The Law of Compensation

By: Brian Tracy

You Get What You Give
Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay,
"Compensation," wrote that each person is
compensated in like manner for that which he or
she has contributed. The Law of Compensation is
another restatement of the Law of Sowing and
Reaping. It says that you will always be
compensated for your efforts and for your
contribution, whatever it is, however much or however little.

Increase Your Value
This Law of Compensation also says that you can
never be compensated in the long term for more
than you put in. The income you earn today is
your compensation for what you have done in the
past. If you want to increase your compensation,
you must increase the value of your contribution.

Fill Your Mind With Success
Your mental attitude, your feelings of happiness
and satisfaction, are also the result of the
things that you have put into your own mind. If
you fill your own mind with thoughts, visions and
ideas of success, happiness and optimism, you
will be compensated by those positive experiences in your daily activities.

Whether we like it or not, sales is part of our
daily lives. Whether you are trying to close new
business, negotiate an increase in pay, or simply
communicate better with your loved ones, you are
constantly utilizing some form of "sales
technique". So, with the start of the new year,
it is time to improve upon what is likely the
most important skill set that one can have – sales.

Do More Than You're Paid For
Another corollary of the Law of Sowing and
Reaping is what is sometimes called the, "Law of
Overcompensation." This law says that great
success comes from those who always make it a
habit to put in more than they take out. They do
more than they are paid for. They are always
looking for opportunities to exceed expectations.
And because they are always overcompensating,
they are always being over rewarded with the
esteem of their employers and customers and with
the financial rewards that go along with their personal success.

Provide the Causes, Enjoy The Effects
One of your main responsibilities in life is to
align yourself and your activities with Law of
Cause and Effect (and its corollaries), accepting
that it is an inexorable law that always works,
whether anyone is looking or not. Your job is to
institute the causes that are consistent with the
effects that you want to enjoy in your life. When
you do, you will realize and enjoy the rewards you desire.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, remind yourself regularly that your
rewards will always be in direct proportion to
your service to others. How could you increase
the value of your services to your customers today?

Second, look for ways to go the extra mile, to
use the Law of Overcompensation in everything you
do. This is the great secret of success.

The Magic of Solitude

By: Brian Tracy

The greatest men and women of all ages have
practiced solitude regularly. They learned how to
use silence to still their minds and tap into
their superconscious powers for answers to their questions.

In this newsletter, you learn how you can apply
this wonderful technique immediately to improve
the quality of your inner and outer life.

The Magic of Solitude
Your feelings, your emotions, are the access
point to your inner powers of mind. The most
important part in the process of getting in touch
with your feelings is to begin to practice
solitude on a regular basis. Solitude is the most
powerful activity in which you can engage. Men
and women who practice it correctly and on a
regular basis never fail to be amazed at the
difference it makes in their lives.

Most people have never practiced solitude. Most
people have never sat down quietly by themselves
for any period of time in their entire lives.
Most people are so busy being busy, doing
something­even watching television­that it's
highly unusual for them to simply sit,
deliberately, and do nothing. But as Catherine
Ponder points out, "Men and women begin to become
great when they begin to take time quietly by
themselves, when they begin to practice
solitude." And here's the method you can use.

To get the full benefit of your periods of
solitude, you must sit quietly for at least 30 to
60 minutes at a time. If you haven't done it
before, it will take the first 25 minutes or so
for you to stop fidgeting and moving around.
You'll almost have to hold yourself physically in
your seat. You'll have an almost irresistible
desire to get up and do something. But you must persist.

Solitude requires that you sit quietly, perfectly
still, back and head erect, eyes open, without
cigarettes, candy, writing materials, music or
any interruptions whatsoever for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better.

Become completely relaxed, and breathe deeply.
Just let your mind flow. Don't deliberately try
to think about anything. The harder you "don't
try," the more powerfully it works. After 20 or
25 minutes, you'll begin to feel deeply relaxed.
You'll begin to experience a flow of energy coming into your mind and body.

You'll have a tremendous sense of well-being. At
this point, you'll be ready to get the full
benefit of these moments of contemplation.

The River of Ideas
The incredible thing about solitude is that if it
is done correctly, it works just about 100
percent of the time. While you're sitting there,
a stream, a river, of ideas will flow through
your mind. You'll think about countless subjects
in an uncontrolled stream of consciousness. Your
job is just to relax and listen to your inner voice.

At a certain stage during your period of
solitude, the answers to the most pressing
difficulties facing you will emerge quietly and
clearly, like a boat putting gently to the side
of a lake. The answer that you seek will come to
you so clearly and it will feel so perfect that
you'll experience a deep sense of gratitude and contentment.

Trusting Yourself
When you emerge from this period of quiet, you
must do exactly what has come to you. It may
involve dealing with a human situation. It may
involve starting something or quitting something.
Whatever it is, when you follow the guidance that
you received in solitude, it will turn out to be
exactly the right thing to do. Everything will be
OK. And it will usually work out far better than
you could have imagined. Just try it and see.

You must learn to trust yourself. You must
develop the habit of listening to yourself and
then acting on the guidance you receive.

Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, select a specific time and place to sit
quietly and practice one full hour of solitude. Don't put it off.

Second, take small periods of silence and
solitude during the day, especially when you feel
overwhelmed with problems or responsibilities.

Third, take action immediately on the ideas and
insights you receive while in solitude. One good
idea can save you months and years of hard work. The key is trust.

Quotes of the Week

'Vision isn't enough unless combined with venture. It's not
enough to stare up the steps unless we also step up the
stairs.'
-- Vance Havner

'It is never too late to be what we might have been.'
-- George Eliot

'Two little words that can make the difference: START NOW.'
-- Mary C. Crowley

'No mistake or failure is as bad as to stop and not try again.'
-- John Wanamaker

Over-Coming Life's Difficult Challenges

We are incredibly resilient and ambitious
people who are used to setting and achieving goals in life.
And yet, from time to time, we all face challenges that
seem insurmountable, a problem we can't crack.

Sometimes it's a personal goal that eludes us. Sometimes we
are knocked down by one of life's tragedies. Sometimes we
face resistance or opposition to a goal that means the
world to us. Whatever the cause, from time to time, we all
face over-whelming adversity and we need a strategy for
dealing with it.

Unfortunately, two of the most common 'strategies' are to
give up, or to keep doing the same thing over and over,
hoping for a different result. I think we can do better
than that!

Here are my suggestions for a better strategy:

1. Acceptance
Reality never lies, and the first step in over-coming
adversity is to recognize it. Sometimes, bad things happen.
Sometimes our good intentions, our best efforts and our
brilliant ideas just don't work. Sometimes, life is hard
and we don't like it, and the first step forward is to
admit 'this isn't working'.

Acceptance does not mean quitting and it does not mean
failure. It means recognizing what IS, getting curious
about why our plans aren't working, and wondering what is
going on. Always face the truth! Sometimes we meet
adversity and we need to recognize and accept it when it
happens.

2. Creativity
Adversity is nature's way of suggesting you try something
else. It doesn't mean changing your goals or giving up, but
it does mean stepping back, asking for advice, talking with
a coach, brainstorming and considering a new approach.

I love the story of Thomas Edison trying many thousands of
ways to invent the light bulb! He never 'failed'; he
discovered thousands of solutions that didn't work! If your
goal is worth achieving, and what you're doing isn't
working, step back, think of 10 or 20 or 100 alternatives
and make a fresh start.

3. Patience and Persistence
There's an old saying that 'God's delays are not God's
denials', and it's good to remember that many problems take
time. Some require years to solve; a few will not be
mastered in a single lifetime.

While it's true that 'nothing can resist the human will',
it is also true that brute force rarely builds anything
beautiful. I have a friend who spent 12 years building a
magnificent china cabinet. How many 'over-night sensations'
labored for 20 years before success 'suddenly' found them?
The Grand Canyon is the result of nothing but running
water, time and persistence.

4. Give up
Some readers will be surprised by this, but sometimes we
cling to dreams that will never happen for us, and in our
stubbornness, we deny ourselves a world of success in other
areas. We invest too much in chasing dreams that are not
ours! Go where it's easy. Do what works and makes sense and
opens doors for you.

You deserve success! You were not created to beat your head
against a wall or to struggle up a mountain without meaning
or clarity. Life DOES have pain and can be horribly unfair,
but that is NOT the total human experience! Mother Teresa
said that 'God will not give me any challenge I cannot
bear', and we need to remember that. The adversity you
experience is, in some way, the raw material for something
greater. Find it.

Philip Humbert, PhD

Should You Have Written Goals?

Over the years, I've written a great deal about setting and
achieving goals. The consensus seems to be that high
achievers 'always' have a clear set of written goals, but I
don't happen to think that's true, and it may surprise you
that I don't believe setting goals is always a good thing.

Make no mistake, in most cases setting goals IS a good
thing. I have a variety of personal goals and I review them
frequently, discuss them with my wife, my coach and my
advisors, and I re-affirm them every morning. In general,
I believe most people will benefit from thoughtfully
selecting a handful of important goals, writing them down,
and going after them.

Here are the major advantages of written goals:

1. They force us to choose. Too often, we want too many
things and scatter our time and attention among all of
them. Selecting a small number of specific goals helps set
your priorities.

2. They focus our efforts. By defining exactly what you
are going to achieve and writing it down, vague desires or
wishes become concrete action plans.

3. Goals attract allies. When people know where we are
going, it's easier for them to help us. There is great
synergy, power and enthusiasm in a shared goal.

Most people, most of the time, will benefit from carefully
defining their goals, writing them down, developing an
action plan and following through.

There are, however, risks to setting goals and for some
people, setting goals can be a dangerous thing. Here are
the major weaknesses of written goals:

1. By focusing our attention on the future, goals can rob
us of the present. Some people get so caught up in their
vision, that they forget to 'smell the roses' each day.
John Lennon observed that 'life is what happens while you
are making other plans.' Don't let your dreams get in the
way of celebrating the present. Live each day and be
grateful.

2. Goals can prevent us from seeing even bigger, easier or
more vital opportunities. Like blinders on a horse, we can
become fixated on our goals and miss opportunities all
around us. Some people are so determined, so ambitious and
so disciplined that they forget to consider the alternatives.

3. Goals can become excuses. Some people set exciting
goals, then use their future achievements as an excuse to
avoid doing what they can and should do today. I've seen
teenagers so caught up the dream of becoming a 'rock star'
that they forget to study. Some adults fall into a similar trap.

Should you have written goals? Almost certainly. Carefully
selected, well-defined goals are the path to achievement,
fulfillment and satisfaction. But some areas of life should
not be 'goal oriented'. When it comes to personal integrity,
or spending time with loved ones, or celebrating the
miracles of daily life, these are not 'goals', they are
simply choices.

Have written goals, but never confuse your future
achievements with real life! Real life happens today. It
happens with the people around you, it happens right here,
right now. Ready or not, this is your life, and it is meant
to be lived to the full. Use goals; live life. Never
confuse the two.

Philip Humbert

Quotes of the Week

'Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.'
-- Theodore Roosevelt

'The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive.
The great opportunity is where you are.'
-- John Burroughs

'Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a
distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.'
-- Thomas Carlyle

'The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore
they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation
after generation.'
-- Pearl S. Buck