Lessons learned about goals and success from Brian Tracy

As I said in a previous post, I had the pleasure to hear some great speakers this year at some live events and I still feel that this information is as valuable now as it was when I first heard it.  With the New Year right around the corner and the inevitable resolutions that will accompany it, I’m taking some time to reflect on the goals I’d like to achieve in 2009.

Thinking about this has reminded me of a presentation I heard from Brian Tracy who was a guest speaker at a Derek Gehl event earlier this year that I attended through my membership in Derek’s Internet Entrepreneur Club.

I had never heard Brian Tracy speak before so I didn’t know what to expect and I thought he was amazing. It’s no wonder the shelves at the local bookstore are filled with his books.  One thing that he said really struck me and that was “If you do what other successful people do and master it you will also have success.  By learning from the experts you will save yourself years of work.”  I really took that to heart and spent much of the last part of this year working with a mentor on Derek’s team in his Advanced Mentoring Program.  By working with the best of the best in Internet Marketing I was able to launch my new virtual assistant training site to teach aspiring virtual assistants how to become a virtual assistant.

Brian also explained to us how important it is to have goals and to break them down into steps so they don’t seem so overwhelming.  Here are some key steps that he outlined for us:

1. Decide exactly what you want & be very specific – you need a clear command
2. Write it down (as if you already did it and be positive) Example:  I added 2 new team members to my business by March 1, 2009
3. Set a deadline for completion
4. Make a list of all the steps required to achieve the goal
5. Organize your list by sequence and priority
6. Take action on the goal immediately – don’t wait to take that first step
7. Do something every day on your goal

The last question that he asked us really can make a huge difference in your business.  His question was this:

What one skill if you were excellent at it would help you the most to double your income?

He told us that our weakest skill is the one that you need to work on until you master it.  When you have mastered your weakest skill then ask yourself that same question again.  Imagine where you will be if you do that exercise consistently! My weakest skill is public speaking.  What’s yours?

I’m looking forward to mastering some of my weakest skills in the New Year and hope you will do the same! Wishing you much success in 2009!

Happy Holidays!!

I have many things to be thankful for…

I realize that my blog has been silent for many months, which wasn’t one of my best ventures this year, but I’m back with a plan to get going again as there has been a lot going on around here.

As Thanksgiving approaches and things start to slow down just a bit for the holidays, I’m reflecting on how grateful I am for the life I am living. My virtual assistance business is doing well even with the dismal economic news we are hearing each day. In fact, this year I took a big step and finally incorporated my business. My clients are fantastic and are really wonderful people (it’s great to have the freedom to be able to choose the clients I want to work with and really like) and I’ve made the most amazing friendships through my SoCal VA Group. I’ve also started a new site with a fellow VA to help new and aspiring virtual assistants learn about how they can start their own virtual assistance business.  You can check that site out here. It gives me great personal satisfaction to be able to help others and I’m definitely grateful for that.

I’ve also been thinking a lot more about what is really important to me and realized that material things don’t matter so much anymore.  It’s the relationships that I have with friends and family that mean the most. I’m also thankful to be healthy and for my husband to be healthy. My 2nd anniversary is coming up in a little over a week and having a happy marriage is something to be very thankful for these days.

I’m also making a point to try to give back more – not so much with money, but to offer my time which is more valuable than the money I could give. I’m working on being more present in my life and trying not to fill each day with things and stuff to do. Spending more time just being in the present moment and not worrying about what comes next.

I’m hoping that anyone that reads this can take some time to reflect on what they are grateful for this year and if you would like to share please leave a comment.

As I said earlier, I’m committed to getting this blog going again and I have a ton of great information to share from many things I’ve been involved in this year.  I’ll pick this back up and we’ll get started where we left off, as so much of the information that I learned this year is still relevant.

Wishing all of you that are celebrating Thanksgiving next week a wonderful holiday! As crazy as it can get with family members around the holidays be thankful that they are present and appreciate the time you have with them.