We've all heard the expression, "All work and no play makes Jack - and you - a dull boy (or girl)." Now, having quoted that expression, let me state emphatically that I believe in becoming successful. In fact, I want to become more and more successful each and every day until the day I die. And of course, part of our success is in our work and finances. Yet, I have found that too many people are so stuck on getting ahead, that they drive themselves into the ground working too much.

One of my favorite things to do is go to Arizona to see the Seattle Mariners play in their Spring training games and to play a couple rounds of golf. I am usually only away for two days but it is a great break and rejuvenates me so that I am ready to go back and work even harder on my projects.

We are approaching the time of year when people have more options for taking a break, starting with spring break and moving into summer. My question is this: Will you make sure that you get some good down time? Your body needs it. Your mind needs it. Studies show that those who take regular breaks of refreshment and rest outperform those who work longer hours. It is all about quality time when it comes to work!

So take some time off. Rest, enjoy your family and friends. That is a major part of becoming successful. Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy - and we don't want you to be dull, now, do we?

You Are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

P.S. Today's issue is going out to 80,944 subscribers. If you've gained value from what you read in my Ezine, then I would like to thank you in advance for forwarding this issue to friends, family and associates!



In This Issue.......

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article
2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary
3. The Last Word...
4. Special Wholesale Offer!
5. Customer Feedback
6. More Information

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article

The "Best" Test by Chris Widener

Some time ago, I spoke to a group of salespeople in Kansas City as they kicked off their new team. It was exciting to see them get excited about making a difference through their work.

The topic they assigned me was "Simply the Best." So as I prepared, I asked myself, "What characteristics would help someone pass the "Best" test? That is, what are the characteristics of those who become the "best" at what they do? Here are the thoughts I shared with them:

The Best are Optimists.
You can't get to the top if you don't think that there is a top or if you think you can't make it. One characteristic of those who reach the peak is that they always believe that things can get better or be done better. This pushes them on to be their best.

The Best have Vision.
They can see ahead of the pack. Their eyes aren't locked into the here and now. They see the bright future and what things will look like when they reach their destiny. While working hard for today, they live for the future! They do what Stephen Covey calls begin with the end in mind.

The Best Relentlessly Pursue Excellence.
The status quo is not for them. They want to be the best and experience the best. And that means giving their best. They go the extra mile so that in everything they do, in everything they say and think, they are striving for excellence.

The Best have a Life Long Habit of Personal Growth.
They don't want to stay at the level they are at. They want to grow in their work, their intellect, their spirituality, their relationships, and in every area of their life. And they discipline themselves to put themselves in situations wherein they grow. Personal growth doesn't "just happen." You choose to grow. I always suggest what Zig Ziglar does and that is to enroll in "Automobile University." Whenever you are driving around, listen to a personal or professional growth tape or CD. Over the long run you will grow. Also, read more. The old saying is true: Leaders are readers. So are those who pass the "Best" test.

The Best Understand that They will be Pushed by the Competition - and They Welcome It.
Like the lead runner in the race who has someone on his heels, the best know that the competition is right behind them. They love it though because they know that the competition keeps them from becoming lazy and resting on their laurels. Instead, the competition pushes them to go faster and to achieve more - to remain the best by forging ahead.

The Best have a Quest for Leadership.
Someone has to lead - it may as well be the best! Those who attain it get there because they want to. They want to lead and help make a difference. And they want to be equipped with the skills necessary to lead others on to a better place.

The Best Leave a Legacy.
They aren't in it just for themselves, though they will surely reap the rewards of being the best. Rather, the build things that last beyond themselves, things that can be enjoyed by others as well.

The Best are Adept at the Two Most Important Pieces of Time and Personal Management: Prioritize and Execute.
Just like weight loss boils down to eat right and exercise, personal management boils down to prioritize and execute. First, prioritize your activities. The important stuff goes on the top. Then, execute: do them. The best have habits and discipline that get them to the top by doing the best things and doing them first.

The Best Focus on Building Relationships.
Success does not come alone. Everyone who achieves much does it with the help of countless others. How do the Best get others to help them? They treat them right. They embrace them and help them. People become the best because they help other people, and people like them.

The Best Make no Excuses.
When they fail they admit it and move on. They get back up and do it right the next time. They let their actions speak loader than their words. They stand tall and do the right thing the next time. No excuses, just results.

The Best Understand that the Good is the Enemy of the Best.
Yes, they could say, "this is good." But that would mean they have settled for less than the best. Many people think that good is good. Good is not good. Good is the enemy because it keeps us from the best. Choose your side: the good or the best. The Best choose, you guessed it, the
Best.

The Best Dare to Dream.
While others live the mundane and settle into a life they never bargained for, a rut, the Best dream of a better life. And then they take the risks necessary to achieve their dreams. They live by Teddy Roosevelt's quote: Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs though checkered by failure, then to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilit that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Want to be the best at what you do? Take inventory on the above characteristics and then start moving to bring your life in line with the characteristics of the "best." Then when you get to the top you will know that you have passed the "Best" test.

Chris Widener  

This article is one of the topics Chris covers in one of Three New Powerful Programs on Sales Success, Wealth and Investing and Small Business. This week we're offering these three new releases at a very special introductory offer! Each contains at least 13 CDs plus a bonus CD-Rom or DVD, from the top speakers and trainers in the world - today for only $59 each or get the entire package of all three (41 CDs, 3 DVDs and a CD-ROM) for only $137. But we were only offered 100 sets from the manufacturer, so these will go fast. For complete details of each program and the individual topics and authors, go to http://www.yoursuccessstore.com/boxset or call 877-929-0439.

 

2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

"The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well." -- H.T. Leslie

Chris' Commentary:
Holding a good hand and winning? That's easy. You don't have to be very smart to do that. But hold a bad hand and win - that takes a sharp person, one who will, over time, become a success. Lots of people bask in the wins they get from their good hands but quit when they get a bad hand. Or they complain. Truly successful people though, are people who have taken their bad hands and played them well enough to continue on the road to success. They don't quit. They don't whine. They understand that sometimes you get dealt a bad hand. Sometimes you get a raw deal. It is what you do with that hand that will determine how far you go.

Action Point: Got a hand full of bad cards? Take some time today to think about how you might play that hand strategically, so you can win!



3. The Last Word...

You know, I just heard that the United Way reported 2006 as a record-breaking year for receiving charitable contributions and I have to say that makes my heart glad! I am a strong believer in giving. Write checks on a regular basis to those who you want to bless, not those who you owe. Be generous. If you are thinking of one amount, raise it a bit. They'll be glad now. You'll be glad now and later.

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who allow their abundance to pile up and bring them a sense of (false) security, and those who use their abundance to increase not only the joy in their lives but also in the lives of others by being generous. I believe that the truly successful, those who will change the lives of others and leave a legacy, are the ones who are generous with their abundance. So take out your checkbook. Now write a check to an organization or person that can use it to change the world! Then mail it! -- CW





4. Special Wholesale Offer!
 
 

Three New Powerful Programs on Sales Success, Wealth and Investing and Small Business at a Special Wholesale Offer! Three New Powerful Programs on Sales Success, Wealth & Investing and Small Business Success at a Special Wholesale Offer (includes Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Connie Podesta, Mark Sanborn, Denis Waitley, Sheila Murray Bethel, Chris Widener, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins, Bob Burg, Dianna Booher, Don Hutson, Patricia Fripp, Ron White, George Walther, Laura Stack and many more). We're offering these three new releases at a very special introductory offer! Each contains at least 13 CDs plus a bonus CD-Rom or DVD, from the top speakers and trainers in the world - today for only $59 each or get the entire package of all three (41 CDs, 3 DVDs and a CD-ROM) for only $137. We were offered only 100 sets from the manufacturer, so these will go fast. For complete details of each program and the individual topics and authors, go to http://www.yoursuccessstore.com/boxset or call 877-929-0439. Only 100 sets available! Don't miss this amazing offer!

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!


Thank you for the products that I recently received from you. Very inspiring! Chris was exceptional at our training in November. It has been very exciting to see our team take the training and apply it to their lives and business, and from the results of it, see their lives and business grow. I continually have people bring pieces of training up that he did in their conversations... as it was something they could hook their teeth in and take in. I appreciate the uncompromising character and values that Chris has to lead others. We need it in the field…someone who has boundaries but yet is ‘real’. Thank you. We will certainly keep Chris in mind for our future trainings. Thanks so much.
-- Charity Schlabaugh

Good morning Chris! My name is Rhonda Shepard and I attended the Arbonne conference this past weekend in Birmingham Alabama. I am an Area Manager for Arbonne and have been working this business since last September. It's been going very well but I know after last Saturday I have left the highway and entered the interstate! You are a dynamic speaker and I hope to hear you again soon. "Twelve Pillars" was a wonderful book explaining success on my level that I could understand and will be passed on to my consultants. I am now reading "Live the life you have always dreamed Of". Thank you so much for giving us common sense rules of success. My life will be forever changed. Have a blessed day.
-- Rhonda Shepard

Thanks, Hilary, I do get the Ezines, and love them! Wish I had more time to attend more of the seminar's, too......but everything I got from Chris, will keep me busy for awhile! :-) He really made a HUGE impact on my team's leader's that were in attendance, too! I'll be "voting" for him to speak at one of our National Conferences, so that EVERYONE can benefit from him!!! He really was GRRRRRRRREAT!
Hugs, & God bless.......
-- Kathy Tank, Team Mentor, Tastefully Simple

Dear Chris, I met you a week ago in Framingham, at an Arbonne Event. You signed my book for me The Angel Within, I told you I was An Angel "freak." I have been tearing through your books & I just finished The Twelve Pillars, & I sobbed like a baby at the end of the book. No other book has ever done that to me. I want to Thank You & Mr. Rohn for writing this AWESOME book. I finally get it!!!! I now know what I have to do to change me & build my business. It's taken 10 years but, I finally get it. You know the saying "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." Well, this student is finally ready!!! Thank You for being the TEACHER!!!! With A Grateful Heart.
-- Nancy Bellavance

I just wanted to let you know that I got several nuggets from this Ezine Issue. Thanks for sending it out. I’m also enjoying your comments in the Jim Rohn One Year Success Plan.
-- Steven Earp

I just finished "The Image", and want to commend Chris on such an inspirational book. This has put many things in perspective for me. I have read all three of his books and I am very thankful for his Christian take on success. THANK YOU! Again, thank you for all that you organization does for everyone.
-- Danny Hickman

Thanks so much. Chris was wonderful, and everyone enjoyed him. He has a great sense of humor also.
-- Paula Donahue


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

 

6. More Information

Ezine Archives - To review previous issues of Chris Widener's Ezine, please go to: Ezine Archives

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