1. Charting Your Course to Success Article

Give Bad Habits the Boot!

Everybody has bad habits. Everybody. Now granted, some people have less than others and some people's bad habits are more grating than those of others, but we all have them. What is great is that we don't have to! Imagine a life where you couldn't change? What kind of life would that be? But we can, so let's!

There are two kinds of bad habits: Those you know you have that others may or may not know about, and those you don't know you have but everybody else knows you have! For the sake of everybody involved we ought to get rid of them all, right?

Well Chris, how can I get rid of a bad habit if I don't know I have it? Simple, but hard. Ask somebody to be brutally honest with you! You might think, "Yeah, but I'll be embarrassed." Would you rather everyone talk behind your back? Get up the courage and ask. Ask somebody who loves you and has your best interest in mind. Be gracious and don't defend your self. Just accept it and work on it.

What about the ones we know about - which are all of them once your good friend tells you the ones you were missing? Those are the tough ones. How do I know they are tough? They must be tough if you know about them and yet you still have them! If they weren't tough, they would be FORMER bad habits! Got me? Good!

So how do you break a bad habit? How do you give it the boot out of your life? Here are a few things that must be a part of the plan in order to see that stuff gone forever!

1. You must want them to go. That's right, some people want them to stick around. I have seen dads choose alcohol over their grandchildren. I have seen smokers continue smoking while watching their parents die of emphysema. They don't want them to go. The first thing is to go deep into the recesses of your heart and ask, "Do I really want to give this up?"

2. You do? Good. Step two: Make up a list of all of the reasons you want to quit your bad habits. Make them positive. Make the list long! Start with the really powerful and dramatic if you need to. Now memorize them. Put them in your mind. You are making connections between stopping the bad behavior with what good things you will get from doing so. If you want to lose weight, then picture yourself slim and looking good in those skinny people clothes! If you want to stop smoking, picture your wife actually kissing you rather than sending you to the bathroom to brush your teeth!

3. Choose. That is right. Once you have the information, this comes down to one thing: It is an act of the will. Choose to do it. Say to yourself throughout the day, "I am choosing to..." Eisenhower rightly said, "The history of free men is written not by chance but by choice, their choice." It is your choice. You can write your history.

4. Take action! Point four is tricky because there are two philosophies about this. One theory is that you must take massive action. You must go all or nothing. Using the weight loss example, this person would go spend $500 to join a gym, rework their schedule and hit the treadmill everyday for a year. They will get rid of all fat in the house. They go all out! That works for some. Others would burn out on that, feel like failures and be worse off than before. They should start out slow, taking baby steps, but working diligently toward a planned goal. This person would decide to start walking three days a week. They would decide to limit dessert to two nights a week, down from seven. See how this works? Either way is okay as long as you get to the goal eventually. Which one am I? The first two people to email me with the correct guess will win a "Best Test" CD.

5. Tell somebody. This is your accountability partner. Tell them your goal and tell them your plan. Write it down for them and have them ask you on regular intervals about your progress. This will prove invaluable!

6. Recover from failure. Inevitably most people will have setbacks. The key is to have them be setbacks and not turnbacks! Pick yourself up and get going again. Some people may want to lose 30 pounds and after losing fifteen they eat a gallon of ice cream. Then they feel bad and give up. Don't! Reset your goal for another two weeks and get going again. Chalk it off to experience! Say to yourself, "Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn."

7. Reward yourself. That's right. You should regularly congratulate yourself by rewarding yourself with some gift to yourself. Start small with small victories and plan a big one when you are finally and for sure over the habit.

Is it that simple? Most of the time, no. Habits are hard to break. There are so many intangibles that it would be hard to cover them all. But this is a simple and workable plan that will help you make great strides if you apply the principles.

Get going! Give those bad habits a boot! Good luck!

Chris Widener





2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

"Telling others is the key to changing your wishes into dreams." -- Chris Widener

Chris' Commentary:
You know that "dream" you have? The one that nobody else knows about? That isn't a dream. It is a wish! We all have things we secretly wish would happen. But those aren't dreams. In order to change that wish into a dream, you have to tell somebody about it! That gets it out into the realm of something you are actually pursuing, rather than something you are just hoping or wishing for. "But what do I do, just walk up to somebody and say, 'Hey, want to hear my dream?'" Well, sure, that works. But you could also start the conversation by saying, "I have a question for you: What is your dream?" Two things will happen. One, you will foster their wish into a dream and secondly, when they finish, they will say, "So, what's yours?" BINGO!

Action Point: Have at least two conversations today about your dream. Then do the same tomorrow and the next day - with different people!




3. The Last Word...

You know, I think one of THE most consistent questions I get as a speaker is (in some way, shape or form): "How do I become a professional speaker?" Well, there are SO many different ways to succeed, but I recently I ran across a book that I thought was awesome. I would highly suggest Alan Weiss' book: Money Talks. It is the best book about getting into the speaking business. Good luck!

-- CW





4. From Chris Widener

It is possible for you to get anything you want out of life? Anything? But there's just one problem. Usually...

Someone else has it, and you have to convince them to give it to you!

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

- If you want to go to college... you have to convince the college admissions officer to let you in by showing that you're a good student.

- If you want to get a date or someone to love you... you have to convince that girl (or guy) of your dreams that you can be trusted, and you're worthy of their love and attention.

- If you want a raise or a better job... you have to convince your employer to give you one.

- If you want to run a business and create wealth... you need to find customers who are willing to buy your products and services.

And if you want the deeper and more meaningful things in life... like the trust, respect, praise and admiration of the people around you... loyal friends... security... prestige... popularity... children who adore you... overall success... you know, things you can't buy with money... the fact remains...

   (to finish reading go to http://influence.yoursuccessstore.com)




5. Customer Feedback

Here are some of the testimonials and comments we received over the past week from Ezine subscribers. To read more testimonials received from readers over the past year, please go to Customer Testimonials


Hi Chris, well, after reading your article, you have me convinced that I want to hear you speak! I don't currently have a place FOR you to speak, however, I look forward to the day when I will hear your encouraging words!
-- Tracy R.

Chris, I love your book, The Angel Inside. You sound like you were speaking from experience. It brought back a lot of memories. I look forward to returning some day.
-- Katie Helmke

Hello Chris, I just want to say that you and Jim Rohn are my favorite speakers. You have been such a blessing in my life. Once again you sent out another amazing Ezine!! may I just say "A Job well done". I think it is great how you transformed your life and I know you are a real inspiration to others. Have a great week and make the most of your best!
-- Analynn S.

I saw Dave Jackson's comments on your new book and that it was your birthday on the Arbonne Success-Loop group in Yahoo and well, it was my birthday too so I thought I'd just get it for myself as a birthday gift. I read the book in 3 hours!! WOW!! The next day I went to The Esther Academy (a regeneration program for women coming off drugs and alcohol and out of jail that our church opened recently) to do my time with the women. I took your book along and read them half of it to kill some time. MAN!!! You should have seen how your book affected them! It opened up a group discussion about a new outlook on their lives and you could just see them SOAR!! to new heights! It was amazing! You have literally changed the lives of those women! They suggested to our Pastor that your book be part of the curriculum for all new women coming into the program! Thank you and God bless you abundantly!
-- Lori J.

Hi Chris, We have purchased your books and given them as gifts to our team. I read your e-zine from "cover to cover" each time and gain so much personal inspiration and motivation from it, and in turn share a lot of it with my team. So the "word" is going out, and I thank you for the gifts you so readily share that God has given you! You are without question an incredible communicator, and I am blessed to be on the receiving end. Just wanted to say thanks for all you do!!!
-- Vangie B.


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

 

6.  More Information

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