Chris Widener's Ezine
July 15, 2009
Issue 117

Welcome!

When I’m asked the best way to get started toward achieving a big goal of greater success or better health, I always answer, “Start small!” For instance, with exercise, maybe you decide that you will walk three times a week. This is better than deciding you are going to run seven times a week, not doing it, and then feeling like a failure. What you will find is that once you are out there, you may even pick up the pace and run once in a while.

When saving money, again, start small. Just save five dollars a week if you can. Pretty soon, you will have some real money saved up, you will get more and more excited and you will begin to save even more!

Start small, get a few victories under your belt and you will be on your way! If you want some additional assistance and a weekly “nudge” toward success, consider starting small with a special offer for the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan. See section 4 below.

You Are Made For Success!
Chris Widener

P.S. Today's issue is going out to 114,776 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. Are you being nudged off course?
5. More Information

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article

What in the World Are You Doing?
by Chris Widener (excerpted from Jim Rohn's Twelfth Pillar of Success: Legacy, Part Three of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan)

Let's talk about leaving an impact legacy. "What is an impact legacy?" you may ask. It is how you impact people and the world around you. You see, many people glide through life and do not make much of an impact. that is unfortunate. Others, though, those driven by a purpose and passion for living, are continually making the world a better place and making an impact wherever they go. that's what I believe you want to do.

In order to help you reflect on this, I want to ask you a question: What in the world are you doing?

Here is the typical life—typical, though not everbody does it this way. But for the most part, people's lives generally go something like this:

You're born
You eat and sleep
You play with toys
You go to school
You play Little League
You go to school
You leave high school
You go to more school, but you pay for it now
You get a job
You get married
You buy a house
You have kids
You watch your kids eat, sleep, play and go to school
You work, work, and work
You retire
You die

That's the basic life, isn't it? I know there is more to it, but that is about it for most people.

Here is that question again: What in the world are you doing?

I mean, what are you doing besides the typical "enjoying yourself while you are waiting to die" scenario? What kind of impact are you making?

What I believe sets the successful apart is that they don't just live the average life. They don't just pass time. They make an impact. They have something compelling in their life that drives them—something that gives them an answer when they are asked the question: What in the world are you doing?

I'm helping children.
I'm creating a business that supports many families.
I lead a church.
I am defending our liberties.
I am raising great children.
I'm teaching others to improve their lives.
I help people have fun.
I create memories for people.

In other words, successful people always come down to this: I make an impact and help other people by [fill in your purpose here].

What in the world are you doing?

If you want to be successful, you need to be able to answer that by describing how you help others. Because if you aren't helping others—if you aren't making an impact—you are just taking up space, eating food and waiting to die.

If you know, then you are good to go—live it and make an impact!

If you don't know, then maybe you need to reflect on what you are doing, what your life is about, and how you can explode the mundane bubble you may be living in!

The world needs impact makers—so live to be one!

Have a great week!

-- Chris Widener

Don't wait to get started dedicating yourself to reaching the next level personally and professionally. View this informative video with my introduction to the power of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan!

2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

“Review your goals twice every day in order to be focused on achieving them.” —Les Brown

Chris’s Commentary:
Okay, so I don’t know about twice a day (though it couldn’t hurt), but the point is well taken: You should review your goals very regularly. At least three times a week is what I would recommend. If you can put them on a sheet of paper or on the computer where you will see them all of the time, all the better. The first point would be that you have to have your goals written down. Do you? If not, get to it. If you do, then print them out where you can get to them on a regular basis. This will program your mind to focus in on these priorities of yours and you will function more along the lines that you want to.

Action Point:
Take some time today to figure out your goals in at least five major categories. Now write them down. Now put them in a spot where you will be able to review them regularly. Set your computer to remind you to do it if you can program it that way. Enjoy your growth!

3. The Last Word...

Personal Development—The Plan by Jim Rohn
(excerpted from the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan—Week Two)

As we all know, our results are only as good as our plan. My mentor, Mr. Schoaff, taught me that it’s not what happens that determines the major part of our future, because what happens, happens to us all. Instead, he taught me that the key is what we do about it. If we start the process of change by developing a plan, doing something different in this next year than we did the previous year, it won’t matter how small those efforts start. Start doing different things with the same set of circumstances—the ones we’ve always had and cannot change—and see what miracles occur. If we start the miracle process and change ourselves, then everything changes. And here’s what is interesting, the difference between success and failure is so subtle. Let me explain by giving you my definitions of failure and success. Here it is: Failure is a few errors in judgment repeated every day. The man says, “Well, I didn’t walk around the block today and it didn’t kill me, so it must be okay.” No, no, it is that kind of error in judgment that after six years has him out of breath and panting as he walks from his car to his office. You can’t make those kinds of mistakes; it will end up costing you.

Now, here is my definition of success: A few simple disciplines practiced every day. Do you see the distinction? A few disciplines….  Here’s a little phrase we’ve all heard, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” And my question to you is, “What if that’s true?” How simple and easy is that plan?

The fact is, when you look at successful people, you will almost always discover a plan behind their success. They know what they want, they work out a plan that will get them where they want to go, and they work their plan. It is the foundation for success. We as humans have the unique ability to effect change in our lives; it is through our own conscious choice when we engage in the miracle process of personal development that we are able to transform our nature and our lives.

You will need to have a plan, and then methodically work that plan. It is the combination of the materials and your open attitude towards learning, driven by the diligent following of a plan that is right for you, that will make this year the kind of success we know you want it to be. So let me challenge you to be no less sincere, be no less committed to the advancement of your philosophy, the set of your sail, your plan.

So, what are some good ideas on developing a plan that will work well and take you to the finish line powerfully and in style? Here are some major points to keep in mind:

Develop the Plan for You. Some people are very detail oriented and they will be able to follow an intricate plan closely. Others are a little more “free-wheeling” and not really “detail” people. That is okay too. In all the years of my speaking to audiences worldwide, people have asked the question, “What plan is the right plan?” And my answer, the plan that fits you. Your plan, the one you develop that is unique to you and for you. You see, each of us is unique and motivated by different factors and you’ve got to develop one that is right for you and fits you. Some plans will not be as intricate as others but we all must have a plan, along with goals in that plan, to move us along the program. If you are a free spirit type, don’t tell yourself you are going to spend 2 hours a day with a book and tapes and journal. It probably won’t happen and you will get discouraged! Whatever your personality, your strengths and your weaknesses, develop the plan around them! This is not a one-plan-fits-all proposition.

Establish Times to Spend Working on the Material. It may be every Sunday night. It may be 20 minutes each morning. It may be in the car listening to the CDs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Whatever it is, set the times and do it. In your step-by-step plan, put down points that you can accomplish every week. They should be specific and achievable. Develop the discipline and take those steps every day, which will move you closer to your goals and where you want to be.

Keep a Journal. Take notes. It may be on paper, it may be on a micro-recorder. Mr. Schoaff taught me not to trust my memory, but to write it down, to find one place to gather the information that effects change. And that advice has served me well all these years. Record the ideas and inspiration that will carry you from where you are to where you want to be. Take notes on the ideas that impact you most. Put down your thoughts and ideas. Brainstorm with yourself on where you are going and what you want to do. Record your dreams and ambitions. Your journals are a gathering place for all the valuable information that you will find. If you are serious about becoming wealthy, powerful, sophisticated, healthy, influential, cultured, unique, if you come across something important, write it down. Two people will listen to the same material and different ideas will come to each one. Use the information you gather and record it for further reflection, for future debate and for weighing the value that it is to you.

Reflect. Create time for reflection—a time to go back over, to study again the things you’ve learned and the things you’ve done each day. I call it “running the tapes again” so that the day locks firmly in your memory so that it serves as a tool. As you go through the material in this plan, you will want to spend time reflecting on its significance for you. Regularly set aside time; here are some good guidelines for times to reflect: At the end of the day. Take a few minutes at the end of each day and go back over the day—who’d you talk to, who’d you see, what did they say, what happened and how’d you feel, what went on. A day is the piece of the mosaic of your life. Next, take a few hours at the end of the week to reflect on the week’s activities—I would suggest at least one half-hour. Also during that weekly time, take a few minutes to reflect on how this material should be applied to your life and circumstances. Take a half day at the end of the month and a weekend at the end of the year so that you’ve got it so that it never disappears, to ensure that the past is even more valuable and will serve your future well.

Set Goals. Remember that your plan is the roadmap for how you are going to get to your goals, so you have to have them. Of all the things that changed my life for the better (and most quickly), it was learning how to set goals. Mastering this unique process can have a powerful effect on your life too. I remember shortly after I met Mr. Shoaff, he asked me if I had a list of my goals, and of course I didn’t. He suggested to me that, because I lacked a set of clearly defined goals, he could guess my bank balance within a few hundred dollars... and he did! Well, Mr. Shoaff immediately began helping me define my view of the future, my dreams. He taught me to set goals because it is the greatest influence on a person’s future and the greatest force that will pull a person in the direction they want to go. But the future must be planned, well-designed to exert a force that pulls you toward the promise of what can be.

Act. Act on your plan. What separates the successful from the unsuccessful so many times is that the successful simply do it. They take action, they aren’t necessarily smarter than others; they just work the plan. And the time to act is when the emotion is strong. Because if you don’t, here’s what happens—it’s called the law of diminishing intent. We intend to act when the idea strikes us, when the emotion is high, but if we delay and we don’t translate that into action fairly soon, the intention starts to diminish, and a month from now it’s cold and a year from now it can’t be found. So set up the discipline when the idea is strong, clear and powerful—that’s the time to work the plan. Otherwise, the emotion is wasted unless you capture the emotion and put it into disciplined activities and translate it into equity. And here’s what is interesting: all disciplines affect each other; everything affects everything. That’s why the smallest action is important—because the value and benefits that you receive from that one little action will inspire you to do the next one and the next one…. So step out and take action on your plan because if the plan is good, then the results can be miraculous.

-- Jim Rohn

4. Are you being nudged off course?

Jim Rohn says there are two parts to influence:

• First, influence is powerful.
• Second, influence is subtle.

You wouldn't let someone push you off course, but you might let someone nudge you off course and not even realize it!

But, when you think about it, if you can allow someone to nudge you off course, wouldn't the opposite be true as well?

What if you had a regular voice nudging you along the right course, helping keep you on track?

Imagine that sage voice of wisdom encouraging you to stay on course and remain focused on the important things in your life while helping you along the way to achieve your goals and pursue the unique lifestyle Jim Rohn so eloquently describes.

How powerful would it be to have two supportive voices—Jim Rohn's and Chris Widener's—with the ease of regular delivery to your email inbox? Two voices of wisdom encouraging you, nudging and cheering you on, helping keep you on track to achieving your goals and dreams!

View this informative video with Chris Widener's introduction to the power of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan!

Then, join the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan for *ONLY $9.97 a month! Find out more now!

5. More Information

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