What Gremlins are holding you back?

Gremlins
Are
Illusions

Recently, I had coffee with my friend, Deborah, who is a Life Coach.

Deborah shared how it’s interesting that some of her clients are successful, while others remain “stuck” and unsuccessful because of the “gremlins” of fear and self-doubt.

That got me to thinking…Gremlins are scary.. they can be pretty big, and I bet if I saw one they would smell badly too.

But gremlins aren’t real…. Oh, yes, we’ve seen them on the big screen, and the small one that flickers in our living rooms. We’ve read all about them in all their nasty disguises in books and stories.

We’ve been certain some nights, in the long nights of trial and stress, that they were right at our bedside, practically breathing their foul breath on us, waiting to move in and hurt us as we spent a sleepless night of worry and fear.

But Gremlins are not real! They are the stuff of stories. In all good stories, the hero has to encounter the bad guys and overcome. Oh, they’ll cause him or her lots of trouble, binding them up in fear, worry and dread, paralyzing enough to stop the hero from moving forward until at the very last minute, our hero finds a way forward and gains the prize.

Gremlins look so big and nasty on the movie screen and in our imagination as we read a great story. We can become convinced they are real!

Our subconscious is a powerful tool. The size of a house, compared to our conscious mind, the size of a pea. It takes in all information, not sorting between dream and reality. Take enough Gremlin fiction in and you might be convinced that they are real.

But they are not.

Our Gremlins of fear, self-doubt and worry try to hold us back . But the gremlins of night-fear fade back into the shadows as the sun rises each morning.

The self doubt and worry slides away as we move forward towards our goal. Those first steps are hard, painfully hard sometimes. We might whimper with fear, telling ourselves, we just can’t do it.

But each halting step that we take, moves us ever towards our goal. Left foot, right, baby steps, sometimes leaps. And as we see the prize, our goal, our pace quickens.

Maybe, we just MIGHT be able to do it… it It Could be possible… baby steps baby steps. We start to gain confidence, whistling as we go to scare away the gremlins.

Soon, we are running to the goal, casting off our night shawl of all those fears, self-doubt and worry.

We Can do it! We can move beyond our self-limiting beliefs and take our future firmly in hand to make it our present.

When my daughter Rachel was little, we used to make up all kinds of songs. She had a period of her life when she was young and plagued with a lot of fears.

We made up a song that she used to sing all the time…

The lyrics were: Conquer your Fears and Courage will Follow, Conquer your fears and courage will follow… all the days of your life. Not a fancy song, but a heartfelt one. Sing your song of courage as you face your fears.

What’s holding you back today from achieving your goals and dreams?

Fear of success? Fear of Failure? The fear is almost always worse than the worst that can happen.

By moving forward, we let the bright sunshine of hope shine on us, warming our very souls as it burns away the shroud of dark thoughts.

Afraid you don’t know enough to succeed? Seek out the knowledge you need. There are more people willing to give help than you can imagine. Don’t let the gremlins of misplaced ego or self-deprecation drag on your coat tails. Ask for help.

Until you Try, you have no idea how close you might actually be to your goal, or what windows of opportunity are just waiting for you to unlatch the lock and throw them wide.

This is your life. Live it . Take charge. Seize the day.

Here’s to your success!

Sue Mazza

CEO
SuccessfulYou,Inc.

The Road to Procrastination Never Leads to a Good Destination.

The Road to Procrastination Never Leads to a Good Destination

When I first heard these words, I mentally filed them away with all the other great “sayings” I hear, thinking to myself… Yes, that’s true… I’ll have to really think about that… LATER

Well Later is generally too late and tomorrow never comes, by then it is today!

So, let’s see.. Has Procrastination ever led me to a good destination?

When I procrastinated on dropping off a catalog for my business to the office near me, and then a week later walked in to find out that someone else had beat me to it now. Darn.. guess that girl got lucky.

When I was sure those airline tickets to LA would go down, and had to pay an extra $150 four hours later to book my flight. Gee, those airlines are fickle.

When I lost that traffic ticket and found it buried in pile of papers 6 weeks later, and my $75 ticket now cost me $225. Those traffic cops… don’t they have anything better to do, ..like catch Criminals?

When I ate that piece of cherry pie and said.. I really will start my diet tomorrow, then stepped on the scale and found I was up 10 pounds over the last two weeks instead of down.. C’mon on… my scale Must be broken

When I meant to call that prospect back and finally found of paper I had written it on, two weeks later, and he isn’t interested any longer. People, what’s with them anyways?

Catch a common thread? Have you ever had a similar experience?

Why do we procrastinate?

· Bad Time Management
· Fear of Failure
· Fear of Success
· Not sure we know enough about a subject
· Laziness
· Easily Distracted
· Low Self Esteem

Just to name a few.

Procrastination almost always costs us something.
Costs in Time, Money, Relationships, Self Image.

So how do we stop this cycle and break free? Break free to start building happy, exciting, productive lives for ourselves both personally and in our business?

There are a million articles and books about this, but I’m going to suggest one very simple, baby step.

Do the One.

What is the ONE THING that would make the most difference in:

Your Health?
Your Marriage?
Your Finances?
Your Business?
Your Relationships?


Here’s a personal example that worked for me.

JUST FOLD 5.

I finally started this when I went down to the laundry room and found that the pile of clean laundry on the table was higher than my head. Just a little procrastination? You bet!

I mean, which of us doesn’t have a million more important things to do than fold laundry? Except of course when we need those clean socks, then try to match them from a 6 foot pile!

So, I made myself a deal. JUST FOLD 5.

Each time I went down to the laundry room, I would fold 5. That’s all I was required to do. No biggie, I can do that in about 1 minute. But it was amazing. I finished the 5 and then, actually, folded some more. And the job got done. Finally. Now, every time I go downstairs, I fold 5. Sometimes more. Sometimes just 5. Sometimes I actually catch myself arguing with myself about the simple task of folding 5 towels! But I passed the test. I CAN FOLD AT LEAST 5 ! And that makes me a winner in my little game.

Guys, maybe you don't fold the laundry. Maybe you have an overflowing recycling box next to your desk, or a light bulb out that you've been being nagged to change. Maybe it's laundry.

So, what else can we do?

What’s the one thing that YOU can do in each of those areas above that would make the most difference? Doesn’t have to be anything big. It can be making one phone call to an customer to set up delivery. Taking the dog for a 5 minute walk. Returning the blockbuster video to avoid fees, even though you drove by there 6 times already this weekend.

Making the appointment for your physical. Picking up milk the next time you stop at the gas station. Filing away the credit card you used for holiday purchases (even when you knew you shouldn’t) that is still in your wallet 30 days later. Placing one classified ad for just $5.00 to grow your business. Folding 5 things.

For the next 30 days, agree with yourself, and with me to DO THE ONE.

Pick 1 item from each of the 5 above, or add a category if you must, but don’t overdo! Remember, we are taking baby steps.

Each night write down the one thing you must do in each of those areas before you go on to do all the other urgent and important things in your life.

(Hint, put this pad of paper by your bathroom sink where you brush your teeth – you HAVE to go there anyways. Putting it on the kitchen table, office desk, etc may cause you to actually procrastinate from just going into the room for fear you’ll see the note! Our subconscious is a powerful procrastinator!)

Then, each morning, DO THE ONE.

Fold the 5.
Make the call.
Pay the bill.

Just try it for 30 days and let me know how it goes.
You can do it, just taking that little action will make all the difference in your life by the end of the 30 days.

DO THE ONE. Do it , really, now.

Here’s to Your Success!

Sue Mazza,

CEO , SuccessfulYou, Inc.

Selfish Philanthropy

Thursday morning started earlier than normal for me.

For over 15 years, I’ve been blessed to live the great life of a networker. Although I don’t wake to the sound of an alarm clock because I have to go to work, one of my greatest blessings as I’ve built my Direct Sales and Network Marketing businesses has been to be available to my family. Every day, almost without fail, I get up early and make sure my family is ready to start their day.. at school, work, in their business endeavors. Trust me, some mornings, it’s hard to be an early bird when at heart you are a night owl!

Could I sleep in? For sure, but I have the FREEDOM TO CHOOSE! And I choose to put my family first!

This Thursday, however, I rose an hour earlier than the norm. I had bribed (literally) my high-school-aged daughter to let me take her to school early and headed off to a business networking meeting, starting at 7 am. I knew I had a long day ahead of me – I had scheduled appointments with new and current distributors and prospects all the way through until my final appointment at 9 pm and was excited for a busy and rewarding day.

I entered the conference room of the bank at which the networking event was hosted and smelled the fresh coffee waiting for me! Good start, I thought!

I mingled among the early morning guests, introducing myself and meeting new friends.
As the event began, everyone had an opportunity to introduce themselves and their businesses.

I was prepared, ready to share a great lifestyle Magazine about FREEDOM and some samples with all my new networking friends. As the introductions went around the room, I heard people sharing, with varying levels of presentation skills, about their business. Some more casual, some practically climbing on top of the table with enthusiasm for their product or opportunity. I listened, hearing many familiar sincere declarations and industry catch-phrases and thought a bit more about what I would say.

Half way through the bakers’ dozen, it was my turn. Like many people there, I had more than one interest in my business life. An established, successful business that had provided me with a great income, the free cruises and trips, recognition and awards that come along with being at the top of your game, and a newer adventure, already well on it’s way to surprising personal growth and success.

I shared a bit as I passed around some of the magazines (labeled with my contact info of course) and some product samples (labeled as well) and then moved into a concept I had been contemplating for some time.

What exactly do I do?, I mused aloud to the group? I’m a business and personal coach… like some of you here do as a fulltime career. And I share some fantastic products that people love and benefit from all over the world. We may start off in our business thinking we are an upline, but as we impact individuals’ lives and help them move from the point of entry into our business towards success in their life and career, we become much more. Coach, Cheerleader, Mentor, Friend, Leader, Teacher, Workout Partner, Nag, and so much more .. we impact the lives of those around us more than we may think!

It’s been said that Network Marketing is a great personal development journey with a bonus check attached.

That couldn’t be more true.

We give of our knowledge, experience, compassion, time and resources freely to help other people change their lives and fulfill their dreams of personal and professional achievement and freedom.

And in return – and in proportion to how much value we provide in peoples’ personal and business growth, our companies pay us a bonus. The better we do at providing value, the more we can earn.

So… are we generous? Giving our all to all who ask… rejoicing with the few who are brave enough to change their attitudes, their actions and their lives… and sadly watching the many …. who are unable or unwilling to do what it takes to achieve success… but continuing our mission regardless to impact lives –

Or… are we selfish? As we give, exponentially our income grows. As our influence impacts others for good and they duplicate and expand their sphere of influence, our bonus checks grow! And the more we teach others, the more we can earn with the right compensation plan and company!

I guess it’s a little of both. I call it Selfish Philanthropy. Works for me.

My new networking group seemed to like my story - and they loved the cookie samples I brought to share.

I told them, I’ll tell them another great story the next time we get together. And, as they asked for, maybe bring some more cookies. That got smiles all around. I love the Freedom of being a Rich Networker!

You can't Hire other People to Do your PUSHUPS FOR YOU!


This quote is from one of my favorite trainers, Jim Rohn (http://www.jimrohn.com/)
We can hire people to do all kinds of things for us in our business.. pass out our brochures, samples and magazines, make phone calls, even deliver our orders for us.

But some things, we have to do for ourselves. As much as I (and we) get excited by ideas I learn from great trainers and motivators like Jim Rohn, or Tom "BIG AL" Schreiter (http://www.fortunenow.com/ ), that motivation only lasts a short time.
If you are at all like me, we encounter challenges in our business sometimes that take the wind out of our sails a bit. Maybe a customer doesn't place a re-order, or a new team member doesn't follow through on her plan.

Sometimes "life" just gets us down.
But, we can't hire someone to do our pushups for us!

But the key to getting results from our "pushups", and seeing results in our business is to move into action. Do the first pushup.. then another. Go pass out a few more samples, or stop into the video store on a Friday and Saturday afternoon and leave some company literature! (Hint - Don't leave too many or go on other "slow" days or someone might re-fill that rack by the "out" door and toss them, but the stores are busy on Fri and Sat and it's a great time to leave them there then!)

Set aside 15 minutes on Sunday night to plan out your week, for both personal and professional events and actions. Then be sure that you are prepared to take action. Got biz cards and labeled materials in back of the car, ready to go? It does you no good sitting on your shelf!

Make time for personal development - the most important "pushup" of all!

Schedule your web office to send out emails to customers and your team for important specials, announcements and events so that people can learn about your products, services and team even while you are sleeping!

Find a mentor, or a "workout partner" with whom you can share ideas and be accountable with... it's always easier to "workout" when you have a partner!

Most important, as A. L. Williams says: JUST DO IT!

Blog Transfer

OK, OK, I am more of an offline girl than an online one! I love meeting people, sharing ideas and making friends. But I know that in order to communicate and share ideas effectively, I can do it online faster, easier and to more friends than ever!

So, I've moved my blog here. I'll add in some old posts here, because, of course, I think they are great and still newsworthy!

Watch for new material often. You can subscribe to this blog at the bottom of the page, and follow me too!

Today is a great day - make it yours!

Here's to Your Success!

Sue Mazza
SuccessfulYou,Inc