Lottery Logic is Not a Success Principle

• True motivation comes from using the skills you have to produce the results you are looking for in increasingly difficult situations
• Never allow the u-rah-rah motivation to become a mystical substitute for discipline and practical application of your skills. There is power in hope and belief but just singing kum-bye-ah will not take you to the summit.

Over the years I have seen many clients who have had their dreams and bank accounts broken because they drank the Kool Aid (magical and mystical motivation by deceit). In 1978 Jim Jones convinced nearly a thousand people in Guyana to drink Kool Aid that brought them and their children to premature, unnecessary deaths – a mass suicide. David Koresh brought the same tragic fate to many innocent lives in Waco, Texas. While mystical manipulation and the promise of hope for a better life may be seductive, intoxicating and even empowering, it may also create despair and vulnerability to evildoers or even well intended but misinformed self-anointed leaders.

• Mysticism must be lead by logic and supported by resourcefulness to move us forward. 

Although positive thinking and the power of belief offer the "rush" of motivational magic, long-term success also requires skills, systems, solutions, and diverse thinking styles that support healthy choices. The art of successful decision-making is based on a scientific sequence that is essential to the creation of your success blueprint.

While there are millions of methods promising success and also basic character traits such as discipline and hard work that claim paths to the promised land, I offer you a few tried and true actions steps that will take you to the next level in 2007.

Beware – Activity is Not Productivity

• First of all, nothing happens until you move or take action. However, random, impulsive activity, without a sense of direction, is just that—activity and not productivity. Don't let your "busy-ness" and frenzy deceive you. Productivity is action that has crystal clear vision and strong direction, sustained by discipline and fueled by passion and the energy of excitement. High-level productivity is effective, efficient action that demonstrates excellence of desired results. New year's resolutions only work if you do!

       Seeing is Believing

• Goals without vision are like cats without claws. While goals are essential for guidance and direction and thus provide a road map for excellence, goals alone are often not enough to transform thoughts into action. Although writing your goals down does add potency to the process and increases commitment, goals are abstract and are not understood by the body. The body is a pull-toy to the mind. We must speak the language of the body which only comprehends the more concrete mental images that provide a blueprint for a directed, specific action plan. The Laws of Attraction and visualization create an internal template that forwards your success script and adds power to the process of manifesting dreams into reality. What the minds sees the body believes. As St. Augustine proclaimed, "Faith is to believe what we have not seen and the reward of that faith is to see what we believe." Remember. Think BIG. Many people unconsciously sabotage their success with self-limiting goals. For example, if your goals are to just pay the bills and live comfortably you will do just that – pay the bills and nothing more!

      Plant Seeds that Reap Rewards

• Affirmations (the repetition of short, simple, positive phrases) convey a message or suggestion to the subconscious mind, which triggers the RAS (reticular activating system) to work relentlessly 24/7 and manifest desired change. I call it "neuro-conditioning." An example of an affirmation is, "Everyday in every way I am getting better and better." The brain gives credibility to what is repeated and becomes familiar so chose your thoughts wisely and refuse all negative self-talk for what we think about becomes ours.

        Success Breeds Apathy

• The greatest challenge for all us of is not climbing the mountain but staying on top once we have arrived. Success breeds success but only to a point, for the natural side effect of mastery is apathy. It is human nature. It is in our DNA. We have seen it in the rise and fall of many cultures such as the great Roman Empire. (Hopefully the United States will learn from the history and fate of other civilizations.) Tension is essential for action. Without challenge we tend to get lax and lazy. Easy street does not inspire nor does it promote greatness, for no one changes in their comfort zone.  Inquire about the BBVA and prevent a personal or business disaster.

      When You Limit Your Choices – Your Choices Limit You

• Decisions are the building blocks of the life you create.
• Each and every decision you make either distracts or forwards your desired script. Your subconscious choices also either support or sabotage your success. The more you make conscious choices, the more you are in control of your destiny. And, if you are not in control of your actions…someone else will be! The choice to "choose" is also yours.
• More than just making good decisions, it is the "sequence" of your thought processes that determine the quality of the decisions you make. In a program we offer on "precision decisions" for sales, leadership and change management, the following model takes individuals and organizations to the next level.  Dr. Edward deBono presents an insightful model for the human thought process that divides thinking into six general modes or "hats" we put on, with each having a color associated with it.

RED is the color of blood and blushing and is where you express your gut feelings, instincts, emotions, and intuitions as well as opinions and value judgments.

YELLOW is the color of the sun and is expressed by looking on the brighter side of things and becoming optimistic and confident in your plans, processes and procedures.

GREEN is the color of grass, plants, and other things that grow and thus represents the fertility of the creative mind and innovation. It is reflected in wonderment and imagination to broaden horizons through brainstorming, setting goals, and visualization.

BLUE is the color of the sky and oversees and controls your thought processes. It keeps your thinking clear and crisp by gathering and analyzing facts objectively and then searching for options and solutions, as one would do in a leadership role.

BLACK is the color of gloom, doom, death, despair, darkness and danger. It is the downside that constructively identifies real problems, obstacles, risks, dangers, barriers and hurdles that must be overcome. It is who you are when you play the Devil's Advocate.

WHITE is the color of freshly fallen snow that is pure and clean, but cold and hard.  Thus the white represents the cold, hard facts and concrete evidence of what is truth, without judgment or opinion.

While each thought process reflected by each color is essential to healthy, productive decision-making, the key factor is the "sequence" of when each step is employed whether you are buying, selling, or making a personal choice.

Edie Raether is an international business speaker, corporate consultant and bestselling author of several books.  Visit Edie at www.raether.com or call (704) 658-8997.