The Sykes Group's OnPoint

 ‎”Nothing stops the person who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop their achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of their powers to accomplishment.” - Eric Butterworth

Recently, I was watching a women’s professional tennis match on TV. One of the players, Nadia Petrova, was having a spectacular tennis season, either winning or playing for the championship in several tournaments in recent months.

The TV interviewer interviewed Nadia’s new coach and mentioned that Nadia, who was rated in the top twenty players in past years, was fast becoming one of the top five players in the world. The interviewer asked Nadia’s coach about this, and the coach said, “In the past, Nadia had people around her that concentrated on what she ‘can’t do.’ So Nadia would concentrate on what she couldn’t do, especially in challenging situations on the court, and it would frustrate her. I am concentrating on what she ‘can do,’ and she is a much better, confident player and is mentally much happier.”

So I ask you, do you concentrate on the “can’t dos” or the “can dos?” The following are three secrets to creating a “can do” attitude that produces positive results and more success in your life, business, and career:

• Set Can Do Goals – Set goals that move you toward successful results. People fail because they don’t know what they want or what they don’t want. Ask a friend, family member, or associate what they want in life. In most cases, they will pause and really think about what they want. Sometimes they can’t come up with an answer. Sometimes they may come up with a weak response. However, ask the following question, “What don’t you want in life?” and, in most situations, you will receive multiple, clear, and quick answers to your question. That’s because we concentrate on what we don’t want to happen instead of what we want to happen. In life, as in sports, we concentrate on “not losing” instead of concentrating how to “win.”

Set S-M-A-R-T-E-R (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely, Encouraging, Rewarding) goals that create a crystal clear roadmap for your success, and work to achieve these goals everyday.

• Take Care of Your N-E-T-S – N-E-T-S stands for Network with Everyone Today for Success. Fill your NETS with positive people that will support your positive “can do” attitude. These people, while supporting your goals, will also help you pass roadblocks to achieve your goals. You will also make your NETS stronger by supporting their goals to create a mutually supportive situation.

Joy Fisher-Sykes always says, “Clean your NETS of people who have a “can’t do,” negative attitude, and who don’t support your quest to achieve your goals.” The more junk (negative people) in your NETS, the less room you have for more treasure (positive people). Take a close look at “friends,” family and co-workers and ask, “Do they support me and my “can do” attitude?” If they don’t, remove them from your NET. Keep your NET strong with positive people.

Concentrate on the Positive – Recent research shows that 75-80% of daily communication is negative. This would include negative self-talk, conversations with others, or the media (TV, radio, the internet, etc.).

Take back control of your mind and be responsible for your “can do” attitude. You can start with the following:

Concentrate on self-talk with positive solutions

Start your mornings with meditation. Concentrate on positive thoughts with positive results. Visualize, involving as many senses as possible, to intensify the visualization and make it real for you. Ask, “What does your success feel, look, sound, and taste like?” Be aware of negative self-talk, and replace it with positive self-talk.

• Control the Communication – If it is a conversation, reframe the negative conversation into a more positive conversation. If someone is complaining endlessly, say, “Mike, I hear what you are saying. What solutions to you see to this problem?”

If the media is negative, tune it out or turn it off.

You can always walk away. You have that right.

• Walk the Talk – Be consistent in your behavior, and act on your “can do” attitude.
• Fake It Till You Make It – Act like you are already achieving your goals, and you will rise to a higher level. Others will also see you as achieving your goals and interact with you accordingly.

Follow these “can do” techniques and you will also achieve more success in your life. I know Nadia does. As of this writing, she has won two additional tournaments, with no end in sight. She has a “can do” attitude that creates success, and you can, too.  (For additional can-do attitude resources, go to Can-Do Attitude).

“The person who succeeds is not the one who holds back, fearing failure, not the one who nevers fails…but rather the one who moves on in spite of failure.” Charles Swindoll. Keep moving forward!

The following are ten motivation action steps you can take to motivate yourself in work, business, and life:

1. Positive Affirmations for Success – Our subconscious mind is a wonderful tool for success or failure. It will do what we tell it to do. It all depends on what thoughts we feed it. So why not feed your inner mind with only positive thoughts. The following are some examples of positive affirmations you can feed your inner mind for success:

• “Today, I will win because I have faith, courage and enthusiasm.”
• “I see failure only as a signpost on my road to success.”
• “When I feel stress, I will relax and release my stress before I take on my next task.”
• “I always write down my priorities, thinking of my responsibilities. I may not get everything done, but I will do the most productive thing possible at every given moment.”
• “I am a winner, I work for a winning organization, and because of my contribution and cooperation we will keep on winning.”
• “Today, I will see opportunity in every challenge offered to me.”

2. Positive Language for Success – Recent research has come out that 75% of daily conversation is negative. Whether it is the words we use or the body language, we need to communicate in a positive manner all the time.

The following are some examples of how you can turn negative words into positive communication:

• Instead of saying “problem,” call it “opportunity.”
• Instead of an action being a “failure,” describe it as a “learning experience.”
• Instead of “I have to,” say “I choose to.” This gives control for your actions back to you.
• Instead of saying, “There’s nothing I can do,” say, “Let’s look at our alternatives.”
• Instead of saying, “That’s just the way I am,” say, “I choose a different approach.”
• Instead of saying, “He makes me so mad,” say, “I control my own feelings.”
• If you notice, by using the positive response, you have control over your actions and life.

3. Exercise for Success – A Gallup survey found the following among men and women who have taken up exercise recently:

• 66 percent report a more relaxed life
• 62 percent a new surge of energy
• 55 percent less stress
• 51 percent better looks
• 46 percent more confidence
• 45 percent better love life
• 44 percent greater job satisfaction
• 37 percent more creative on their jobs

You can read the rest of the article at Success Steps.
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“A successful person is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.” - David Brinkley

Are you creating your foundation of success? Are you motivated to take on challenges that others are not willing to do? The following is a story of someone who did and achieved great success in his life and how you can, too!

There once was a young man who grew up in Crawford, Mississippi. His father worked as a brick mason building home foundations. Everyday after school and during the summers, this young man would help his father build foundations. It’s not the most glamorous job by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s an honest, backbreaking, and low paying job that put food on the table and paid the bills. The father would start by throwing bricks towards the son in the area where they would build a housing foundation. Under the hot, sweltering Mississippi sun, his son would catch brick after brick with his hands, day after day. While most other kids were enjoying their summers or working in less strenuous jobs, this young man was motivated to work long and hard with his father, while catching those bricks and building a foundation for success in more ways than one.

You see, each time that young man caught bricks, he was not only making his hands stronger, he was building character and the foundation for success in his later years. With each brick he caught, he was even more determined to be successful in life. When he wasn’t helping his father and going to school, he was pushing himself through football workouts to be better than any other football player. You see the young man’s name is Jerry Rice, and he went on to become the most successful NFL All-Pro wide receiver of all time with the San Francisco 49ers. Some of you non-football fans may know him as a contestant from the television program, “Dancing with the Stars.”

The following are the six success secrets that Jerry Rice used that can easily motivate you to achieve success in any aspect of your business, career, and life:

1. Motivate Yourself to See Opportunities in Every Challenge – Jerry could have looked at the job of catching bricks as a chore that was a waste of his time. But he saw the big picture and made the chore more enjoyable by developing games out of the activities. Many times in life, we are thrown bricks and complain and miss the opportunity it presents to us. The person who can find solutions in the challenges they are faced with can write their own ticket for success. When you take on a challenge, it’s preparing you for an opportunity in the future. You may not know when the opportunity is coming, how it is coming, or what the opportunity will look like, but it is coming; and will you be prepared? Embrace your challenges so you will be prepared.
2. Motivate Yourself to See That It’s Normal to Experience a Little Pain – As Jerry was experiencing the pain of catching bricks each day, this pain was actually building him to becoming a stronger person. Each brick was fueling Jerry’s internal desire to be successful. Think of some situation at work, in business, or in life that was painful. Your pain may be an embarrassing moment, it may be a learning experience, and it may be a setback. How can you use this setback to motivate you to become more successful? We achieve success in our businesses, careers, and life when we develop the success tools of using our “pains” as a learning experience and a springboard to success.
3. Motivate Yourself to Take on Unpopular Tasks - Catching bricks all day is not the most glamorous job in the world. Many times we are thrown bricks in life and avoid them like the plague. Volunteer to catch these bricks while others decline. This will allow people of influence to see your special skills and offer you opportunities for success. It is what I always say, “It’s not what you know, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows what you know.” When you volunteer to catch those bricks, you allow others to now know and see the special skills and talent you exhibit. (Read the rest of the article at Bricks of Success)

“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.” – Barbara de Angelis. Aug. 8th is “Happiness Happens Day! What happiness will you create today?

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”  How many doors will you build today?

First, make sure there isn’t a door of opportunity. Many times the door may not be apparent to you. Many times the door may not be attractive However, it is there for you to walk through. You must take the first step.

If the door of opportunity is not there, take the necessary steps to create opportunities for success. How? Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is an opportunity that is available that others are not taking advantage of yet?
• What actions can I take that I haven’t taken before that will create opportunities for me?
• How can I serve others?

If you can answer these basis questions, you are well on the way to walking through the door of opportunity!