments or within specific situations. That might sound dry, but imagine if you could understand yourself on a completely different level, start to see how you might react to people or circumstances. And how to use your strengths (and be aware of your weaknesses) to create success in your life.

The DiSC profile grew out of this work and has served millions of people to understand their strengths and behavior, to achieve success in their lives and careers. DiSC helps us to understand what influences communication and positive relationships. Generally, possible human behaviors are grouped in four categories: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. Each of these has soaring strengths and what can be flaws if not channeled correctly.

People who take the DiSC Profile learn how to:

* Understand their behavior and how it affects others
* Examine their reactions to others and maximize their personal strengths
* Develop and sustain a positive attitude about themselves and others
* Adapt their behavior to create positive outcomes

This becomes a TOOL toward success for individuals and for corporate teams. Through it, we gain understanding about our behavior, the needs of others and to adapt in order to build positive outcomes and relationships. With these skills people and organizations will:

* Improve communication and increase productivity
* Improve employee morale and Increase management effectiveness
* Minimize conflict and stress and build on personal strengths

Each of us is unique. The circumstances and ingredients that went into you becoming who you are, from early childhood onward, simply can’t be the same as someone else’s. Your personality forms around the infinite amount of situations, people, and emotions that you are exposed to from the first day you get here on planet Earth. Success truly lies in understanding ourselves, understanding others and realizing the impact of our behavior on the world around us.

The DiSC Profile allows you to learn about your best asset – you. An easy, online version is available at www.servingsuccess.com/profile.php. This version allows for immediate delivery of your profile for a minimal investment of your time and money. This online tool includes all of the features and benefits of the paper-based profile, but can be accessed at anytime. Automated scoring and narrative reports will save you time and allow corporate teams to create huge SUCCESS inroads. The Online DiSC Profile is a phenomenal tool at $27.97 (plus $1.50 handling charge). You can access this useful success tool at: www.servingsuccess.com/profile.php. Access codes are e-mailed within 30 minutes during normal business hours.

To your greatest success through self-knowledge!

Andea Goeglein, Ph.D. (aka Dr. Success)
www.ServingSuccess.com
Serving Success!

Why Personal Development is So Difficult – Aside from the Fact that We Are Human

Probably the biggest roadblock to our personal development is simply habit. Human beings are creatures of habit. Our brains are literally designed to seek routine – even if that routine is detrimental to us.

A habit is anything we do so often that it becomes almost an involuntary process. To our brain, there are no “good” or “bad” habits. It is just the familiar. We can even become addicted to our own brain chemistry and it’s response to certain stimuli. This is what we commonly call addiction. The serotonin and dopamine that our brain produces spell PEACE to our bodies. We will so often choose the familiar, simply because it is what “feels” peaceful. It is what we know.

From the outside, we stand in astonishment when we look at the choices other people make. Why does someone smoke, or drink, or eat to excess? Why do they stay in abusive or loveless relationships? When we are not pointing fingers, however, we must ask those same questions about ourselves. Why must we wait until circumstances are unbearable to begin to build a new path? The good news is, we don’t!

This is the beginning of personal development. We must be willing to admit the truth about ourselves and any given situation and seek a new and higher reaction. We must build a new process around a familiar experience.

A simple example is day-to-day negativity. How often do we complain in a day? We spend so much verbal energy vocalizing our physical aches and pains. We endlessly highlight our frustrations with our workplace and our disappointments in others. In fact, we spend so much of our voice on the negative, that we will distract ourselves from the positive. Negativity is like any familiar unproductive habit – with awareness, desire and action we can learn a new response to an old and familiar pattern.

One of the basic tenets of Positive Psychology is gratitude. Learning to simply close our mouths to negativity and to speak only words of appreciation is an easy tool in personal development. It is also, however, a paradoxical tool. It is very difficult to learn yet when practiced it is the MOST rewarding skill when acquired. It is the key to all other development, and it magically unlocks doorways to who we may choose to become.

As human beings, we are born with tremendous assets. These assets are our strengths. What we choose to build with those traits is our birthright. It is our life journey. This IS, literally, our “personal” development. Personal development is when we begin to understand we are not our unproductive habits, our net worth or our circumstances but our strengths. Now that is good news.

That is a thought worthy of contemplation.

To your success!
Dr. Success, Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.
www.ServingSuccess.com

Dr. Success on How to Create a Life Worth Living: The Laws of Lifetime Growth

Do you ever hit those snags in life where you feel like you’ve stopped growing? Does life become so routine, so much hard work, that all you believe you can do is tread water? When it seems as though there is little room left to dream at the end of a long day of working, raising your family, paying bills, etc. Ironically, even the good things in life can stop us from growing – fame, fortune, recognition. Literally anything can stop us from seeking a bigger experience with life, if we let it.

Dan Sullivan and Catherine Nomura, the authors of, The Laws of Lifetime Growth have built this book on their own “sticky” life situations. Businessman Dan Sullivan survived not one, but two, bankruptcies. With the indefatigable spirit of an entrepreneur, Dan used his experience to create a million-dollar coaching firm. Catherine Nomura then helped Dan to recreate himself again and translated Dan’s life and his inspiring philosophy to the written page. This book is our doorway into that philosophy and our invitation to create our the most rewarding life possible.

The Laws of Lifetime Growth is a living example of Law #2, “Always make your learning greater than your experience.” We all face many unexpected turns, good and bad. But as the authors point out, “You can have a great deal of experience and be no smarter for all of the things you’ve done, seen, and heard. Experience alone is no guarantee of lifetime growth. But if you regularly transform your experiences into new lessons, you will make each day of your life a source of growth.”

No matter what our circumstance, health, financial situation, etc., we can choose to make each day pivotal in our development. In this way our worst moments can often become our most valuable trajectories to our best life – and biggest successes.

The Laws build on one another in this book. As the benchmark, Law #1 is both the roots and wings for the other nine. Always make your future bigger than your past. By putting that idea into action and knowing that life always has more in store for us, we are naturally moved into hope and gratitude. For positive psychology it is no “secret” that gratitude is the doorway to all universal gifts.

Like most books from Berrett-Koehler, The Laws of Lifetime Growth is a quick study. It reminds us in every-day language, that in our abundant world we must be proactively grateful. We must practice gratitude and learning.

This is not simply another reminder to pay it forward. It holds amazing surprises for the reader. Law #6 says: “Always make your enjoyment greater than your effort.” Simply put, life should be FUN! It’s vital to remember that joy is a service to others. A person grounded in JOY is like a beacon to all and a magnet for learning.

“Finding ways to get more and more enjoyment from your activities is one way to ensure continued growth. Creativity in all fields of activity is intimately linked to playfulness – the constant desire to do new things just for the fun of it. Approach everything you do with this sense of play, and you will ensure that, even though you still get as good or better results, your enjoyment is always greater than your effort.”

Although we often wish we had an unlimited supply of years, embracing our limited life is, in reality, infinitely powerful. It reminds us of the intrinsic value in every moment and every experience.

We can choose to live our lives in motion: moving forward, thinking positive, helping others and maintaining gratitude. By combining those principals with our own definition of personal happiness, we can enjoy our successful efforts, no matter what results may come down the path.

To your success! Dr. Success, Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.
Expert on Positive Psychology and Executive Mentor
www.ServingSuccess.com

Click here to purchase your copy of, “The Laws of Lifetime Growth.”