One Thing You Must Be in Today’s World
In this day and age with everyone being busy, busy, busy, being organized is no longer an option. It’s mandatory. You can’t afford to waste one minute of your own time, let alone the time of a potential business partner.
It’s also no longer acceptable to accept being disorganized. Some business owners and executives take pride in their disorganization, wearing it as a badge of honor, as if they are too busy to be bothered with preparing for meetings and respecting other people’s time.
But that doesn’t cut it today, not when there are plenty of driven, talented, AND organized people. If you aren’t organized, be prepared to lose out on a lot of opportunity.
Today, I’ll share some real world examples of what being organized can do for you, and what the real world costs of being disorganized.
Of course, being organized without taking action is no better, and in our second article, author Noah St. John will help you overcome your “stuckness” to help you take the foot off the brake on your journey to success.
To organized action,
Craig Ballantyne
So much can be accomplished with a long term vision and resilience to short term setbacks. Not every problem is conquered overnight, but if you persist and never give in, you will succeed.
The One Thing You Must Be In Today’s World
On Monday, everything that could go wrong for one of our business partners DID go wrong. They were launching a new product, and despite knowing better, they just didn’t seem properly organized for the event.
The result?
A website that wouldn’t and couldn’t accept orders.
In fact, you couldn’t even access the website.
Someone just wasn’t organized.
There’s no doubt this mistake cost them tens of thousands of dollars. Sure, some of those orders will come back, but there’s also no doubt that some customers have been lost forever.
In contrast, my Monday went about as smoothly as it possibly could have considering I had to film four videos and record a thirty-minute audio program in a professional studio. I’ll admit, talking into a camera is not my first love, however after 300 youtube videos, 65 monthly workouts, and over 20 workout DVDs, I’ve become “not bad” at standing in front of a camera and explaining things.
In addition, I had practiced, practiced, and practiced all of the scripts, reading them each out loud almost a dozen times in order to eliminate tongue twisters and to memorize the proper inflection points for every important phrase. After all, these videos were for Early to Rise readers, and nothing less than my best work is acceptable for you. (I can’t wait to get these four free videos out to you in October…more details to come soon.)
As we wrapped up our filming session on Monday, the audio technician was relieved and thankful for my preparation. He described how his days often are filled with marathon sessions with unprepared clients who take three hours just to get through a five-page script.
I should also have been thanking him because his company was well organized with perfect lighting and professional feedback and suggestions on every take to make the presentation better and the message more compelling. While I spent four hours in the studio, it didn’t feel like I wasted a minute of my time.
Yesterday was no different. I filmed three brutal bodyweight workouts (for a new fat loss product) in just under three hours. Again, everything went smoothly because my team was prepared and ready to go.
In today’s busy world you have to be organized. You have to be ready to go. First, it’s just professional. And second, it allows you to get more work done in less time.
From planning your day to practicing your presentations, you’ll simply get ahead faster when you are organized. You need to organize your schedule and your workspace for maximum productivity.
You need to be prepared for every phone call, every meeting, and to be, as guest author Chris Lopez described yesterday, to be present wherever you are present.
“Wherever you are, be there.” – Jim Rohn
Being organized is a skill that anyone can acquire. It’s not a genetic ability like being six feet tall. It just takes practice and commitment. You can do it, even if you’re starting from a point where you don’t even have your socks matched in your drawer.
Don’t rely on your personal assistant to keep you organized. And don’t say you’ll get organized the day you get a personal assistant, either.
If you want to get ahead, get organized. Get prepared. Be professional.
To your success,
Craig Ballantyne
The Cure for SHELF-Help
By Noah St. John
In a previous article, I showed you that every decision you make comes from your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s–your internal perception of why you should or shouldn’t do that thing.
“Okay, Noah,” you’re saying. “But if I’m holding myself back from the success I’m capable of, are you trying to tell me that I don’t want to succeed?”
Well, after working with tens of thousands of people in our coaching programs and online courses, I’ve never met one person who doesn’t WANT to succeed.
Yet we’ve already seen that millions of people are holding themselves back from the success they’re capable of… even though we’re spending billions of dollars trying to fix the problem. So what’s wrong with this picture?
The Hidden Reason You’re Stuck
Picture an iceberg.
Scientists at Stanford, MIT and other esteemed institutions have determined that the human mind operates like an iceberg: the 10% that’s visible (above the surface) and the 90% that’s hidden (below the surface).
Let’s call the visible 10% your Conscious Mind, and the hidden 90% your Subconscious Mind. Another word for Conscious is intentional, because it represents CHOICE.
Your subconscious is a vast collection of unintentional, habitual thoughts, behaviors, and actions. Therefore, the subconscious mind represents NO CHOICE.
Your subconscious mind is like a completely dark room. We don’t know what’s in there, because we can’t see it – it’s hidden beneath the surface like the bottom 90% of an iceberg. And when you can’t see something, it’s awfully hard to change it.
Which brings us back to the original question:
Why Millions of People Are Still Stuck… Even AFTER Spending So Much Money on Self-Help Products
When you put together your Scales of Success and Iceberg of Consciousness, the answer becomes stunningly simple:
Your Why-To’s of Success are held in your conscious mind.
Everyone wants to succeed–on the conscious level. Why do you think we’re spending all this time and money trying to be more successful?
But have you ever stopped to think about the Cost of actually allowing yourself to succeed?
I’ve asked this question of thousands of people in my seminars, and the response I get is… dead silence. I can almost hear people’s minds whirring as they ask themselves: “Gee, I never thought of that before…What could be a Cost of allowing myself to succeed?”
When I ask my audience members to give examples of their perceived Cost of Success, they say:
- It’s going to take too much TIME.
– I’m too BUSY.
– I don’t want the extra RESPONSIBILITY.
– What if my FAMILY doesn’t approve?
– What if my FRIENDS don’t like me any more?
– What if I go for it and LOSE it all?
Did you notice something about these Why-Not-To’s? They are all held in your subconscious mind. Meaning: no one wakes up in the morning and says, “Gee, it looks like a great day. I think I’ll hold myself back from success today!”
Nor does anyone say, “I think I’ll buy this book (or go to this seminar, or start this coaching program) so I can SABOTAGE myself better!”
Everyone wants to succeed…on the conscious level.
But because your Why-Not-To’s of Success are hidden in your subconscious mind, it’s like you’re driving down the road of life…with one foot on the brake.
The fastest way to get your foot off the brake is to see why it’s there in the first place. Here are four ways to do that:
1. List your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s of Success. On a piece of paper, list your Why-To’s of Success on one side–why you want to succeed–and your Why-Not-To’s of Success on the other–what you think it’s going to cost you when you let yourself be more successful.
2. Calculate your stuckness. After you have your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s written down, score each one from 1-10–1 meaning “it’s no big deal” and 10 meaning “this is a really big deal”. Calculate your totals on both sides to see how stuck you really are.
3. Share your list with your mentor or mastermind partners. It’s important to share your list with a mentor, coach, or mastermind partner, because they’ll be able to offer objective advice and see you more clearly than you can see yourself.
4. Ask yourself if you’re willing to pay the price of success. The fact is that every solution brings with it a new set of problems. So, while it’s true that there is a price to pay when you allow yourself to succeed, only you can decide if going for the success you want is worth it.
When you know your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s, you’ll understand what’s holding you back–and what’s driving you forward.
[Ed. Note: Noah St. John is the inventor of Afformations and bestselling author of The Secret Code of Success. His invitation-only webinar on Sept 28 will show you the 3 reasons most information marketers fail, how to quickly attract more paying clients, and sell your services by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.]
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Tags: goal setting, Productivity
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