Have you ever explored what makes you happy?

Have you ever explored what makes you happy?

Motivational Speakers

Happiness, like success is not something you pursue, anything you pursue, eludes you. Invest some time today answering the question I posed above, it is possibly one of the most important questions you will ever answer in your life. When you understand what actually makes you happy and feel joy and contentment, you equip yourself with information to bring bucket loads of happiness into your life. In reality, most people do not have a clear picture of what make stem happy at all. Harvard professor Dan Gilbert, stated in his book “Stumbling on happiness” that most people believe that they know what makes them happy, but in most cases we are wrong.

Happiness is not something you postpone for later, it is something you must accept and acknowledge as being available right now, when you know what you are looking for. The challenge most people bring into the way of their happiness, is the tendency for us to fall into the trap of postponing our happiness until some future event occurs in our lives. The typical scenario of “I will be happy when I get the promotion or when my children graduate from school, etc. This tendency to put happiness in the future means that we never ever get to enjoy happiness in the now. We are constantly striving to have, do or be something in the future; never allowing ourselves to live in the moment and to enjoy what is available to us right now, namely true and meaningful happiness. When you are constantly striving for what will or may be, you are living a “then” life of unhappiness and you feel empty and unhappy. If you are unable to create feelings of happiness in your life right now, it is certain that you will never be equipped to create any happiness in your life later.

Motivational Speakers

The second area that is cause for our unhappiness is our tendency to focus our energy on making other people happy or rather acting in a certain way because we believe it is what other people expect of us.

·         Have you ever discovered what success and true happiness means to you?

·         Do you know what need to happen before you believe you are successful?

·         What will your life look like when you are happy and successful?

·         What will you be doing, experiencing and what will you be?

Society puts huge pressure on us to perform in certain ways, our parents pressure us to adopt their standards regarding happiness, we look around our environment and we see people enjoying their unique version of what happiness means to them and we mistakenly believe the same thing will bring us happiness.  These unrealistic expectations about what success and happiness really mean to us, causes us to live a false life that feels empty and devoid of happiness. When we are living in this modality, where we are often living a false life that is not optimal or even of our choosing, we can never find happiness. We are merely living an illusion, a life we unconsciously stumbled into because we believed our parents, peers or society’s concept of success and happiness was what we really wanted. No one can ever find true and lasting happiness until they define what success and happiness really means to them and then they go about the business of bringing just that into their lives.

The third way we hold ourselves away from experiencing true happiness is that we attempt to contrast our happiness with the people around us. We attempt to live the illusion of what we believe happiness should be, rather than what it really is. When you are constantly comparing yourself and your level of happiness to everyone around you, you are creating unrealistic reference points that have nothing to do with you and your own unique circumstances. You are unique and special and your experience of happiness is your own experience. Just allow yourself to be happy in your own way and stop comparing yourself to everyone around you.

The easiest way I have found to bring real and meaningful happiness into your life is to accept that happiness is unique to you and the way you enjoy happiness is your own experience. When you make this small shift and you begin to live in a state of constant gratitude, where you focus on all the incredible things you already have in your life, you set yourself up for happiness. Once you have begun to see that there are many reasons for you to be happy about so many things in your life right now, you will begin to nurture happiness further and you will begin to see all the other experiences that will bring you happiness and joy.

Happy, optimistic people are better performers and they experience far better results in their lives. So when you discover what really makes you happy, you so not only get to experience a better life, you also get to enjoy greater success. I am certain that happiness will bring success far more often than success will bring happiness.

Author: Andrew Horton Motivational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

What is your relationship with money?

What is your relationship with money?

Inspirational Speakers

I believe that money serves no purpose other than to offer us choice and freedom. We always want more of it and we are terrified by the prospect of not having enough and the devastating prospects of bankruptcy, foreclosure and destitution.  Shift your fear and know that none of these issues are related to money itself. It is commonly believed that guns can never kill people; it is people that use guns inappropriately that kill people. The same is true about money. Money is never the problem; it is our misguided relationship and fear around money that is to blame. The only reason we will ever experience any challenges with money, is due to what we do or fail to do with money.

The best way to change your relationship with money and change your perspective around how to accumulate wealth is to shift your thinking away from money and to start seeing all issues related to money, as being the transfer of value. Stop looking on money, seeing it as merely a currency or means of exchange. Shift your thinking and see every transaction related to exchange as a transfer of value. Money is merely a means of exchange, a convenient way for us to exchange value and recognise value. Please do not see this as merely a different way of seeing the same thing or merely semantics, used to describe the same thing.

Inspirational Speakers

When you make this shift you change your thinking from:

1.       How can we increase our revenue – What can we change to increase the perceived value of our product?

2.       How can we grow our business  -  How can we improve, so that we can expand our value?

3.       How can we get wealthier – What must I do to become more valuable?

This fundamental shift in thinking is the secret that will allow you to begin the process of accumulating wealth and creating a model for long term sustainable success. So when you make the realisation that the only way to accumulate massive wealth is to create and accrue immense value. You attract success by the person you become. As you become more you attract more. The secret to accumulate value is to make a long term commitment to keep improving and growing. Commit to invest time, effort and resources, into waking up a little better today than you were yesterday and then repeat this behaviour every day after that. Continue to add value every day until you become the person that deserves the success you desire. Money will always flow to people that commit to increase their value day after day. There is a profound benefit that will accrue to you as you expand and grow your skill, knowledge and abilities. The benefits that will accrue to you as you increase your value will be priceless and over time you will see your relationship with money evolve and your wealth will gradually grow. As you grow your value, you will see your wealth grow. This is not an overnight quick fix. It is a long term option that will most certainly give you everything you need to create and sustain your wealth.

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

What do you value most in your life?

What do you value most in your life?

Motivational Speakers

If you thought about this question for just a second, the first thoughts that would pop into your mind would be, “my family”, “my children” or “my spouse”. Now take the time to look a little deeper, is the way you are living your life indicating that you are actually living your life, like those three areas are most important to you. Or is the picture that is reflected back at you telling a very different story? Most people are very quick to state what they value most, as being their relationships or families. When in reality their deeds are painting a completely different picture. Your values are clearly shown by what you do, how you fill your space and how you spend your money. The easiest way to check what you value most is to look at two things, namely your dairy and your spending patterns. How you choose to invest your time and money are clear indicators of what you truly value most.

If you want to become a real super achiever it is time to stop paying lip service to the most important thing on your life and to actually make it the main thing. Zig Ziglar one of the most successful thought leaders of his time, said that one of the secrets to his success was “I made sure that I had a home Court Advantage” The reason our home life is so crucial to our long term sustainable success is simple. When we have a stable and secure home and family life, we are better equipped to perform at our peak in all other areas of our lives. When you do not have a stable life at home and you are concerned about what is not working in your close relationships, you are most certainly not as effective out in the world. I have found that making your family and close relationships a priority most certainly gives you a boost and bolsters your ability to perform outside of your home.

Motivational Speakers

Have you ever asked yourself the question about why you work so hard and why success is so important to you?

1)      Is it your innermost desire to provide a great life for your family?

2)      Create security and comfort for yourself and your family

3)      To help our families discover new opportunities in the future.

I have asked many people that are nearing the end of their lives, what they wish they had done more of or how they wish they had invested their time? They all very quickly state that they wished they had invested more time with their families and that they had created more opportunities to share love and special moments with the people they loved the most.  Not one said that they wished that they had acquired more qualifications, cars, houses, boats or titles. You have the advantage of still having a full life to live, make sure that you are indeed investing time into the things that matter most.  Invest time today and every day into creating your own home court advantage. When you commit to do this, you not only set the tone for creating a great support system for your ambitions, but you get to build stronger bonds, you get to experience more meaningful love and you get to experience the most incredible rewards.  Make a commitment today to begin making your spouse and family a priority. The happiness and joy that will flow to you will not only make you feel good, but will contribute to better health and equip you with far more energy and vitality. All of these are very essential if you want to become a super achiever.

Author: Andrew Horton Motivational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

Change your future by changing your vision of what is possible

Change your future by changing your vision of what is possible

Inspirational Speakers

No matter how good your eyesight may be, it will be of little value if you do not have vision. This is your ability to see things that may be invisible to other people or to innovate and see things that may not even exist yet. The limitations we face in life are not due to our current circumstances or abilities but rather by our vision of what is possible for us. True vision is the ability to create pictures of what can be, it is a place where we appeal to our better selves, a place where we appeal to that hidden self and we strive to become more.

We are visual beings that do not only see with our eyes.  The building that you are sitting in right now was just an idea in someone’s head at one point. They then developed a clear picture of exactly what they wanted to create. This was then converted into a blue print and then built into the structure you are now sitting inside. The way to create the future of your dreams is to first create a vivid picture of what you want, a clear vision for the future. Then to create your own blue print ot make that happen. As you think it, you must commit to ink it. The size and scope of your future is only limited by your ability to envision it. Set your mind free and allow it the freedom to walk boldly into your future and see clear pictures of your dreams and fantasies. Commit to then clarify these and then create a blue print for your success.

Your future will turn out exactly the way you see it. Nothing will happen or ever has happened without someone first creating a vivid picture in their mind first. Begin today to start painting a better vision for your future. No matter what may have happened in your past, the slate for your future is spotless. You can paint any picture you can see onto this blank canvass. All the choices are open to you right now. You get to choose everything that you put into your picture of the future. Do not limit yourself by thinking small. It takes as much energy to dream small dreams that will hold you from your potential as it does to have huge dreams. Select the image you want for your future by searching deep within yourself and allow your mind to wander unfettered by logic or what you believe is possible for you right now.

Begin painting your picture for your future by exploring what is possible for the remainder of this year. Then begin to see bigger and bigger pictures form in your mind, as you allow yourself to stretch and expand into a worthy vision that will push you beyond your current comfort zone. Paint a grand picture of what is possible. It is widely accepted that we significantly over estimate what we can achieve in a year and that we dramatically underestimate what we can achieve in a decade. Take a longer view of all the possibilities that await you in the future and dare to dream big dreams.

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

Have you ever wondered what you are capable of achieving?

Have you ever wondered what you are capable of achieving?

Inspirational Speakers

If you are searching for exceptional results, you will need to be different and to do things in your own unique and special way. This is one of the best ways for you to stand out from the herd. As long as you choose to remain part of the crowd and you keep doing things that are fashionable, trendy or popular, you will remain trapped in mediocrity. The way to bring extraordinary achievement into your life requires you to take charge of your future and to commit to use your unique strengths and talents. You must accept that you may need to be different and even unique and that you may even be ridiculed by people that do not share your vision. To become a super achiever will require that you walk away from the 97 % of people that are too afraid to be different and want to conform to societies rules. Choose to be different and stop using excuses to continue to drift through life, neglecting your own unique talents and special talents. Each one of us is unique and special in our own way. Do not shy away from exploring your uniqueness, have the courage to stand out and be unique and amazing new opportunities will unfold before you.

Make the choice today to begin working to be your best. I am not saying you must strive to be the best at everything, but I am saying that you must believe in your potential and do what it takes to become your best. Strive for your personal best and look for excellence in everything you do. It takes almost as much energy to rush through a task and complete it in a slipshod fashion as it does to invest effort into everything you do and to always try your best. When you strive for excellence in everything you do, especially those important tasks that can bring about meaningful positive change in your life, you set the stage for a great future. When you make this small shift, you choose to try your best and you commit to give your best to everything you do, you will ignite a flame that will bring out extraordinary results and you will see amazing outcomes begin appearing in your life. As you commit to excellence you will see every action you take will become a statement of your world class brand.

Inspirational Speakers

Peak performance becomes far more likely, when you get rid of illusions and false notions about yourself. Explore and understand your potentialities, become brutally honest with yourself and identify those areas of your life where you have significant strengths and understand your weaknesses. Learn where your circle of competence lies and ensure that you explore and exploit opportunities that are aligned with your unique strengths. Anything that falls outside your core area of competence should be avoided, no matter how enticing any opportunity may seem. This approach, where you use your strengths to build your success will see you catapult yourself toward exceptional achievement. Commit to work only in your strength zone and avoid wasting energy trying to be something you are not. When you have identified your unique competencies, commit all your energy to the process and go for mastery.

When you invest the effort into getting to know yourself better, you equip yourself with knowledge that will not only save you time and energy, by helping you not to focus your efforts on things that are beyond your competence, but will give you the ability to succeed at everything you tackle. Get to know yourself, understand where your unique strengths lie and then pull the trigger on turning your special talents into super achievement. I am not suggesting that you become the best at everything; I am saying that when you get to know yourself and you understand where you have outstanding competencies, you have a far greater likelihood of succeeding at anything. Commit to search inside yourself, until you unlock the real you, that person that is special, has unlimited potential and can achieve extraordinary things.

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

You become the choices you make

You become the choices you make

Event Speakers

Have HUGE EXPECTATIONS about what you want from the rest of your life, have HUGE EXPECTATIONS about what you are going to do with the rest of your life, Have HUGE EXPECTATIONS about what you are going to become in this life and have HUGE EXPECTATIONS about the legacy you are going to leave behind and then go about acquiring and applying the disciplines that are necessary to ensure that you satisfy these EXPECTATIONS.

It is seldom that anyone actually exceeds their own expectations, so if you have small expectations around what can be achieved in your life, you will only enjoy small results in your life. Huge expectations make you stretch yourself and allow you to probe the limits of your potential. As Les Brown says most people do not achieve their full potential not because they aim too high and miss, but rather that they aim too low and hit.

What about you, I believe that you are also most of the way along the path to where you need to need to be in your life. I believe that you do not need to completely reboot your life. That with a few subtle, yet meaningful changes you can completely revolutionize your life and that you will begin to see incredible almost magical changes materialize in your life.

Always remember though that it is as easy to do the needed daily disciplines as it is not to do them. If you are looking for things to change, i.e. you want to make the small meaningful changes that will make a massive difference to the results that you enjoy. Your environment will begin to change when you change. If you want to have more then you must strive to become more.

Do you know how a GPS works? It needs two basic pieces of information, it first triangulates and finds out where you are and then you need to supply it with the information about where you want to go. The GPS then calculates the most efficient route to get you from where you are to where you want to go. Really clever technology, there are some really clever folks out there.

This leads us to the first of the meaningful changes we need to make in our own lives that will start making the real meaningful positive changes we want in our lives. The first thing you need to do is a self-audit where you take a real honest look at yourself and you assess where you are right now. You must be brutally honest with yourself and see what is working and is in line with your HUGE EXPECTATIONS and what is not. You will obviously strive to do more of what is working and eliminate anything that is holding you away from your success from your life.

Once you have a clear picture of where you are in relation to your expectations, you need to create a vision about where you want your life to go. To satisfy your vision you will need to set some realistic, believable and achievable, time defined goals. These goals are the destination you are striving to reach to meet your HUGE EXPECTATIONS.

Once you have done your self-audit and created your vision and goals; you have the information you need to put into your GPS of success. All that is left to do is to build a route for yourself from one point to the other. This route is defined by your projects and action plans.

Author: Andrew Horton Event Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

The benefits of Giving to Inspiration and not Desperation

The benefits of Giving to Inspiration and not Desperation

Inspirational Speakers

The lasting and most wonderful part of giving to others is not that you only brighten the life of someone else, but that you will actually experience both physical and emotional benefits yourself. The act of selfless giving sees your body excrete some extremely beneficial hormones that have incredibly positive effects on your body and emotional state. 

The positive physical responses and benefits that will accrue to you as you direct your energy towards assisting others will allow you to overcome negative emotions that could contribute to many different types of stress induced psychological or physically illnesses. The extra endorphins that are released in our bodies, during acts of kindness, have a very positive effect on our systems and results in what is commonly referred to as a “Helpers High”.

Many studies have shown that the benefits of helping others extends well beyond merely the physical, into assisting us to foster personality traits that assist us to foster sustainable success in every facet of our lives. These studies have shown that people that regularly help others are more successful, happier and have better relationships than people that do not.

With the potential to experience such huge positive benefits in your life, can you continue to justify not contributing energy towards assisting others any longer? This is one of the habits I recommend you develop, in your life as soon as possible, as it will be one of the greatest contributors to your internal wellbeing and long term sustainable success. My wish for you is that you will become inspired and that you will make giving a natural part of your everyday life.  

As Jim Rohn said “What if it is just an apple a day, that will keep the doctor away and you don’t eat that apple”. What if having a giving heart and living in a state of helpfulness, is what you need to improve your health and you remain stingy. Living a state of helpfulness is most certainly a great way to live and offers both the giver and receiver great rewards.

The challenge that I have with giving is that giving should always be in the direction of inspiration and never in the direction of desperation. When you give to desperation you are not helping the person receiving, you are encouraging them to remain in a state of desperation as this is allowing them to get the help they feel they deserve. When you give to inspiration, you are assisting someone to grow away from their dependence and you teach them to become independent. This new independence equips them to become contributors to society.

Since I have been focusing my energy on giving to inspiration and I have stopped encouraging desperation, by giving to people that do not want to improve and grow. I have seen amazing results and have seen many people grow to a point where they are now in a position to be givers themselves. My focus with people that are stuck in a state of desperation is to try to uplift them to a state of inspiration. A state where they can see light at the end of the tunnel and that with a little well directed effort they can grow and become more. Giving blindly to people in a state of desperation only promotes desperation. It can never allow anyone to become more and to see that they are not trapped in a life of no value.

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

Does Rejection exist and can you ask a stupid Question?

Does Rejection exist and can you ask a stupid Question?

Inspirational Speakers

There is only one type of stupid question and there is no such thing as rejection. The only stupid question is one that is left unasked and rejection is a complete fallacy. Before you ask any question, you do not have something and after you ask the question and the answer you receive is “NO”; you still have nothing, things stay exactly the same.

Things only change when you ask a question and someone says “YES”. After an affirmative answer to any question, now things are different, now things begin to change positively. For example if you ask a beautiful girl out on a date and she says ‘NO”, before you asked her for the date, you did not have a date with her and after you asked her for the date, which she declined, you still do not have a date with her. However if she agrees to have a date with you, now things begin to change for the good, now you have a date with a magnificent girl and all sorts of positive changes begin to occur.

When you overcome your fear of rejection and you begin to use this incredibly powerful tool for success, consistently in every facet of your life, you will begin to see remarkable results start to manifest.

Inspirational Speakers - Choose a question that you have been too scared to ask, until now, and take the plunge and simply ask the question today. You know that there is no reason to hold yourself away from asking any questions. You now have the awareness that if you ask any question, you can never be rejected, things either stay the same or they get better.

Stop retarding your inevitable success any longer, because you are afraid of rejection and have the courage to finally pull the trigger on realising your potential and ask, Ask, ASK, your success depends on it. The art of asking the right questions is one of the secrets to creating long term sustainable success. It is time for you to move from behind the clouds that are hiding your potential and for you to stride confidently into a fantastic future filled with joy and fulfillment. What if it is just one question that you need to ask that unlocks the most incredible future and you fail to ask that question? You have so much to gain and stand to lose so little, if you begin asking questions and listening. I say when in doubt, Ask until the answer comes out.

Asking questions is such a powerful tool that you have available in your arsenal of success tools. The future will get to live, most certainly depends on the quality of questions you will get to ask. A tool this important should be used as often as reasonable and put to work daily to begin shaping our future. Take up the question challenge today and begin unlocking the answers that you need to begin molding the amazing future you know that you deserve. This could be one of the most important decisions you get to make. I know that asking questions will not hurt you, but the right question directed at the right person may help you. With nothing to lose and so much to gain, what are you waiting for?

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

What are your values reflecting to the world?

What are your values reflecting to the world?

Motivational Speakers

Create a set of great personal values and surround yourself with the right people that can form your support system. Have an optimistic spirit and develop a strong purpose that you completely believe in and everything you can imagine is possible, for you.

                                          

Ignite your spark of possibility by accepting that you have unlimited potential locked inside you. Unlock this potential, by taking small, consistent steps every day toward discovering what you are capable of. Each small victory you experience will brighten the light within you and show you anything is not only possible, but that it is possible for you.

You can continue to live your life like a little shadow that runs across the field of your potential and then simply disappears when the sun sets or you can make the choice today to take the strides necessary to become your potential and leave an indelible mark on everyone you touch.

Learn the success habit of continually asking questions, thereby gaining frequent and valuable feedback. The only ignorant question is one that goes unasked. Meaningful questions + inspired action = living your potential.

Are you still making excuses for delaying taking the action you know is necessary to live your dreams? Become enthusiastic about your potential right now and create a clear picture of what you want to achieve, see this as not only an obtainable reality, but an achievable reality for you, create a positive and expectant outlook, apply consistent, inspired energy and see your dreams turn into your reality, before your eyes.

Possibility plays a massive role in every aspect of our lives. When you create a really deep belief in your own potential and consistently take inspired action, the world opens up to you and you light the spark of probability. Unleash your unique gift, a light within you that can make the world a more beautiful place. Have the courage to set your light free and accept the responsibility of success. The world is waiting for you to express your light and free your potential.

The size and scope of your dreams only determines what you can achieve and permits you to preview what could be. Clarity of purpose coupled with consistent, planned and focused action allows you to convert this probability, into possibility and finally your reality

Right now, is the time for you to emerge from behind the clouds that are hiding your ability and for you to finally allow the light of your unlimited potential to shine. Ignite the spark of possibility and allow it to burn in a brilliant blaze as you explore, discover and live your potential. Then aspire to live your life like a superb meteor, using every atom of your existence as you spread your magnificent glow over everything you touch.

Risk your significance and offer the gift of a better world to everyone you touch, choose to live your life as fully as possible and feel that you completely inhabit every second of your day. Set the promise of your unlimited potential free and see it soar to unimaginable heights on the wings of your efforts and focused commitment. Be passionate and enthusiastic about everything in your life and everything is possible for you. 

Author: Andrew Horton Motivational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

Are you just drifting through life?

Are you just drifting through life?

Motivational Speakers

Too many people just drift through life, going with the flow, never having any direction about where they want their lives to go. They are like a paper cup that blows around in the car park at the shopping Centre. It is totally at the whim of the wind and it just floats around from one side of the car park to the other. Do you know anyone like that?

The same winds of destiny blows over all of us, why is it that some people are able to make a huge success out of their lives, whilst other people never seem to achieve anything at all. If the winds that we face every day, are the same then, the only difference can be the set of the sails. How do you choose to set your sails, are you going to allow the wind to blow you wherever it whims you to go or are you going to take control of your sails from today and start determining where your ship will sail to.

There are three types of people, winners, losers and winners in waiting. Losers are people that have given up on their lives; they are victims of their own self-doubt and accepted their lot in life.

Winners are people that have created harmony in their lives and have created a set of success habits that are supporting their success. Their relationships are great, they have good health, their finances are under control, they are contributing freely to their community and they are living a harmonious life.

Then there is the vast majority of people that I like to call winners in waiting, they are that group of people that are not completely satisfied with everything in their lives and are hungry for success. They are eager to improve their lives and are looking for the guidance to help them achieve meaningful change in their lives.

Think about your life right now, where do you fit in? Have you given up on your potential or are you hungry to change and improve your life. Although you may be excelling in some areas of your life, can everyone here today say that they are completely satisfied with everything in their lives right now?

You have everything inside you right now to become anything you want and guess what if you lack the specific, knowledge or skills that you need then there is a book that has been written, an audio program made, a workshop offered or training program where you can get all the knowledge or skills you require.

Learn to start practicing a few disciplines every day that are focused on leading you to the success you desire, then commit to keep taking action until you are successful and you can achieve anything. Remember that success is never about what you accumulate but rather about what you become.

Remember that it is as easy to carry out the daily disciplines necessary to succeed as it is not to. That is in fact the only difference between successful people and those that simply accept mediocrity, the successful people commit to the disciplines needed and the average people do not.

I believe that carrying out the disciplines is far easier than the price paid when you do not carry out the small daily disciplines. Those prices are failure, divorce, bankruptcy, damaged health, lack of energy from an abused body etc.

Author: Andrew Horton Motivational Speakers

http://andrewhorton.co.za

When Should you trust the advice if experts?

When Should you trust the advice if experts?

Inspirational Speakers

When you choose to follow the advice of any self-professed experts, it is always advisable to be absolutely certain that their advice is sound. Ideas and concepts that work for one person may not work for someone else. The safest way to use any advice you may encounter is to examine it first, exploring the following criterion.

·         Are the circumstances of the person dispensing the advice the same as your own.

·         If that concept worked for someone else, will it work for you too?

·         Does it match and serve your personality and unique strengths?

·         Is the timing and circumstances in the environment still the same?

·         Are other people supporting this concept or is this the only place you have heard this?

The trick is to never blunder blindly after any expert advice. A pair of shoes that fit me perfectly may give you blisters. Advice that is perfect for someone else may work for you, but it may also not work. When you allow yourself to follow the wrong advice, it can be distracting, damaging and in many cases even dangerous. We have only limited time available, so avoid wasting any of your most valuable resource on things that are distracting, frivolous and will do you no good at all.

The first and most important measurement criterion for me, when I am viewing any so called expert advice, is simply to look at the person dispensing the advice. Have they used their own advice to create the life of their dreams? Are they a shining example of what can be achieved if you follow their advice? There is a very wise saying that says “Those that can, do. Those that can’t teach” Always be wary of taking advice from someone that has not actually achieved anything themselves using their own advice. My own rule of thumb is to only look to advice that comes from people that have not only succeeded, but have excelled in ways that are almost beyond belief. People that simply regurgitate other peoples work and have no sound base of achievement to offer are most certainly not the people who I feel comfortable to follow. Look to people with measurable and visible results.

Would you hire any of the following people to reshape your life

·         An out of shape personal trainer

·         An overweight dietician

·         A bankrupt financial adviser

·         A property broker that does not invest in property

·         A marriage counsellor that is unable to maintain a stable relationship themselves

I can hear you saying “That is so obvious, I would never do that” Take a walk into your local gym and see how many people are paying for the services of out of shape personal trainers. Look around at the financial advisors that are in debt to the hilt, yet they are dispensing financial advice daily. The number of marriage counsellors that have been divorced a number of times, yet they dispense advice to couples every day. Most people may view this as common sense, but unfortunately it is not common practice.

I am trying to warn you to be vigilant and to explore all the advice you receive every day. Seek out advice from people that could help you, never ever take anything as gospel though. Examine all advice that you receive and see what makes sense and what will work within your own unique circumstances. There is only really one expert that you can trust. To consult with this expert, go to your bathroom mirror and take a long hard look at the person staring back at you. That is the only expert that can offer you advice that will work for you.

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

   

When should you Fire Customers?

Inspirational Speakers

Customers are crucial to any business and should be encouraged to know, like and trust our businesses.  Are they however always right or are they sometimes even completely wrong? My wife and I were on board a flight that was delayed more than 30 minutes. The delay was due to 3 passengers that had obviously been drinking in the pub and had not been watching the time. They walked onto the plane making a huge raucous with huge bags that were clearly larger than airline standards. As they were late and their bags were massive, there was no space in the overhead bins for their bags. The airhostess offered to put luggage labels on their bags and to stow them in the hold. They were belligerent and refused to be inconvenienced. This was rich coming from three inebriated people that had already delayed the plane by 30 minutes. The captain came from the cockpit and tried to calm things down. The three people just got louder and louder. In the interim the co-pilot had called the police who led the three passengers off the flight, screaming that the airline knew nothing about customer service. I was really glad to hear the captain call after them that it was that very commitment to customer service that had forced him to remove them from the plane. They were inconvenience over 200 passengers.

This example is extreme, but I believe that this highlights the fact that the customer is most certainly not always right. The customer is most certainly important and we should always try to offer the best possible service to all our customers. As crucial as this service may be to maintain and grow our businesses, we must ensure that we do compromise ourselves, our staff or our other customers. The traditional model of business in which the customers’ needs are placed above the needs of all other stakeholders is out-dated. There are many examples of businesses that have thrived over the past few years by shaking things up a little by placing their team members at the top and putting customers second. Richard Branson and his group of extremely successful companies, use this philosophy to create highly profitable and extremely service driven businesses. This philosophy of putting their staff at the top of the hierarchy, proved very successful for Tony Hsieh of Zapos. He built an amazing service driven company that he eventually sold for $ 1 billion dollars. He achieved these amazing results by inspiring his team, making them his top priority. This philosophy turned his team into eager service providers that built a huge following of loyal customers.   

If you want to build an amazing service driven business, you must stop tolerating unruly or rude customers. You must set boundaries and restrict how the world responds to you and your business. You do not need to tolerate irrational behaviour from anyone, especially customers. Empower your teams to refuse service or attention to people that do not deserve anything from your organization.  I have been astounded by the improved results in my own company and the increased levels of customer service my customers now enjoy, since I have introduced this new philosophy. Since introducing this, I have seen a huge increase in standards. Customers have told me that they have seen a real change in the attitude of all my team members. My team members feel more valuable and are far more inspired and service driven. Since we have introduced these new standards and uncompromising principles, everyone has benefited. Give this philosophy a try. The results we have seen have far exceeded my expectations.

Author: Andrew Horton Inspirational Speakers

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za