I have been traveling a lot lately for speaking engagements: Ohio, Texas, and Missouri to name a few, speaking to a bunch of great groups. As I have been talking about leadership lately, it really got me thinking about communication and its role in helping us connect with other people, and to thus improve our leadership.

The thing I have been thinking about most is what I call the "Two Be's" If you want to know how to connect with other people, these are central:

"Be Interesting." People like to be around interesting people. They like to learn from them. The last thing you want to be if you want to lead is to be boring. People's eyes rolling back in their heads is a sign that you need to kick it up a notch. Read good books, stay on top of the news, and learn new things. That will help you be interesting and develop your conversational skills. But there is something even more important – the next "Be."

"Be Interested." More than wanting to talk about yourself, talk about the other person. Be interested in who they are, what they do, and what they like. That will endear them to you and attract them to you. People want to know that you care about them and their needs. The next time you are around someone you lead, spend the time focusing on them and see the magic that happens with your personal leadership!

You Are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

In This Issue.......

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article
2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary
3. The Last Word...
4. Three Great Gift-Giving Ideas from Chris Widener!
5. Customer Feedback
6. More Information

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article

Your Date with Destiny by Chris Widener

Destiny. What a powerful word. And the great thing about it? Everyone has one! You have a destiny! Another great thing about destiny? We have a significant role in shaping our own destiny! In essence, you can choose your date with destiny - powerful!

Your destiny is the dream that lies within you of your desired and preferred future. And the things that we choose each day are what lead us to that destiny: Our actions, our words, our attitudes, and our relationships. They all add up to develop and shape that date on which we will reach our destiny.

Here are some thoughts to think about as you work on shaping your Date with Destiny:

The Mental Question: Do you believe that you can achieve a life of abundance? The frank truth is that many people simply do not believe that they can achieve what lies in their heart. Success is for someone else, a better person, or a smarter person. This is not true and is perhaps the greatest obstacle we face on the journey to our destiny. If we are to achieve the abundance in life we must first believe we can, or face our own continual self-sabotage of what a college professor of mine called "stinkin'-thinkin.'"

Here is the truth:
It doesn't matter what your intelligence is.
It doesn't matter what your current resources are.
It doesn't matter what you currently earn.
It doesn't matter what family you came from.

Nothing in your current circumstances matter in whether or not you can achieve your destiny! Nothing! Now, your current state may make it a longer or harder journey than someone else, but the possibility is always there no matter what your current circumstances are.

And that is the message we need to continually tell ourselves. "I can do it." Not "I can't do it."

Clear vision. Do you have one of your destiny? Here are some questions to determine whether or not your vision is clear.

Can you describe it in intricate detail?
Can you "see" it?
Can you "feel" it?
Can you "hear" it?

Here are a couple of illustrations.

Perhaps you came from a dysfunctional family and your dream is to have great moments with your family. Let's start with a Thanksgiving meal. Can you see each person there? What are they wearing? Are they smiling? What is the conversation? Can you hear the laughter? Can you experience the joy? Can you smell the turkey? Can you see people hugging each other and saying "This was wonderful," as they leave?

Another scenario: Your company. Can you see the large building you are in? Can you see the workers? Can you feel the positive attitude they have as they carry out their work? Can you experience the excitement as you get the quarterly results? Can you see yourself handing out healthy bonuses that bring pleasant surprises to your employees?

This is where it begins. A clear vision of your destiny.

Consider your resources. Are you aware of the resources you will need in order to set your date with destiny? Do you know how you will go about getting them? What are your natural gifts and talents that you have? How can you best utilize them in achieving your destiny?

What are your current level of resources?
Money?
Time?
Emotional health?
Help from others such as friends, family, employees or volunteers?

What will be your needed future level of resources? And have you developed a plan to achieve this level?

The last thing I would encourage you to do is fix a date in the future that you believe you could believe you will be living your destiny by. A real date. What this enables you to do is then begin to work backwards in setting goals to move you along the way, proving you with future points to strive for and evaluation point to reflect upon.

Here are the points again:

Answer the mental question: Do I really believe?

Develop a clear vision.

Consider the resources needed.

Set a date with destiny.

Develop a plan to get there.


Chris Widener


Chris Widener is an internationally recognized speaker, author and radio host. If you are interested in booking him to speak at your next event, please go to http://www.chriswidener.com or send an email to speaker@chriswidener.com or call 877-929-0439 and ask for Hilary



2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

"When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take -- choose the bolder." -- William Joseph Slim

Chris' Commentary:
Rarely does one accomplish great things without choosing the course of bold action. Seldom does history record the actions of those who acted timidly. No, those who change the world are those who choose paths of boldness, roads of courage, facing the highest challenges. Those who succeed day by day and change the world around them are usually those who, even in the midst of the mundane or non-sensational, choose the bolder of two choices. They are the ones who at the end of the day settle in, knowing they gave life their best shot. And they are the ones who lay to rest with the knowledge that they changed their world, if even in a small way, for the better.

Action Point: Do you have a decision to make on your course of action? Which would be the truly bold decision? Make it! Full steam ahead. Change the world with your courage!



3. The Last Word...

I am of the belief that the majority of people can improve their presentations dramatically by focusing on eliminating bad habits and presentation skills more than seeking to add anything on. How often have you come out of a seminar and overheard someone say, "Wow, she was great! Did you see how effectively she used her hand gestures?" That said, here are my Top Ten Rules for Effective Presentations to help you become a better speaker. -- CW

1. Keep it simple:
       Speak naturally
       Make eye contact
       Don't do crazy things with your hands
       Don't do much more than speak, i.e. managing props, etc.
2. Be impassioned
3. Balance the format of your information
4. Build the relationships beforehand if possible
5. Get the audience to participate at varying levels if effective
6. Show, don't tell. That is, use stories, not facts and figures
7. Get rid of distracting idiosyncrasies
8. Don't misinterpret people's actions and get discouraged
9. Know your material
10. Never, ever, go overtime


4. Three Great Gift-Giving Ideas from Chris Widener!

5. Customer Feedback

Here are some of the testimonials and comments we received from our Ezine subscribers. We love receiving comments and feedback from our readers - so keep it coming!


Hi Kyle, I decided to wait until this morning to read The 12 Pillars. Figured I'd take my Dunkin' Donuts morning (which I do on Sundays) and just read the entire book (didn't plan to have to highlight as much as I did but... I did). What a masterpiece! All I could think of while reading is how many people I'd like to tell about it so, aside from running a "book suggestion" piece in an upcoming WWI issue, I'll be taking this book with me and promoting it on stage. I usually do a brief vignette within my program on the importance of books and other forms of continuous self-improvement. I think I'll just hold this book up as a model of a book everyone MUST get, both for themselves, and everyone on their team (and their children!). Totally impressed. Congrats are truly in order to Chris for his awesome way of telling an engaging story and Jim for all the ammunition he provided. Thank you again for the copy!
-- Bob Burg

Dear Chris: Hearty congratulations. I appreciate the wonderful work you do. I am Fr. Joshva G. from India. I work with the poor students, your articles have been truly good, encouraging and refreshing. Thank you so much. God bless you and your work always.
-- Fr. Joshva

Thanks for this gem on optimism.
-- Hesbon Odhiambo

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!! Yesterday evening my box arrived from JRI. I opened it up and grabbed, Twelve Pillars, the first book I saw. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I got about three quarters through the book and had to get some sleep. I got up this morning and I finished the book. What a great job you two did. I'm so glad that I bought 25. I knew if this book was anything like "The Angel Inside" I would want the 25 copies. I also knew if Jim Rohn was involved, the book would be fantastic. And it was! Thank you both for the wonderful information you dispense. You are truly blessed to be able to follow in Jim Rohn's footsteps. And from what I've seen so far (the leadership weekend) and other news articles and your books, you're doing a great job! I look forward to hearing from you and Jim Rohn in my future. I'm also grateful that you are willing to share 15 minutes of your time with me. I know how valuable that time is for you. Once again thank you, thank you, thank you. I know my friends and family will appreciate this book even more than they loved "The Angel Inside". You're the greatest! Thanks for being here for people like me.
-- Karen Tardif

Once again great ezine this week, Chris -- keep up the great work.
-- Joseph Rooney

Chris, thank you for the call. It's good to get fresh ideas about what to do. I just talked to my upline and she is going to buy the books and use them as Christmas presents for her organization as well, so you'll be talking to her. I've thought about doing the 1 year program, but haven't, but am going to sign up for it today. Thanks again for your inspiration.
-- Pam


Thank you Ezine readers, for the sincere and kind words of encouragement and appreciation you sent us this week! -- CW
 

6. More Information

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