A series of articles by Joe Fermano

Use it Or Lose It
By Joe Fermano

Albert Einstein used it.

Charles Darwin used it

Benjamin Franklin used it.

Oprah Winfrey still uses it.

Lilian Vernon uses it.

Leonardo Da Vinci used it a lot.

Stephen King uses it.

Napoleon used it.

Thomas Edison used it.

…The list goes on and on of the many great achievers whose primary key to success is a common fact amongst them.

"INTUITION",…The ability to "see the forest through the trees." True visionaries, people who follow their gut, and have learned how to trust their instincts never make a decision without tapping their intuition! This is what I’ve chosen to discuss with you. This very important KEY to success is the use of your intuition. The greatest visionaries, some of whom I cited above were able to see the big picture and use that image to implement their dreams.

Lilian Vernon refers to her "Golden Gut", as the key reason she’s one of America’s most successful catalogue queens. Stephen King agrees, saying, " "What I write comes from the gut instead of my head, from intuition rather than intellect." Napoleon became one of the most extraordinary military geniuses by violating traditional military tactics and relying on his "feel" for the battle relative to his intuitive approach to the battlefield. 

It’s crucially important for you to trust yourself and act on your feelings. Looking back on my life the best decisions I made were intuition based! That is, what felt right inside, based on what I knew about the situation at that time always produced the positive results I wanted. In fact, on several pivotal moments in my life I’ve felt I already knew the answer and action to take. I could just "feel" it. 

Nobel Prize winners Linus Pauling and Jonas Salk both said, " we know the answer before we work it!" Basically there saying that they start with the answer and work back to the question in the same way we program computers. In other words, you can’t get to where you wanna go until you know where you’re going. Once you know where to go, what it is you need to do, then you can work out the details. Unfortunately, most people believe that the details will lead you to the solution. WRONG!!

Albert Einstein actually likened himself more the artist than scientist. Yeah! No kidding. He wrote, " Intuition is the gift of the gods, logic is its faithful servant." Truth is, most of us have been given this gift. We just don’t use it! Intuition is really the essence of common sense. The essence of all success and creativity is the freedom to think and refusing to be locked into a single- minded field prescribed by our teachers, parents and bosses. 

Remember, emotional decisions come from the heart, thinking ones from the brain. Here’s a real fascinating fact;….Do you remember Dr. Suess? Of course you do. Ya know, "Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham." Theodore Geisel, (Dr. Suess) completely worked out of a creativity basis he called "logical insanity" to create the way he did. He said "when I dropped out of Oxford, I decided to be a child." That proved to be his success,.. his image. His intuition led him to his greatness, as opposite as it was from attending the very well respected Oxford University. Dr. Suess simply followed his "gut" and it led him to write some of the most read children’s book ever! 

The inner knowledge we often call "insight" or "intuitive vision" should be followed more often by all of us. Do not be afraid to follow your "bliss" no matter where it leads you. Chances are it’ll lead you to where you should be! Just look at where it led Thomas Edison, Columbus and Mother Teresa. Think about it!!! Ben Franklin was a scientist, businessman, philosopher, printer, journalist, author, inventor, diplomat, civic leader and architect of the Revolution! WOW!!! He was Mr. INTUITION!



Risking It All
By Joe Fermano


To have hope you must take risks. To have hope you must take action. To have any outcome worthwhile you must take risks. When you really think about it, our every action is at risk because there aren’t any guarantees. What I’ve learned is that the more risks you take, no matter how small, you’ll accumulate enough faith in yourself to plow through most challenges life offers every single day!

Okay. Let’s talk about risk. You will risk an awful lot to act on the things that are most important to you. If someone you love were drowning, you might risk your life to save him or her. Or if you believe strongly in justice, you might risk ridicule to stand up for someone who is being treated unfairly. All risks,…reaching out, testing yourself, trying new things, accepting challenges- involve putting your values on the line.

Sometimes the greatest risk may not be climbing the steepest mountain or sailing around the world, alone. It may be more risky to tell someone you care about that you are lonely, or to say, I’m sorry. There are many kinds of risks in life,….emotional, intellectual and physical. The IMPORTANT ones are those that help you grow and express your values.

The following examples I’ve compiled are risks we should learn to take in order to challenge ourselves and discover who we really are. For example:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. (so what!)

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. (do it anyway!)

To reach out for another is to risk involvement. (Go for it!)

To expose feelings is to risk rejection. (Know where you stand!)

To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule. (Who cares? Its’ your life!)

To love is to risk not being loved in return. (Its’ a two way street!)

To live is to risk dying. (Its’ inevitable!)

To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure. (Can you imagine if all the great leaders didn’t?)

PLEASE REMEMBER that risks must be taken because the greatest tragedy in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing to look forward to, therefore is nothing. Oh yeah,…you may avoid some suffering and sorrow, but you can’t learn, feel, change, grow or love. ONLY a person who risks is free!!!



To Die For"
By Joe Fermano

We human beings tend to be plagued with self-doubt and a lack of self-confidence and fears of every imaginable thing. Most of the time our fears are unfounded and our self-doubts based on our own negative thoughts. 

The psychologist Abraham Maslow says the story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short. The great majority of people tend to compare themselves unfavorably with others. They dwell on there own weaknesses and limitations and they usually end up with far less then they are really capable of. Instead of taking control of their life and enjoying high levels of self-esteem, self-respect and personal pride,….the average person just gets’ by from day to day. LISTEN FOLKS!!!! GOD put you here on this glorious earth to do more than "just get by." If self-confidence and the self-esteem that goes with it is so desirable, why is it so few people have enough self-confidence to live the lives that are possible for them?

GOOD NEWS!! The wonderful thing about self-confidence is that its’ a mental quality that can be learned. Because it’s learnable, it can be built up systematically and progressively over time. Everyone, whether you believe it or not has a certain amount of self-confidence more or less in different areas. The key for you is to build your confidence from your base and add to it forever. It’s very possible for you to build yourself up to the point where you are completely confident in any area that is important to you. 

More than 2000 years ago Socrates discussed the law of "cause and effect." 

If you want to continue experiencing the same outcome or "effect" go back and see what you did (the cause) that produced the effect you wanted. When we repeat the causes, we get the same effects. Things do not happen by accident. This IS how the world works!!…. Cause and Effect! Neither success or failure is an accident. We live in a world governed by law, not by chance. Everything really does happen for reason. Yet, the world is full of people who are not happy with their results and yet they continue to do the same things, think the same thoughts, say the same things and take the same action everyday. STOP IT !!!! The sooner you realize what you’ve been doing needs to change to get the effect you want, the sooner you can build from your base (positive foundation) and grow into a positive, confident and consistent human being.

From time to time, (rarely) we’ve seen people with naturally high levels of self-confidence. These people have gone on to achieve extraordinary things. In studying the lives of these super-achievers we’ve found that "some" of them started out with high levels of self-confidence, which they learned from there parents, quite fortunately, in early childhood. But, most of them started out like most of us with down deep feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. Because of criticism and lack of love and other mistakes parents made in early childhood, we grow up with little self-esteem and feel less than others. 

Many successful people I’ve worked with are very successful on the outside but on the inside feel unworthy of their achievements. What people really want more than anything else is to feel good about themselves. They want to be happy and positive and have a sense of well being and security. Above all, we really want to have peace of mind. However, you can only enjoy true peace of mind when you feel confident in your ability to deal effectively with your family, friends, co-workers and all of the other activities you’re involved in. 

The KEY is to evolve into your confident self. The more you dwell on something the more it grows into your reality. The "Law of Concentration" has proven that you really are what you think about. The more you dwell on the person you want to be the more it will embed itself into your subconscious mind and become part of your evolution. It is at this point you become a "self-made" man or woman. Think about it,…whatever you’ve thought about most of your life you are! REMEMBER!!! Thought becomes reality. Your thoughts become reality. You become what you think about most of the time. When you take control of your conscious mind and purposely think of who you want to be, rather than who you aren’t and focus on the thing you desire and off the things you fear ,….your positive evolution begins!! 

True happiness and success comes from living your life in harmony with the laws that govern your being. These laws, granted,….are invisible like the laws of gravity also invisible, but to be altered only at your doing. Happy people are simply those who obey the laws and follow the laws and live their lives consistent with the laws. If we want to have self-confidence on the outside we must have complete integrity on the inside. Its’ an invisible yet powerful law we must obey to attain peace of mind. The real foundation (law) of self-confidence is living your life consistent with your innermost values and principles while thinking and acting in harmony with your highest aspirations! Men and women with the strongest foundations of self-confidence are inevitably those who are absolutely clear about what it is they believe to be right and good and worthwhile. They live their lives consistent with these values. It doesn’t matter what’s going on around them,(focus,focus,focus) they know everything will be okay! They have a deep inner sense of calm, because they know they are doing the right thing. NO matter what happens you get through it. Hey! No doubt,….there will be many ups and downs in life. But, what ‘s most important is that YOU remain true to yourself. 

The starting point in developing a high level of self-confidence and in reality becoming an EXCELLENT human being is to think through and to decide upon your valves. For example, what is really, really important to you? How do you define values? Having defined a clear set of values, not vague, not unsure, but clear, concise, values will cause you to develop the convictions and enthusiasm necessary for self-confidence. Your starting point toward higher self-confidence and personal greatness is to clarify your values for yourself. Ask yourself what you truly believe in!(?) What do you stand for? What will you not stand for? What would you pay for? Work for?…or even DIE FOR????

Here are a few questions that apply to me:

Do you value your family? How much?

Do you value your God (spirit)? How much?

Do you value your health?

Do you value career or job?

Do you value your freedom?

Do you value hard-work, honesty, integrity?

WHAT WOULD YOU, die for, sweat for, pay for?

Make your own list and remember,…unshakeable self-confidence comes from unshakeable commitment to your values. When deep down inside yourself you know you will never violate your highest principles you experience a deep sense of "personal power" and confidence that empowers you to deal with life openly and honestly and with complete self-confidence in almost every human situation.

Good Luck!!!!
Make your day great!!
Joe Fermano 




Positive Quotes & Stories 1
Greatness 

By Joe Fermano

Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're absolutely right. The only time you fail is the last time you try. One of my most favorite quotes is: "Time is the most valuable commodity we can spend. Having said that, to make the best use of our time, I believe that we can learn a great deal from those who have gone before us. Read on to find out how you can accomplish your goals:

Success DaVinci Style

Just like baby ducks learn to survive by following and imitating their mothers, Leonardo DaVinci believed that a key component to being successful is to imitate or model successful people. We humans, unlike any other species, can choose whom to imitate. DaVinci felt that throughout our lives and all of it's stages we should learn to consciously choose models (not the Cindy Crawford type unless you aspire to be a fashion model) and to replace the ones we outgrow. By doing this you will begin a positive adventure toward your worthy goal. For example, if you want to become a better golfer, study Jack Nicklaus. If you want to become a leader, study Abraham Lincoln (he never quit) or Margaret Thatcher. Should you aspire to become a true renaissance man/woman, you may want to study the great Leonardo Da Vinci, the original renaissance man!

Michael Gelb who wrote the book "How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci" writes, "It would take an encyclopedia to begin to do justice to the full scope of Leonardo's accomplishments." I agree! Da Vinci had visions. What set him apart is that he acted (took massive action) on his ideas. His ideas and creations covered art, invention, the military, engineering, and science. What's most fascinating is the fact that Da Vinci had a "system" he invented and followed religiously every time he began a new idea. It's a very simple system you can use to help you achieve your goals. Da Vinci called it the "Smart System", S M A R T, being and acronym for:
S - Specific: Define exactly what you want.

M - Measurable: figure out how you're going to measure your goals.

A - Accountability: Commit to being personally responsible for achieving your goals. If part of a team, be sure that accountability is clear.

R - Realistic/Relevant: Set goals that are ambitious but achievable. Make certain your goals are relevant to your purpose.

T - Timeline: Set a clear time line for the achievement of your goals.

Wow, isn't that great! From a very easy to remember word, "SMART", you now have your very own "ACTION PLAN". I'm sure you know that Da Vinci created such timeliness creations such as the paintings, "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper". But did you also know that he created the parachute, bicycle, helicopter, folding chair, alarm clock, and the first comprehensive drawings of the human anatomy!

I'm absolutely convinced that when you use this system which still applies today after nearly 500 years, you will achieve your own personal goals. To quote Leonardo Da Vinci, "Your brain is much better than you think, just use it!"

MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!!!



By Joe Fermano

"If you want the rainbow in life, you gotta be willing to put up with the rain!"

"If we really want to live, we'd better start at once to try!"

Sometimes, patience, perserverance and time are the simplest ingredients to achieving your personal success. If you really think about it, most great achievements weren't born until lots of time, enormous patience (with yourself) and unwavering perseverance prevail. So, ..let's now talk about a few people whose simplified formula for success: "P.P.T.", (Patience, Perseverance and Time) spawned great products! Our story is entitled:

"Never Ever Give Up"

What do the "Golden Arches", "Light Bulb" and "Chicken" have in common? Well, read on and I'll describe the common denominators of success that these ideas originate from.

Every 5 hours somewhere in the world a new "McDonald's" fast food franchise is opening. Can you imagine a business which opened it's door (or "Arches") in 1955 is still so strong today? Well, its founder Ray Kroc, sure did. Kroc, was no inventor. But he knew a great idea when he saw one. After all, Kroc's entire life thrived on discovering just the right idea that would live on well after the man himself. From a paper cup salesman, to real estate broker, piano player, and finally, milk shake mixer salesman, he always had an incredible amount of faith in himself!! Finally! At the young age of 52 his biggest idea (McDonald's) was about to emerge. However, Kroc had to muster enough courage in his new idea to once again mortgage his home and borrow lots of money to get it going. Oh! He wasn't a picture of health either. He'd been plagued by years of arthritis, diabetes, lost his bladder and most of his thyroid gland. But, he never lost the courage to persevere and believe in himself. In fact, Ray Kroc was known to say: "the best is ahead of me", according to those who knew him. The "McDonald"s" brand name is the 2nd most recognizable name in the world, next to "Coca Cola." Not bad for a 52 year old with health problems, huge debts, and tons of dogged determination!

Ray Kroc was a simple man with a simple plan to achieve huge success. His formula is:
#1 Never give up.

#2 Always persevere.

#3 Don't forget #1.

Chances are you're reading this article in a room with the use of lighting. Well, you can thank Thomas Edison for that. Did you know that Edison failed over 9000 (that's thousand) times before perfecting the light bulb! How many of us would have thrown in the "proverbial" towel at 20 failures, 150 failures or at the 8000th failure. In my opinion, Thomas Edison's picture should be under the definition "perseverance" in Webster's dictionary! Don't you agree? After Edison had invented and produced the light-bulb a reporter asked him how it felt to fail over 9000 times. Edison replied, "I was glad I found 9000 ways not to invent the light bulb! From this point forward Edison went on to receive 1,093 patents, more than any other person in U.S. history. Wow!! Edison's formula for success:
#1 It takes time for greatness.

#2 Be patient

#3 Persistence is key.

What's, "finger lickin` good" or "extra crispy"? If you guessed "Kentucky Fried Chicken". you're absolutely right! Try to imagine the faith, patience and perseverance necesssary to hear the word "NO" 1009 times! The founder of "KFC" (Kentucky Fried Chicken) Colonel Sanders was told no 1009 times before he sold his first piece of chicken. Sanders would drive from town to town, restaurant to restaurant, often sleeping in his car , living off his chicken and believing his "secret recipe" would one day pay off. Eventually his persistence and belief in himself paid off big time! Not bad for a 65 year old. Though Sanders never let the public in on his recipe, he did discuss his recipe for his success:
#1 Never quit.

#2 Always believe in you.

#3 Be patient.

#4 Be positive.

As you can see, the common traits between Ray Kroc, Thomas Edison and Colonel Sanders are simple and direct. Perseverance. Patience. Time. Belief.

Whatever it is you're trying to achieve in your precious and valuable life, I'm convinced these traits must be present. Especially, belief! If you don't believe you won't achieve.

Till next time... Make It A Great Day
Joe 

Joe Fermano is the founder of the Positive Attitude Institute, an organization dedicated to teaching people how to believe in themselves, and make every day count. To book Joe to speak at your corporation, convention, sales meeting, school, athletic team event, or group meeting, fill out our Booking form! Become a member of the PAI and receive stories such as this one in your email box every two weeks, AND Joe's personal assistance through motication coaching. 



By Joe Fermano

"Both actions and inactions, have consequences!”

“Whatever you sow,…so shall you reap!” 


MIND FITNESS 

Let’s talk about exercising your brain. The first part of this story we’ll focus on building a better brain. In order to build self-confidence you must feed your brain. When you feed your brain the proper foods, your self- confidence will grow. In the same way you need to feed your body the proper foods to keep it strong and healthy …you must feed your head to keep it focused on your goals. A question that you should ask yourself and then answer as honestly as possible is: “What would you be doing with your life if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Once you answer this question, you may be on your way toward your life mission! 

So,…how can you “feed your mind” and build a positive attitude day by day, month by month and ultimately for as long as you choose to? Well, the easiest and most effective (from my experience) would begin with: 

#1 Read as many books, and magazines that are positive inspirational and motivational as you possibly can. 

#2 Listen to audio tapes in the car, home, office, while working out, walking or simply relaxing. 


#3 Study the lives of the people who have a positive message to share with all of us, and especially in the given field you’ve chosen to be great at.

We’ve all heard that saying.. “you are what you eat”.. well, the same applies to the mind…. “you are what you continually think about” ..(think about that for a moment or two). Everything you allow into your mind, positively or negatively, will affect your actions. You are “what you think” you are! People, can have the strongest affect on our lives. I believe that you become, the people, you hang out with. The people you associate with and share ideas with have a major influence on how you choose to act upon or not act upon your dreams. Haven’t you ever been around a positively charged person who electrifies you and everyone around you? They say… “confidence is contagious” and so is the lack of confidence. We must demand more of ourselves and the people we choose to spend our precious time with. Always surround yourself with positive “can do” people. If you can’t find anyone like this, then simply immerse yourself into positive books, magazines, tapes and eventually you will attract positive people automatically. At first it may be difficult, all good things are, and by the way, remember that everyone has problems on some level or another,..its how you choose to react that makes the difference in the quality of your life. We must discipline ourselves to remove the negative people in our lives. Often we fail to realize how influenced we are by the people we work with, socialize with and spend time with. The solution to this is quite simple;…. “surround yourself with the kinds of people you want to be like!!!!”

Psychologists have proven that “habitual association” with critical complaining people can be enough to sabotage all your opportunities for success. So, you can begin to change your environment by thinking about those people you’d like to be like. Whether these people are alive or from the past,..think about the qualities you respect in them and focus on modeling them. Do all you can do to seek out those individuals who are going somewhere with their lives. Read all you can about them and learn to identify with them mentally. As you begin this wonderful journey of positiveness,…you’ll find that the negative people in your life will go away and you will attract other winners!

So, from this point on, once you associate with positive people you’ll begin your journey toward peace and fulfillment. Every positive action you take toward your goals and dreams will reinforce your capability to accomplish your ideals. Never lose sight of your dreams,..its totally up to you to remind yourself everyday of the rewards you will reap as you achieve your goals.

Sow it !!!……Reap it!!!!!!!



By Joe Fermano

“ A LIFE WITHOUT SELF-CONFIDENCE ISN’T A LIFE !” 



How many times have you heard this: “Life is a numbers game;…the more times you try something the better the odds of achieving it.” It’s no different with self-confidence. The more self - confidence you have the more times you’ll try to do something. The law of averages tells us you must achieve more, if you’re trying more. More, more and more,…the more self-confidence you have the less you’ll be affected by temporary setbacks(never final ,always temporary) and short-term disappointments. The more self-confidence you have the likely it is that you’ll live a life full of achievement, riches, satisfaction and pure bliss.

So, how do you get started on your self-confidence journey? Well, one of the basic fundamental things you must understand is your uniqueness! Quite simply….., you are EXTRAORDINARY!! The odds are greater than 50 billion to 1 against their ever being anyone with the unique combination of talents, skills, and abilities that you possess. The unbelievable achievements that you’re capable of,…. no one knows, not even yourself. What we do know is that your greatest areas of achievement come from your areas of strength, that once identified and capitalized upon will bring you infinite success. The men and women who achieve the most are invariably those who have taken the time to identify their strong points and continually refine them.

KEY POINT: For many years I’ve been fortunate to experience and work with people who’ve learned the SECRET!….Exploit your strengths and starve your weaknesses. Yes, of course there is more to it than this but not much more. “WE ARE WHAT WE THINK ABOUT!” That which you focus on,….your heart will follow. The things you are interested in are indicative of who you are. So, the things(KEY POINT) you are interested in are the things you should be doing more of. A most enlightening study was conducted several years ago. This study involved 1500 men and women who started out very ambitious and motivated in their careers. They found that only 83 of them became millionaires. When they went back and studied the attitudes and decisions of these people, a common denominator was evident amongst all 83 millionaires. KEY POINT: They found that every single millionaire chose a field (career) they enjoyed!! In essence they lived their bliss! They worked in a field that always interested them and constantly held their attention. The conclusion of the study showed that wealth, success and happiness seemed to occur when a person was pre-occupied doing something else. The 83 millionaires never set out to make lots of money. Instead they chose fields that they were completely passionate about. The MONEY came after they devoted themselves to their chosen endeavor wholeheartedly and truthfully.

REMEMBER THIS!!!!! You’ll never really be happy or satisfied until you can apply your unique God given talents toward the thing you LOVE to do. When you're not where you want to be, you’ll know it. You feel discontentment, uneasiness and unhappy. To enjoy high levels of self-confidence you must be living your life in a way that challenges you, stretches you and makes you grow. The only successful way to achieve this is to do what you are naturally comfortable with.

GOOD NEWS! The good news is your discontentment and unhappiness are blatant signs for you to step forward and live a life of being you(pure bliss)! The important thing to recognize is how unsatisfied and unhappy you really are. Once you step out of your dull “go thru the motions life” …and into the life that’s YOU,…you’ve begun to live the first day of your “exciting” life. Once you are true to yourself and follow your HEART you will find integrity. When you understand integrity and how it relates to you the real you has arrived!

YOU MUST! You must make up your mind to look at you honestly and make future decisions based on your uniqueness. NOW! TODAY! THIS VERY MOMENT is time to realize how extraordinary you are. The feelings you have along with your behavior is the most accurate guide you’ll ever need to make the right choices. As you follow your heart to where it leads you,…courage, integrity and finally SELF-CONFIDENCE will automatically become apart of your every action and thought. HEY!!!!! Believe me I know that its scary to follow your heart. Most of us are extremely fearful to follow our true feelings. Its not that we don’t know what to do,..its that we’re afraid to do what our hearts tell us to do. But when you take it step by step gradually building yourself up (like a muscle) you’ll step farther away from your fears,…and then SELF-CONFIDENCE settles in!

GOOD STUFF!!!!………Realize your gift, act upon it and your self-confidence WILL rise so high that there are virtually no limitations to what you won't try. As we discussed earlier, the MORE you try the MORE you achieve,…the MORE you achieve the MORE SELF-CONFIDENCE you will possess!!! 


By Joe Fermano

“ONE IS NEVER FORTUNATE OR AS UNFORTUNATE AS ONE IMAGINES!” 
*********************************************************** 
“BALANCE YOUR LIFE BEFORE YOUR TIRES”

Yeah I know, corny title,.. but its true. Think about it for just 10 seconds and you will agree. We spend more time (at the garage) balancing our tires than our lives. Have you ever driven a car or been in a car with unbalanced tires? The car wobbles, shakes, vibrates, and is very difficult to keep straight. So how can we manage to align our lives for optimum performance and enjoyment without balance? We can’t! 



All studies show that the people who enjoy long-term success in all areas of their life have a “balanced” program for life. Having a balance between spiritual, family, work, leisure, community and whatever else is important to you is the ONLY way you can achieve your goals in each area while enjoying the journey. I recently read an article where Zig Ziglar, the great motivational speaker, had been discussing the findings regarding “balance.’’ According to Zig, UCLA did a study of a group of people from a cross-section of occupations;…psychiatrists, truck drivers, entrepeneurs, ceo’s , household executives, military, all types of people. Within each category those people who had created a “balanced goal program” earned twice as much money as those who don’t. They also are (KEY POINT)..happier, healthier, and get along better with their families. WOW!!! Isn’t that what we all really, really, really want. I know I do! 


Everybody I’ve come in touch with and have coached wants the same thing. Everybody wants to be happy, healthy, and at least reasonably prosperous. Everybody wants to be secure,to have friends, peace of mind, good family relationships, and the hope that the future will be even better. To do that your GOALS need to embrace the physical, the mental, and the spiritual realms. When coaching my clients I emphasize the need to strive for balance in our lives. For example, physical balance …which has three basic components to it: 




1. Sleep 

2. Diet

3. Exercise 



1) You must get a reasonable amount of sleep without it you cannot achieve the laser – type focus needed to concentrate on your goals. Many of our great thinkers and leaders often napped for 20 or 30 minutes each day,..Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Leonardo Da Vinci were all nappers.
2) Diet, your diet must be reasonable and sensible, its quite simple, fruits, vegetables, fish, grains, light carbohydrates, and water should be eaten each day before anything else is. I once heard Zig Ziglar say, “ If you had a million-dollar race horse, would you let it stay up all night drinking coffee? Why would you give your BILLION dollar body such abuse?” Think about that!!
3) Exercise, walking is one of the best if not the best form of exercise most of us can do. Light weightlifting for muscle tone along with other cardiovascular activities like biking, hiking, jogging, and tennis make a great combination for a fit and healthy life. Its very difficult to find someone in a bad mood or lacking energy after a good work-out. At a minimum make the commitment to walk 3-5 days each week for 30-60 minutes. You’ll be amazed how order, balance, and motivation will radiate into your life. 




The spiritual component is just as powerful. Studies show that people who regularly attend worship of some kind,…whether church, synagogue, temple, or mosque, earn more money, have fewer drug problems, a lower rate of divorce, better intimate relationships, fewer nervous breakdowns and lower suicide rates. Wow! That covers a lot of stuff don’t you agree? Its kind of what my parents believed, “if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.” The family component is as important as the other two. The better relationship we can have with our families the better our lives will be in all areas. I’ve found from personal experience that the better my communication and love is with my family(& friends) the better all other components of my life is. When we focus on enjoying all that is here for us to appreciate and treasure, each moment that we’re alive, our life comes together successfully. When you LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE love, peace and fulfillment will fill your heart! I remember what Zig Ziglar says, “ don’t try to be the richest man in the graveyard.” Spend time with your family. Kids need presence not presents! 





I decided to call this piece "WHATTA LIFE", because we have soooo much to be grateful for, right from the beginning! 

Recently I read an excerpt from a book by Dr. James Kennedy. I thought it was worth sharing with you. It’s kind of a "Did you know?" piece that puts the simplest gifts given to us in perspective.

The world in which live shows clearly the care and concern of God. Here’s why:…….If our earth were just 10% closer to the sun we would burn up. If it were 10% farther from the sun we would freeze to death. If the moon were one fifth closer to the earth we would have 50-foot tidal waves twice a day covering most of the earth’s surface. 

Now here’s something I did not know. Most liquids contract when they freeze. Yet, when water freezes, it expands! If it didn’t, all of the lakes (and there are lots of em’) and rivers would freeze from the bottom up and all of the fish would be killed. 

We live on something like an apple. The solid part of the earth is relatively thinner than the skin of an apple. Most of the rest of the earth is molten lava capable of burning us instantly to a cinder. Above us there are ultra violet rays and other rays also capable of destroying us. We are protected from the heat below and we are protected from the killer rays above by the atmosphere, and definitely by the hand of a higher being. Our balanced atmosphere with 21% oxygen is just right for humans to breathe and just thick enough to keep us from being killed by millions of meteorites that constantly strike this planet every year and are burned up in our atmosphere!

All of this tells us we have an awful lot to be grateful for. Don’t you agree?



Amazing Power
By Joe Fermano

You have it. I have it. Everyone you know has it. What is it? It’s this infinite, universal, subconscious and powerful gift we’re blessed with. Most experts call it the "super-subconscious mind," (higher level of thinking) although whatever you choose to call it, it is as available to you at this very instant as it has been to anyone, anywhere!

The origin of all creativity comes from the superconscious mind. The superconscious mind was used by all of the great inventors, writers, artists, business people, scientists and composers on a regular basis.

Bach, and Beethoven tapped into the superconscious mind regularly to write some of the finest music ever heard. In fact, Mozart was so finely tuned into his superconscious mind that he could both hear and see the music in his head and then write it down perfectly note for note. Michaelangelo was known to have said that he would see his completed sculpture in the block of marble before he began chiseling away at it. He simply needed to chip around his vision.

The beauty of your superconscious mind lies in the application toward your goals. When you are striving and working toward a goal of your own choosing, your superconscious mind will provide you the continuous flow of ideas and positive energy to help you move closer to your goal. KEY POINT: Your superconscious mind functions best when you have a confident and calm mindset. Your subconscious mind automatically and continually solves every problem on the way to your goal as long as your goal is clear, concise and you believe in it fully.

REMEMBER THIS: When you get a hunch or an inspiration about the direction of your goal you must act on it immediately. This is when your superconscious mind is speaking to you, based on the time-dated material you entered at an earlier time. You see, when you adopt an attitude of calmness and confidence about your goals everything that happens to you can only bring you closer to your goal, your dream!

The truth is, "You become what you think about." Emerson wrote, "A person becomes what he thinks about most of the time." In the Bible it says that, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap." KEY POINT: Successful people think and talk about what they want. Unsuccessful people talk about what they don’t want. The superconscious mind is so powerful that it is working all the time and you will get what you think about most of the time!!

"Whether you think you can do something or think you can’t, you’re right!"