Reflect on 2008 to Create a 2009 that Shines

As 2008 comes to a close, I find I am reflecting on this past year and years previous. I do this every year, but this year I am more focused.

Last night, I was looking at pictures I found on my laptop computer. Our youngest daughter has downloaded pictures from her camera over the years. She has even scanned some of our old, 35 mm pictures, so I had a whole history to review and reflect on. What an unexpected blessing.

By nature, I can get kind of nostalgic. I think of what people have gone through in their lives. I wonder if they look back with satisfaction or discipline or regret. A wise man once told me, the cost of discipline is ounces but the cost of regret is unbearable. This has stuck with me.

I think of communities and even companies, how they developed and of the people who lived and developed them. What were their principles and convictions? The same is true when building a life. Some people who start against all odds build great lives, yet others who have great beginnings fail. I came to the conclusion that lives are built day by day; lives are built on the seemingly little daily events and on the foundations of one’s principles.

One of the best things about networking is, it is about life, it is about people. The people we meet, the relationships that grow, the impact people have on us and vise versa. Life is, after all, a journey and in the end it is the people we have an impact on that matter the most.

As we look forward to a new year, I find I reflect on these thoughts even more. Last night I spent hours going through pictures of our family and therefore our lives. I want to share a series of questions I am going through at the close of 2008.

These 30 questions can be asked, meditated upon, and answered in all areas of our lives: family, business, spiritual, personal, etc. If you find value here and want to do the same, then feel free to ask yourself the following.

Reflection Questions:

1. What did I accomplish this year?
2. What accomplishment am I most proud of?
3. What did I learn this year?
4. Knowing what I know now, what would I have done differently?
5. What are my most lasting memories of this year?
6. Why am I doing what I am doing?
7. What did I contribute to others?
8. What were my biggest challenges or obstacles?
9. Which ones did I overcome?
10. Who are the most interesting or challenging people I met?
11. What did I learn from them?
12. How did they impact my life?
13. How am I different now than I was at the start of the year?
14. What am I most grateful for?
15. What else do I want to reflect on?

Projection Questions:

1. What excites me the most about the coming year?
2. What are my FIVE most important goals for this year?
3. How will I best develop and use my skills?
4. How will I build up my strengths?
5. How will I apply the most valuable lessons of last year (and previous years) to 2009?
6. What do I want to learn?
7. How am I going to learn this?
8. Who do I want to meet?
9. What relationships do I most want to develop?
10. What new habits will I create?
11. What old habits will I change or eliminate?
12. What will I do to become healthier this year?
13. What lasting memories do I want to create?
14. Who will I serve more effectively this year?
15. What impact will I have?

We are definitely living in interesting times. Times that cannot be taken lightly. We need to get better or we fall behind. We need to grow to thrive. Staying were we are is a recipe for falling behind. It is a truth and the nature of our system.

Let me know if these questions help you.
If you are one of the few who do go through them, I guarantee the impact will be amazing!

Here is to fighting the good fight and coming out victorious in 2009!

To your contiued Success!

Fred.

The only measure of success is the ratio between what we might have been and what we have become.
In another words, success comes as the result of growing to our potential!
H.G. Wells

The Integrity Factor

The Integrity Factor


This is a two-part formula to help you live with the utmost integrity. It’s simple and effective. I challenge you to start following this every day.

1. When you always tell the truth, people trust you.
2. When you do what you promise to do, people respect you.

You will rise above 98% of the competition if you follow this formula. When you think of it, most people do not do what they say they are going to do, or don’t do it when they say they will do it. If you DO what you promise, it will become apparent to people you deal with and in time you will have NO competition.

A friend of mine, Andrew, was expanding his company and needed a graphic designer. One came highly recommended as very talented; he was not very expensive and was available. Andrew contracted with this graphic designer, set up timelines and then got to work in other areas. The talented graphic designer was always late, causing Andrew to be late. Andrew was losing his integrity with his clients by being late. This happened over and over.

To resolve this problem, Andrew was referred to another graphic designer. His first question was about meeting deadlines. Andrew took her on, and he never missed another deadline. In fact, this designer kept my friend honest. “Andrew, if you do not get me the information I need I will not meet the deadline and neither of us will be happy.”

This designer was only 24 years old and not as artistically talented, yet she kept her promises and her integrity and therefore was booked solid. She could subsequently charge more money and in effect had no competition.

The words “as promised” are significant. Use these in your regular correspondence. It will reinforce the fact that you really do follow through. If you say you are going to send a follow up e-mail to a prospective client, start the e-mail “As promised, here is the information about ……..”

When you do this, it is a subtle reminder that you keep your commitments. And if you keep your commitments, you will rise above 98% of the crowd. You will have no competition.

Build your life on Integrity and you will never have to look over your shoulder.

Your partner in Success

Fred

Eat That Frog

Being in business as a Home Based Globalpreneur is always an adventure. Every day, we are faced with at least one thing we simply do not want to do!

Check out Mac Anderson's (Founder of Simple Truths) email that I just received. Enter... Eat That Frog! This video is based on a little piece of Brian Tracy's best-selling book...Eat That Frog. It takes less than 2 minutes to watch, but here's betting...you won't forget it!

I can tell you that this concept is simple. It works and will add to your personal productivity.

We all understand this concept, but this is a great illustration to forward to your teams. When times are tough, this simple video will make the concept more enjoyable.

Enjoy and Live with Passion,
Fred and Shirley

http://www.eatthatfrogmovie.com

Still True Today!!

The Steel Square

As a student of currency creation, history, discernment, communities and people, I am always on the lookout for great books. While at a garage sale last year I saw an old book and the author’s name was almost the same as mine, Fred Hodgson. How could I turn this book down for a whopping $.50? The book is entitled Practical Uses of the Steel Square. For those who may not know, the steel square is a carpenter’s tool. Little did I know the gem this would turn out to be!

This book was written over 100 years ago, in 1903. That was before the financial crash of 1907, before the Federal Reserve, before WW1 and the Great Depression. This was a time when 90% of homes were owned outright. Credit was very hard to get, people lived within their means, communities really supported one another, people knew their neighbours, etc.

From this book, you could mail order the full blueprints for homes for $5.00. A large two story 3000 sq ft home was estimated to cost $1,600.00 to $1,800.00 to build. A smaller 1000 sq ft bungalow would cost $900 to $1,050. That’s hard to imagine today!

Below is a short excerpt from the preface which resonated with me and is the purpose of this article. Remember, this was written in 1903, so the sentence structure is more complicated than today. The bold text and italics are mine.

“It is not necessary for me in this preface to remind the young workman of today of the necessity of arming himself with all the resources of modern methods and appliances for the performance of his work, if he desires to stand in the front rank of his trade.

It is the bright, well-informed young man that wins the race, and the fellow who drops his tools at the first clang of the bell at quitting time and gives no further thought either to his work or his tools until the commencement of work again the following day, always remains at the foot of the ladder, and wonders how it is he does not prosper and thrive at the same rate as his more energetic and studious fellow workman.

A few hours quiet study each week during the winter nights makes the difference between poverty and sufficiency, for be it known the employer soon discovers the superior qualities of the man who employs his brains as well as his hands in the performance of his duties, and advancement and higher pay are sure to follow sooner or later.”

I would like to take a moment and re-word Mr. Hodgson’s observations for this article.

You will notice the workman who does not prosper did his job, showed up each day and did the basics. Yet, it is the man or woman, who is diligent, discerns, thinks, learns, and applies these strategies in the marketplace that will excel, build wealth and leave a legacy for future generations. The person who does only the basics will stay an amateur and will wonder why others succeed and he/she does not.

It only takes a few hours each week of doing the right things to make the difference between failure and high residual wealth. “Advancement and achievement are sure to follow sooner or later.”

In 1903, Mr. Hodgson was talking about mastering the simple carpenter’s tool called the steel square. If it takes extra study to learn to master the steel square, how much more so to master our business?

Do not expect to do just the basics and then to win long term. Do not expect to read an article, book, website, blog and have all the answers to your success. Do not expect that one meeting, one strategy, one method is all it takes.

When looking to partner with people, be diligent; ask questions because it is your future at stake. Look for integrity, honesty, perseverance, compassion, sincerity, mental toughness. Look for people who tell the truth even when it is not convenient. I can sum this up with "look for leadership, and become a leader."

In the industry of network distribution, people are a dime a dozen and companies are a dime a dozen. This is a great, ever-changing profession and the difference between poverty and sufficiency, between sufficiency and riches (see my article on personal wealth) is totally up to you.

As Mr. Hodgson said so long ago, “Do not drop your tools at the first clang of the bell and start work the next day” and think you will prosper. If that was true in 1903, it is still true today.


If you do not know the truth about money you will believe the lie about money and there are multiple lies!

Fred Hodgins