It's a Wonderful Dream

Have you seen that classical Christmas time film it’s a Wonderful Life? George Bailey has the seemingly perfect life: a loving wife, Mary, four beautiful children, and his own business. However, on Christmas Eve, George has serious business difficulties at the Bailey Building and Loan. George has a major financial crisis when his Uncle Billy loses the cash they owe the bank. The unsympathetic bank owner, Mr. Potter makes things worse. This leads George to a life crisis, and he considers suicide. A visit from his Guardian Angel Clarence shows George how much his life means by showing him how the world would be without him.

It's a magical tale of a man who's allowed to see what his family, his friends and his community would have been like if he had never been born. The moral of the story is that everyone is put on this earth to impact others in their own way. All of us have a unique contribution to make. Your contribution can change the world if you let it.

You may be living your dream and take comfort in this story because you know you are helping people and making a difference; even if times are tough, or things get challenging. The pause to consider the people you are helping will help you live to serve another day.
For others, your dream hasn’t even been born.
For those of us who let our dreams stay in our heads and not in the world; wouldn’t it be cool if we could have an Angel like Clarence show us what the world would be like if we DID bring our dream to life. Who could we help? What impact could we have? What ripple effect would our help have on the people that pass that help on to others?

Is your dream worth it? Can you make a lifelong impact by your special gifts and services? Things got tough for George in the movie, just like they will for you and me. But, in the end, the community came together to help him solve his problem and he was blessed by that. It all worked out. He had impact. The community made sure of it. "Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more." Anthony Robbins

You are not the only one that is hurt by keeping your dream in your head. Do you believe that the world deserves your dream as much as you do? So, do something today to make sure that your dream has the chance to impact people. Do one thing. Do it now!

Remove the 'O' Word from your Vocabulary

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.” Earl Nightingale.

Running a business can be an overwhelming proposition. Trust me, I know all the steps, work and time it takes to be successful. Do you use the word ‘O”verwhelmed a lot? Do you know that the more you say it the more you will feel it? Try to remove the ‘o’ word from your vocabulary.

“When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.” Creighton Abrams ” Break your work down into manageable steps. Then, write those steps on a list and do them one at a time. Crossing off things from your list is empowering.

Remember to celebrate your accomplishments each day too. Look at that partially eaten elephant and pat yourself on the back.

What can you do today that will move you toward your dream? Do it, and then celebrate it!

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.” Earl Nightingale.

Running a business can be an overwhelming proposition. Trust me, I know all the steps, work and time it takes to be successful. Do you use the word ‘O”verwhelmed a lot? Do you know that the more you say it the more you will feel it? Try to remove the ‘o’ word from your vocabulary.

“When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.” Creighton Abrams ” Break your work down into manageable steps. Then, write those steps on a list and do them one at a time. Crossing off things from your list is empowering.

Remember to celebrate your accomplishments each day too. Look at that partially eaten elephant and pat yourself on the back.

What can you do today that will move you toward your dream? Do it, and then celebrate it!

Merry Christmas from the Sadallahs

This free scrapbooking design personalized with Smilebox

Thanksgiving is about Gratitude, not Turkey

“Some people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy.” - A.H. Maslow. As I reflect on the upcoming Thanksgiving Day celebration, I reflect on the above quote and think about Lisa. Lisa Ryan is The Appreciation Strategist and is my best friend. She is the Maslow quote personified. Her mission in life is to help people realize the power of gratitude in their businesses and in their lives. She lives it daily and challenges others to do the same. I just wanted to share a bit of her philosophy with you and encourage you to check out her blog at www.theappreciationstrategist.com for more of her wisdom.

Notice the Invisible People: Today, when you go through your day, smile and say thank you to the check out lady, the UPS or mailman, the restaurant server. These are the nameless, faceless people that serve you every day. Tell them that they look nice; thank them for their service. You will make their day.

Surprise someone today: Send an unexpected note, card or gift today. Let someone know what impact they have had on you that they may not have realized. Follow your heart on this one. Someone needs to hear from you today!

Thank your customers: Did you know that it costs 65% more money to get a new customer than to keep an old one? Make sure that your customers know that you appreciate their business. Thank them today for their loyalty.

Appreciate your Circumstances: You know even your challenges are something to appreciate. We would never grow if we were not challenged. So, even if the economy is rough, or are having trouble in your marriage, appreciate the learning opportunity that exists within the challenge. There is a blessing in every challenge if you choose to look for it.


Take Lisa’s Challenge: (The following is an excerpt from Lisa Ryan’s blog at www.theappreciationstrategist.com )

“Take the 30 day challenge. For the next 30 days, either when you wake up in the morning, or before you go to bed at night, take 5 minutes and write down 3-5 things for which you are grateful. As an extra challenge – don’t repeat. In just 30 days you may or may not notice a difference – but the people around you will start to see it.

Keep up your practice of daily gratitude for 90 days and you may notice that you’re sleeping better (count your blessings, not sheep!), you have more energy, you’re exercising more, you’re easier to get along with, you’re feeling better physically; Just a few of the benefits of gratitude. Oh, and you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more as well!” ~ Lisa Ryan

In the spirit of Lisa’s philosophy, I would like to thank the many readers of this blog, my customers, family and my God for giving me so many blessings. I pray that all of us can live, as Lisa does, with every day being Thanksgiving Day.

Measuring your Success like the Farmer

"Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out." – Robert Collier. It’s so easy in this day and age to be impatient with success. Patience is definitely not a virtue that is a cultural norm in the USA in 2010. So, it’s really easy to think that we are failures if we don’t make a million dollars in 3 months like the Guru’s on the internet would have us believe.

Rather, success in business is much more like success for a farmer. The farmer knows that seeds need good soil, sunlight, water and weeding and time to grow into fruit bearing crops. Daily, the farmer works to tend those crops and a tiny seed can then produce food with hundreds of seeds.

So, each day for your business, work on it like it was your farm. So, if the seed is your business concept and a healthy crop is your successful potential, let’s look at what it will take for you to succeed.

Soil- nourishment: Work here on making sure that your product or service is of high quality. Invest in yourself and the quality of your offerings. Do you need more education or to invest in a tool or program to improve your quality? An investment in yourself or your business up front can lead to higher quality outcomes down the road. If you short cut what you are doing, it will lead nowhere. You can’t plant weeds and reap healthy crops.

Sunlight- encouragement: Surround yourself with people who believe in you and your mission. Let them shed warm sunshine of encouragement to give you energy for the work. Be sunshine for others as well. Business ownership is difficult and having support is a big factor in insuring that you make to the harvesting phase.

Water- revitalization: Getting enough water is life or death for a plant. Water refreshes, revitalizes and brings health the plant. Activity, working your business is your water. If a farmer took a pitcher of water and dipped his fingers into that pitcher and flicked water on his plants every so many days, would that grow a healthy plant? Of course not. Not working on your business each day to bring in new customers is the same thing.

Weeding- purging of negativity: Weeds choke out the healthy crops. Have you ever noticed that weeds tend to like neglect? They grow quickly and out of control, just like negative thoughts can do. Don’t let negativity creep into your thought life because it will quickly kill off your business. And don’t surround yourself with negative people. Take those thoughts captive and you will weed your business garden.

Time- patience: Can you imagine a farmer going out one day and planting some seeds and then one week later being disappointed that there was no crop? Success takes time. Work on your business and yourself every day. Measure your success by your effort and not by your income when your business is new. Activity leads to victory over time. Give yourself time.

Just like the farmer, there are seasons to a successful business. There is a time for planting, a time for sowing and a time for reaping. When you plant and sow properly, you will reap. It may take time, but stick with it, and you will harvest a crop of success in the proper time. And then, there will be more seeds!

The Value of One Good Idea

“Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.” ~ Napoleon Hill. Last year I was in a meeting with a bunch of business owners and leaders from different industries and backgrounds. One guy was celebrating that his new patented surgical device adapted for premature babies for heart and brain operations had just been picked up by 3 local hospitals. Not only would this save countless babies lives by making very serious operations for such small delicate babies much safer, it was going to be very lucrative for his company. That was one good idea right?

Then, a guy who works in the veterinary field asked the question; “Do you think that your surgical device would also work on small animals?” Sure. And, a whole new world was opened up for him. How much do you think that idea could be worth over five years? My guess is millions! Do you think that a group of medical doctors would have come up with it? I doubt it.

One of the secrets to coming up with truly radical new ideas is that they typically come from someone outside your own industry. The walls of the thinking ‘box’ of your industry can be invisibly thick. You speak the same language, look at the same data, and see the same patterns. We all see through the lens of our own worldview and realities. The more we work in an industry or field, the more it defines the box of our thinking. That’s why it is so important that you have a group of people that are from a variety of backgrounds and industries to bounce ideas around with. Even though everyone will come to the table with their own filters, there will be a diversity of viewpoints.

Who do you know who comes from a different industry or field for whom you value their wisdom? What one or two people can you rely on to call with you need some ‘outside of the box’ thinking on a difficult issue, challenge or opportunity. Can you join a mastermind group or roundtable monthly to be challenged and to offer your wisdom to others?

There are some genius ideas out there for you. Diversify your input and see what can happen for you.

The Habit of Success

Habit. Yikes. For most of us, this word is associated with nail biting or smoking. We all have bad habits. And once they are ingrained in our daily routines, it is so hard to break them. Do you struggle with a bad habit that may be keeping you from succeeding in your dream business? How about the habit of putting off calling your prospects? Do you have a habit of putting off writing blog posts or newsletters to your list on a regular basis? I know that I can struggle with those two challenges myself.

Here are some wise words to inspire you:

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” ~Jim Rohn

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~Aristotle

“A bad habit never disappears miraculously; it's an undo-it-yourself project.” ~Abigail Van Buren

Good or bad, we do things habitually on a daily basis. Good habits lead to good results, bad ones hold us back.

What can you do about it? Here are some practical tips.

1. Focus on ONE new positive habit for 30 days. There are really two tips in this one. Working on something daily for 30 days will begin to create a new pathway in your brain and help it to become normal for you. AND only focusing on one new thing a day will help you stay on track. If you try to do too much, you will get overwhelmed and give up too quickly.

2. Enlist support. If you tell yourself that you want to make a change, only you will know if you don’t accomplish it. But, if you get an accountability partner, you are much more likely to be successful. You don’t want to disappoint them, now do you?

3. Write down the list of benefits of the new habit in a prominent place and read it several times a day. It will really help to constantly remind yourself that the new habit will give you a better reality than your present state.

4. Reward and celebrate every day that you can remain consistent with the new habitual behavior. Make sure that your reward it also good for you!

5. Create a system for making the habit easier to keep. For example; If you say you want to write a blog post every day, then give yourself a series of topics to make that easier. Then, each day, just look at the next one on the list and you are good to go. Keep it simple and it will be easier to stick with.

6. Repeat. Once you have a new habit in place, keep it up. Having the new behavior for 30 days helps you establish the habit, keeping up the activity will make it a deeply rooted habit.

So, once you have experienced the benefit of the new habit, remind yourself that the new habit is working and keep it up!

Two Different Women

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

The other day I was at a meeting and there were two women. Both were in the midst of incredible health challenges. Anna and Grace both had cancer and both had been struggling with their illnesses for years. Both had been given poor prognosis, and yet, both were still alive beyond those dates.

Even though their experiences were very similar, they met their challenges with totally different mindsets. Anna had a ‘woe is me’ attitude, and Grace was grateful to be alive.

Grace looked at each day as a gift and spent her days enjoying her family and encouraging others who were in the same boat. Her purpose was clear. Bless people every day that she is alive and demonstrate grace and encouragement to others that are under difficult circumstances.

This was Anna’s third round of cancer and she was angry. She had closed herself off of her family and friends and refused to be comforted by them.

Both women were faced with difficult realities. Both were sick and tired most of the time. But, one made a choice that actually helped not only others, but herself.

Is there an attitude or a thought that is holding you back from your purpose or dream? Is there a choice that you can be making that would bless rather than bring others or yourself down?

There is so much that we have no control over in life. But, we always have control over our own attitudes and mindsets. At the end of the meeting, Grace came up to Anna and put her arm around her and said. “I used to feel like you do right now, and then I realized that I have enough around me to be grateful for, that I would be much better off focusing on that stuff. We all only have a limited number of days on this planet. I choose to live them with gratitude.”

I was inspired by Grace. I want to be more like her. How about you?