Success Happens by Design

The following study was conducted at Yale University in 1953. In
that year, a batch of fresh graduates was surveyed, and in this
batch, only 3% had their goals written down.

Some of their goals included: 'being a best-selling novelist,
starting a computer company and taking it public, running for
President etc...'

97% of the students had no clearly defined goals written down. Many
of them chose to adopt the 'whatever will be, will be' mindset,
possibly popularized by a hit '50s musical titled 'Que Sera Sera'
(Whatever will be, will be).

Twenty years later, a follow up study revealed that the 3% of
students who wrote down their goals earned a combined income three
times greater than the combined income of the 97% who had no goals
written down.

This surely shows the incredible power of goal setting.

I can tell you that if I did not sit down 14 years ago and design
my life the way that I wanted it to unfold, I certainly wouldn't
have achieved what I have right now. I would be somewhere else,
probably doing something totally different.

Very often, if we don't have a clear plan for our life, we will
fall into somebody else's plan. For most people, it would be our
parents' plan: 'Be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer in order to make
plenty of money'.

Though it may seem to be (in their view) for our own future good,
more often than not it is more of meeting their expectations and
sometimes their very own unrealized dreams.

Now, don't we all want the freedom to do and be whatever we choose
to become?

When I was first featured in the newspapers as a 26-year old
millionaire who's speaking fee commanded a thousand dollars per
hour, many of my friends asked me how I was able to command such a
high fee within two years of graduating from university.

At age 26, two years after graduation, I had written a best-selling
book, started and ran three companies, spoken to thousands of
people and made over a million dollars. Most of my peers were
either looking for their first job or working for other people for
about $2000 + a month.

The irony is that many of these peers and friends are probably just
as intelligent, talented and hardworking as I am. The only
difference between us was the fact that at age 15, I sat down and
scripted out a detailed life plan.

I wrote down exactly what I was going to achieve in the next 10
years of my life.

After scripting out my life plan, I took action and each action I
took enabled me to focus all my talents, my intelligence and
energies like a laser beam. I use the analogy of a laser beam
because I was so energized I felt I could cut through anything that
was in my way.

Achieving success rarely ever happens by chance. The roll of the
dice never made anyone happy or rich for a long time. It always
begins with a clearly defined outcome fueled by a passionate desire.


Adam Khoo
www.PavingTheWayToTheTop.com

Dreams unleashed,

Albert Lee
Pursue Your Dreams

How To Become a Master Communicator And Influence People

How do we become a master communicator, someone who is always able to influence others in a powerful way?

What happens when we do not get the response that we want? We have two choices!

We can choose to blame the other person for not being receptive, for being unreasonable, close minded, stupid etc... But you know what? By doing this, there is nothing more we can do about it! We have shut the door on them.

For traditional communication theory, when two people communicate, both have an equal, i.e. 50% responsibility, for the success of the communication.

In other words, if A is talking and attempting to sell B an idea. A can do his best to communicate, but 50% of the success of his communication lies with B

If B has a closed mind and does not want to listen, the communication can never be successful. So is B to be blamed for the unsuccessful communication?

Unfortunately, people who accept this theory never become effective communicators. Why? Because by accepting this theory, we will always be limited as communicators. We will not always get the result we want! In fact we will seldom get the results we want.

Does this happen to you? You motivate your staff to work harder, they don't respond positively, so you give up!

You try to motivate your children to study harder, but it doesn't work, so you say, 'What's the point? They are just lazy."

You do your best to sell a product to a group of prospects, they don't buy, so you say, "I guess they are just not interested in this product."

A study of the most influential and impactful communicators in the world, revealed that they always took 100% responsibility for the success of their communication.

For example person (A) communicates an idea to person (B), and B did not respond successfully, still, person A would not lay the blame on person B.

Person A would take responsibility by accepting that his own communication was not effective. By doing so, A has the power to change the communication, until he gets the desired response.

Such great communicators adopt the belief that the meaning of their communication was the response they got, regardless of their intention.

To describe this further, if they attempted to communicate their sincerity, but the other person felt that they were insincere, they would take responsibility accepting that the meaning of their communication was 'insincerity', even though they intended to be sincere.

It could be their tone of voice or body language that made them seem 'insincere'. They would then change their communication strategy until they got the response they desired, i.e. being sincere.

We must understand that different people perceive the world differently. Everybody has different internal filters. When you tell a joke, a group of people may laugh while another group does not think of it being funny.

This does not mean the second group does not have a sense of humor. It is just that they perceive humor differently. As a great communicator, we must take responsibility changing our
communication (joke) until we make our audience laugh.

The power to communicate is one of the most important tools we have as human beings. In fact, our ability to achieve our goals largely depends on our ability to communicate and influence other people.

Taking responsibility and having extreme flexibility is the key to being a master of influence. Taking responsibility for the way we communicate and for the results we get, we attain absolute power over the effect of our communication.


To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
www.PavingTheWayToTheTop.com

Just to share another great article from Adam Khoo :)

Dreams unleashed,

Albert Lee
Pursue Your Dreams

The Key To Absolute Power

Another great article from Adam Khoo.

Enjoy =)

Do you want to be in control of your life and create the results you desire? To be in a position of power and change whatever is not working in your life? Do you want to be able to change the people around you, the results you produce and even how you feel?

Most people believe that power and control are limited to the fortunate few who were born into power (e.g.: the tycoon's son), or acquire power through exceptional talent, business acumen or lady luck.

They believe (and we'll prove them wrong), that the rest of us are destined to be buffeted by whatever winds of change swirl around us. Economic slowdown, recession, company takeovers are the common winds of change.

The truth is, you do not need to have money or be in a top position to take control over what happens. In fact, people at the helm can also lose control...with much bigger consequences.

Look at the CEOs who watch their company's profits nose-dive helplessly in a bear market.

Or what about the US Army Generals who entered Iraq thinking that they were liberators of the people only arriving to find themselves regarded as invaders. Were they, the high and mighty in control? Not at all!

Taking Absolute Responsibility Gives YOU Absolute Power

The secret is to take absolute responsibility for whatever happens. That's right! When you take full responsibility for whatever happens, it means you acknowledge the fact that you have created whatever happens.

If you created it, then you have the power to change it. So, taking absolute responsibility for something puts you in a position of absolute power.

The extent to which you take responsibility over something is the extent to which you have control over it.

For example, if you take responsibility for your low pay, it means you acknowledge the fact that it was your actions and decisions that were the cause of this result.

Reasons could be that you are not creating enough value to be paid more; you have not demonstrated your true value to your boss; or that you chose to work in a company which does not recognize your true value.

Regardless of the reason or position you are in, you have the power to take charge and change anything in your life. The moment you take responsibility, you put yourself on the road to doing
something about it.

You can either find ways to create more value by going beyond what is expected, make yourself more valuable by upgrading your skills, ask for a pay raise or find another job that will pay you what you are worth.

When you start taking any of these actions, your situation will change... you will get paid more!

Taking absolute responsibility for your situations and results puts you in a position of absolute power. So remember every time you feel like blaming others or circumstances, stop and take charge!


To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
www.PavingTheWayToTheTop.com

Dreams unleashed,

Albert Lee
Pursue Your Dreams

The Story of Sylvester Stallone

Today I would like to excerpt a newsletter from Adam Khoo, talking about the story of Sylvester Stallone, who made his dream of stardom a MUST! He tried so many times, and rejected so many times, that average people would have given up long ago, and if he gave up, we would have no more Rocky or Rambo Blockbusters!

Surely one of the best examples of the power of commitment and how doing whatever it takes will get you what you want' is the story of Sylvester Stallone.

At his peak, Stallone was one of the most popular and highly paid stars in Hollywood, commanding a fee of US$20m per movie. Was he just born under a lucky star?

Was he a naturally talented actor? Was he at the right place at the right time? Hardly. He was someone who seemed to have all the odds stacked up against him.

His family was so poor that his mother had to give birth to him on the doorsteps of a school. A blotched delivery by students caused a facial nerve to be severed, leaving him paralyzed on the right side of his face.

As a result, Stallone had to live the rest of his life with slurred speech. He even had to deal with having a drooping lower lip and being made fun of because of his name 'Sylvester' (associated with the Looney Tunes cat).

Despite all these limitations, young Stallone dreamed of becoming an actor and inspiring millions of people through his movies.

As you know many young people go through a phase of wanting to be an actor, a star ...the difference between Stallone and the rest of youthful dreamers was that his dream was not a merely wishful thinking.

To Stallone, it was an absolute must. He was truly committed to doing whatever it took to make it happen.

First he enrolled in acting school and then started going for auditions. Predictably, with his wooden acting, his dopey looks and his slurred speech, Stallone was rejected for every part he applied for. But he never gave up. Doggedly he just kept changing his strategy and taking action.

The way he landed his first part is a fine example of how he was willing to do whatever it took. When he was rejected after yet another audition, he pulled up a chair in front of the manager's office and sat down, refusing to leave unless they gave him a chance.

After sitting there for hours, they were so moved by how much he wanted a chance that they relented and gave him a part. Although he appeared for a couple of minutes (as an extra), it gave him that first breakthrough he was after.

Unfortunately, that experience was followed by yet another string of unsuccessful attempts at getting another acting job. At that point, his wife told him to give up his 'stupid dream' and get a real job.

His reply was, 'If I get another job, I would lose the only thing I have got going for me...my hunger.' 'By quitting and getting a job, I would be selling out on my dream'.

Stallone eventually wound up so broke and desperate that he was forced to sell his dog for $50 in order to survive. It was the saddest moment in his life because his dog was the one friend he had got left.

At this, the lowest point in his life, he watched a boxing match between then world heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali and Chuck Wepner, an underdog that everyone thought would be defeated within three rounds.

What no one expected was Wepners' determination and tenacity. He lasted the total of fifteen rounds with Ali, just refusing to go down.

Sly was so inspired by what he saw that he had visions in his head about a movie that he was going to write. He started writing profusely for 72 hours non-stop until he finished the manuscript for 'Rocky'.

He was so excited by the script because in his mind he knew that this was going to be the movie that would change his life and his fortune.

But when he went round attempting to sell his script, everyone felt that it was too predictable and that nobody would be interested in watching a movie about boxing.

But he didn't give up. He kept on going and going until one company made him an offer of 125,000 for the script and the rights to make the movie. This should have made Sly overjoyed but his dream was to be an actor and not a writer.

So, he told them that the condition of sale was that he be cast as the lead actor. They objected saying, 'You're a writer! you're not an actor!' 'There is no way we will let you act!'

But Sly stood his ground and refused to sell the script if he wasn't the lead actor. They even increased their offer to $250,000, but Sly kept insisting that he fitted the role of 'Rocky', and no one else.

Although he was broke and hungry, he refused to sell out his dream for a six-figure pay check. That was his level of commitment!

Eventually they reluctantly agreed, on the condition that the movie be made on a shoe string budget of less than a million dollars and Stallone would get only $35,000 for the writing, directing and acting. Sly would however, get a percentage of the profits, if the movie made money. He agreed immediately.

The first thing Sly did when he got his money was to go in search of the man who bought his dog to buy it back. When he finally tracked down the man, he offered to buy his dog back for $100.

The man declined his offer saying that he was not interested. Sly upped his offer to $500. Still the man refused. Sly again upped his offer, this time to $1000. The man still would not budge saying, 'No amount of money will ever convince me to sell this dog.'

While most of us would give up at this point, Sly knew that if he was committed to do whatever it takes, he would find a way. Eventually he did get his dog back. He paid the man a whopping $15,000 and also gave him a part in the movie as part of the deal.

When Rocky was launched at the box office, it grossed over $225 million and was nominated for ten academy awards (including best actor), eventually winning an Oscar for Best Picture & Best Director.

Sylvester instantly shot to fame as an action star and lucrative offers came in for future blockbusters, which were to eventuate in First Blood, Rambo and the Rocky sequels.

His eventual success came from the fact that to him, becoming an actor was truly a must. He believed that when you are committed enough, there is always a way!


To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
www.PavingTheWayToTheTop.com

As long as we persist and never say die, we will achieve whatever we wanted to!

Cheers!


Dreams unleashed,

Albert Lee
Pursue Your Dreams

What We Focus On Affects Our Results In Life!

Today I would like to post an article from Adam Khoo explaining what we focus on will affects our results in life. I can relate to what he said, as I used to keep repeating the images of me making some serious mistakes, and keep dwelling on it. As true as it is, i made the same mistake again, and keep scolding myself "Why am I so stupid??" The more I scolded myself, the more mistakes i made.


Now that I have understood the Law Of Attraction, I have been making a conscious effort to focus on positive results, and remembered the lessons learned from mistakes made, and move on with a better life! :)

What We Focus On Affects Our Results In Life!
-----

At any given second, there are two million bits of information
bombarding us. While it is impossible to consciously be aware of
everything, our mind tends to filter all this stimuli and focus on
a few chunks of information at a time.

Similarly, when we think of something in the past or something in the
future, we tend to focus on certain aspects of the experience. And to us
what we choose to focus on becomes most real in our minds.

Some people have a pattern of focusing on pictures, sounds and
feelings that put them into un-resourceful states while others
generate pictures, sounds and feelings them put them into
resourceful states.

How about you? What do you do when you meet with failure? Some
people keep playing mind pictures of themselves screwing up. Some
people even play it like a bad movie, over and over again in their
heads.

They keep seeing themselves making the bad decisions, experiencing
the consequences and they re-play all the negative voices around
them. They may play the sound of their boss shouting at them. Then
they run an internal dialogue that goes like this: 'How could I
have been so stupid!' 'Why do I always screw things up?'

What kind of pictures and sounds should one play to produce a
resourceful state?

Well, this is what positive people do when they encounter failure.
They choose to re-present the failure as feedback that will lead
them into finding a solution. Instead of re-playing scenes of the
event or project that flopped, they focus on what they can learn
from it, and how they will do it the next time...to get good results.

They may even imagine themselves succeeding, using what they have
learnt from the past experience, and their success would be
accompanied by the sounds of people cheering or the boss
congratulating them.

They may play an internal dialogue that goes something like this:
'I'll make it the next time for sure', 'I'll prove that I can turn
things around'. Or they'll say reflectively:' Now, what can I learn
from this experience'.

Our minds are never still or idle...throughout our waking hours we
play mental programs continuously. Now, start becoming aware of the
kind of mental program you usually run, when you are about to take
on a challenging task?

For example, just before making an important presentation or
writing a difficult report, what goes on in your mind?

Are you one of those who habitually focus on how difficult it is
going to be? Do you see yourself being overwhelmed and stressed
out? Do you mutter under your breath, 'Oh no! How am I ever going
to do this?' 'What if I screw up?' 'It's just too difficult!' You
may even picture yourself screwing up or giving up. As a result you
get into a state of nervous anxiety.

But can you choose to represent the challenge very differently in
your mind? Of course! You could choose to focus on how easy, fun
and rewarding the challenge will be. Confident people will picture
themselves dealing with the task or project effortlessly. They may
even have an internal voice saying, 'I am finally getting this
done! This is so rewarding!' 'I knew I could do it.'

Now, given the same challenge, why do some people rise to it while
others feel apprehension? The interesting fact is that most of us
do not consciously decide what pictures, sounds and feelings we are
going to generate in our mind.

Our mind seems to be on auto-pilot and, within seconds of being
faced with a challenge, it will subconsciously, create
re-presentations. And the kinds of re-presentations created are
dependent on past conditioning.

Isn't this scary? It appears that we do not have much control over
our mind! This is why most people feel that their emotions control
them.

Begin by paying full attention to the 'program' that is running in
your brain-mind. If you find that what you are thinking of is not
putting you in a resourceful state, then change it! In short,
consciously change WHAT you focus on! You may keep slipping back,
and each time you do, pull yourself up and re-focus.

If you want to have mastery over your mind and emotions, then you
must begin right away to control what you focus on!


To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
www.SuccessWithNLP.com

Dreams unleashed,

Albert Lee
Success University Student

Are Your Beliefs Limiting Or Empowering You?

Recently somebody asked me about Adam Khoo's book "Secrets of Self Made Millionaire", and I told him I have read it twice and it is worth many times the price of the book itself, and if you practice what he teaches inside, the book is priceless.


Unexpectedly, my friend said to me, "You must have not practice what you preached else you should be a Millionaire by now!!".. I was totally taken aback by his comment. If I am the Albert 5 years ago, I would become defensive and started to find all kind of excuses, but after all these years, I have learned to be honest with myself, and my friends, and so I replied,


"Yes, I did not put what he teaches in the book into practice. Just like a classroom of 30 students, after graduation, some becomes very successful, some remains the same and some got worse. Same teachings, different results. Reasons? The students themselves. I guess I did not fare very well"


Now slowly but surely, I am improving as a person, and I have tidy up my messy finance and it is getting better every day. I have no doubt that I will become a self-made millionaire in the years to come, but while I am sharing my self development journey in this journal.. I would also hope that all my readers can benefit from all the articles I posted and become more successful.


So extracted below is yet another article from Adam Khoo on Limiting Beliefs, do give your comments!


Cheers!

Like it or not, our beliefs play a big role in determining the quality of our lives.

If you believe that math is tough, there is someone out there who believes it is easy. If you believe that it is easy to make a million dollars, there is someone out there who believes it is impossible. If you believe that times are tough, there is always somebody out there who believes it is a great time to make money!

At this time, many people would argue,

But what if the beliefs I have are really true?

What if I am really not good at selling?

What if it the economy is really down and going to stay down?

What if there are really no opportunities around?

What if it cannot be done? What if I don't have what it takes?

What you must understand is that the beliefs you have are never absolutely true. Beliefs are not proven facts. They are nothing but perceptions, opinions, generalizations we make about the world around us.

For every belief you hold, no matter how much you think it is true, there is always somebody out there with a totally opposite belief. And to them, their belief is as valid as yours is to you.

The following example illustrates how one person has the power to change the belief of others.


Breaking the Beliefs of the World

For hundreds of years, runners had never been able to run one mile in less than four minutes. Many had attempted this feat but had fallen short.

As a result, it was generally believed, and supposedly backed up as fact by the medical community, that it was not possible for a human being to run that fast!

All these changed in 1954, when defying all conventions, all it took was for a single person to break these facts and records.

Roger Bannister, a postgraduate student from Oxford University set a goal to be the first to break this 'impossible record'. The fact was that he was nowhere near being the best runner of his time. There were many other runners better than he.

But this didn't deter Roger. Besides physical training, he engaged in a lot of mental training. He kept visualizing himself breaking the four-minute time barrier.

Then, on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister stunned the world by running the mile in three minutes and 54 seconds. That was not the most amazing thing.

What was truly amazing was that, within a year, 37 other runners had broken his record. Within the next three years, over 300 runners had repeated the same feat.

For so long, nobody came close to Roger Bannister's record. The minute an 'ordinary' person achieved the feat, it led to many others achieving it too.

This proves that what holds people back in tapping their fullest potential and achieving their goals is not a lack of capability, but a lack of strong empowering beliefs.

Beliefs are never absolutely true, but it becomes totally true for the person who believes in it! This is simply because whatever we believe becomes our reality.

The essence is for us to constantly challenge ourselves by examining the effects of our beliefs, and finally to adopt empowering beliefs that will lead us to success.


To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
www.SuccessWithNLP.com

Dreams unleashed,


Albert Lee
Success University Student

Five Money Management Steps

Sorry for not updating my blog for such a long time. Would like to share with you Adam's 5 Money Management Steps. But for step 4 (Use a credit card whenever you can), remember that you MUST pay all bills in full at the end of the month, else it will back-fired.

Before you can ever reduce your expenses and increase your savings, you must first know where your money is going to. Many people share the same experience of having no idea where their $5,000 salary went. 'How did I spend so much money?' 'I thought that I should have $1,000 left at the end of the month, but it seems to have all disappeared!'

With a simple yet powerful system which I personally use together with specially designed Microsoft Excel templates like the 'Monthly Personal Income Statements' and 'Daily Expense Sheets' you just need to invest fifteen minutes a day to manage your money.

If you want to be wealthy, do not expect it to happen automatically. You must commit to spend time on your finances. Earlier on in this book, I talked about the millionaire's daily hour.

Millionaires spend an average of an hour a day on personal wealth management, while most people spend less than an hour a month, usually on paying bills.
So out of this one-hour a day, you've got to devote the first fifteen minutes to do these five Money Management Steps

1) Always Ask for a Discount

If it is not a fixed price store, there is a 70% chance that you will get a discount if you just ask for it. If you get a 10% discount, it is equivalent to earning an immediate 10% return on your money. Over the long term, you will save a huge amount that
will accelerate you even faster towards your targeted net worth.

2) Always Ask for a Receipt

Always get a receipt so that you can track every single expense at the end of the day and, if possible, claim it as a business expense and get a tax deduction.

3) At the End of the Day, Record all Expenses in your Daily Expense Sheet

You can do this manually in the sample 'Daily Expense Sheet 'at the end of the chapter or you can key it in electronically into a template.

I highly recommend you key it into an excel spreadsheet, so it can automatically add up the total each month.

4) Use a Credit Card Whenever You Can (but always pay the full outstanding sum every month)

Again, this will allow you a convenient way of having all your expenses recorded for you in the monthly statement.

5) At the End of the Month, Update Your Monthly Income Statement

At the end of every month, add up the total expenses from our daily expense sheet and update your monthly income statement. At the same time, update all your income for the month. Deduct your total expenses from your total income to get your monthly savings.

You must use a system to track where every single dollar goes. Only when you know where your money is going, can you take steps to channel it to your savings and
investments.

Doing this month after month may seem tedious, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to build your wealth. Only when you develop the habit of managing your personal finances, can you manage the finances of your own business.

So many people financially mismanagetheir businesses into bankruptcy because they mismanage their own finances. Don't be one of them!

To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
http://www.secretsofself-mademillioanires.com/

Dreams unleashed,


Albert Lee
Success University Student

For Things To Change, You Must Change First!

Today I like to excerpt an article from Adam Khoo, a great motivator and personal development coach born and breed in Singapore! If you have not read his book on "The Secret of Self-Made Millionaires", then I suggest you go to his Website http://www.adam-khoo.com/ to take a look. His book is easy to read, enlightening and easy to follow! He is a self made millionaire at the age of 26, do I need to say more?


I think with the above shameless promotion for Adam, he will not mind me sharing one of his articles here at my blog for my readers right? hahaa..


So here's the article..

For Things To Change You Must Change First...
-----

People always say, "What if it is really not my fault? What if the
situation is totally out of my hands?"

In actual fact we always play a role in creating whatever is
happening to us, whether consciously or subconsciously.

We create our experiences either through our thoughts or our
actions. You can say something emphatically, but if you are
thinking something else, people can pick up the vibes, or it will
show up in your body language.

People who are in control of their lives believe that they create
their world. If everything is going great, then they created it,
not anybody else. If things are not going well, then they created
it as well.

Some people tell me that they never get a good break. They never
get lucky enough to land a great opportunity. They are never at the
right place at the right time. I believe you create your own luck.
Or I prefer the word opportunity or break.

If you never find any good opportunities, it could be because of
your limiting beliefs and thoughts. If you believe that there are
no opportunities around, your mind will tend to delete all the
great opportunities, even if they are there right before you.

Once there was a woman who had been looking for the right partner
for the last 20 years. She was in her late 30s and getting
concerned she would never find her ideal guy.

When asked what she was looking for, she started describing this
perfect man who had to be rich, handsome, humorous, sensitive and
charming.

When asked bluntly, 'Would this man with all these traits want to
marry you?' She had no answer.

If she wanted to attract the perfect man, she must first be that
perfect woman to attract him!

One single most important message in this article is, for things to
change, we must first change ourselves. When we take responsibility
for what we get and change ourselves, everything and everybody else
will change with us!

So,

If you want to attract the best staff, be the best boss
If you want to have the best kids, be the best parent
If you want the perfect wife, then be that perfect husband
If you want the highest income, add the greatest value
If you want to attract the best customers, become the best company

Focus on yourself and success will come.


To Your Success,

Adam Khoo
www.SuccessWithNLP.com

Hopes you enjoyed his article as much as I do!


Cheers!!


Albert Lee
Success University Student