I'm very inspired this morning

This morning I was thinking about doing a simple message and I got mentally stuck. Then something I hadn't thought of in awhile came to mind. When I was teaching high school kids in about 1965 I came across a simple quote that I printed on a small piece of paper. For some reason these simple words just grabbed me. I recall getting very inspired then and I feel inspired this morning. 

 

I kept this small piece of paper with me for many years and here are those simple words: "Ah, a mans reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for."   

 

I remember sitting at a table in my small apartment above Etta's Beauty Salon and reaching out my hand in front of me and then saying those words....."My reach should exceed my grasp." Those words still inspire me today.  Think about it for a minute, your "reach should exceed your grasp." You can do more than you've done. I can do more than I've done.

 

What this means to me today is that all of us should reach out  and do things we haven't ever done. All of us have incredible God-given potential. Let's use it.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

 

Do you have a mirror?

The message today is something most of you have probably heard. It's simple but also very powerful - it's especially powerful if a person has goals and might be looking for something that might help them to think "this is it, I've got to get myself moving in the right direction."

 

The following is from a book titled The Power of 10%  by Eric Harvey.

 

It is natural to want to quit when things are difficult. Fear of failure, disappointments or anger over what we wish would happen can keep us paralyzed from taking action. Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion is, in very simple terms, a body in motion tends to remain in motion and a body at rest tends to remain at rest.  When we are "at rest" we do not feel like pushing forward.  So, many times we don't.  What we often forget is that motivation doesn't always comes first.  Many times, it is action that must take place first.

 

I can relate with the above in so many ways. Most mornings when I'm going to workout I don't feel very energized. But I go every day. After a good 90 minute workout I feel energized. I always feel so much better leaving than when I arrived.   Action first is followed by energy. I don't always feel like doing a meeting. I don't always want to make a call. I have experienced being "at rest" and I haven't always felt like working at building our business. I could go on and on about this principle because I've been there and my guess is so have you.

 

All of us are accountable to ourselves. If you want to double your monthly PV, have a talk with your boss.  If you want to sponsor 3 people a week every week for two months, have a talk with your boss.   If you want to triple your current income, have a talk with your boss. If you want to take positive action, have a talk with your boss. Of course by now you know exactly what's next. Every morning, as you're getting ready for the day, look in the mirror and have a talk with your boss.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Make the right choices

I have a book by Dr. Bob Rotella with the title How Champions Think.  I took this book on the plane ride from Arizona back to Minnesota so I could read what I had underlined. I always mark up a book as I read because when I pick the book up a month or year later I just read the highlights. The following is a quote that struck me so I want to share it with you: "I've worked with exceptionally successful people and they have taught me some things about the minds of exceptional people. They have confirmed my belief that the ideas people choose to have about themselves largely determine the quality of the lives they lead. We can choose to believe in ourselves, and thus to strive, to risk and to achieve. Or we can choose to cling to security and mediocrity. We can choose to set no limits on ourselves, to set high goals and dream big dreams. We can use those dreams to fuel our spirits with passion.    Or we can invent ways to rationalize our failures, inventing excuses for mediocrity."             

 

When I stop to think about the great numbers of people who have come into this business and come from all sorts of backgrounds, most of us are probably not what might be considered exceptional. But then again, maybe all of us are exceptional because we made decisions and we found a company with awesome products, and a opportunity that can and does literally change lives.   We're all in. It's a very exciting journey.   There are millions of people across this country that need what we have. Go find them. It'll take time and effort but you'll never regret working hard and helping people become exceptional.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke
Shaklee Presidential Master Coordinator

www.burkesnews.com
www.garyandfayeburke.blogspot.coml

What do you want?

The following is another nugget found in the little book 212 Degrees  -  The Extra Degree

The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is THE WILL TO TRY IT and the faith to believe it possible.

 

Just think for a minute about what those simple words mean. Maybe even read it again. Better yet, copy those words and keep it in view so you can read it every day for a month or two.  The only thing I would add to that quote is to HAVE THE WILL TO DO IT.

 

Get out a piece of paper and write out 3 to 4 things you want in life.

Then decide what is #1 for you start creating your plan to make it happen. Then DO IT.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

Are you looking for better results?

The following is from a small booklet titled - 212 Degrees - The Extra Degree.

 

At 211 degrees, water is hot.

At 212 degrees, it boils. (1 extra degree)

And with boiling water, comes steam.

And steam can power a locomotive.

It's your life. YOU are responsible for your results.

It's time to turn up the heat

From this day forward, commit to operating at 212 degrees in everything you do. Etch it into your thinking. Apply it to your actions. It guarantees to increase your results positively and in so many cases, increase your results exponentially.

 

 

What will it take?

The following quote comes from the book The Answer by John Assaraf.

 

"There is a difference between being committed to your success and being interested in your success. If you are interested, you will do what's convenient.  If you are committed, you will do whatever it takes and doing whatever it takes is what you need to succeed."

 

What that quote is saying to me is that in order to experience the success we want we will have to do things we've probably never done before, as well as things we don't know how to do yet, or have a fear of doing. I think that pretty much covers all the bases.

 

It is very clear what the fundamentals are for building a successful Shaklee business: asking questions, being a good listener, asking for an appointment to show an idea, learning to give a simple opportunity presentation, following up, following up. Those are the basic fundamentals we must learn to do. So the question is, what do you think might be holding you back from making the kind of progress you desire? The way to conquer fear is to take the action that is fearful to you and then develop that action into one of your major skills.

 

In the beginning this is an attitude business. As action is taken it becomes a skill-based business. Once you develop the skills needed for building this business it gets easier and you will build your confidence and you will succeed.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

What gets measured gets done

There are times when we question our growth in this business. I know I get questions and for the most part what I'm hearing is doubt of some sort. Maybe it's just a lack of confidence. Maybe it's both doubt and a lack of confidence, I really don't know. The point for me is that people want to grow themselves as well as their business. There are webinars to watch, calls to listen to, conference calls you don't want to miss and who knows what else there is that takes our time.

 

A principle comes to mind that I think can help some of you to get on a growth track and really make things happen. The principle is what gets measured gets done.

 

Can you measure what you did last week or last month? I talked with Josh Virkler yesterday and he made a comment about what he did when he first got started. He made a decision to do 30 Shaklee presentations in 30 days and he did it and what he said was his business really started to grow. What do you have planned for the remaining of April? Can you measure it?    

 

Phone calls can be measured as can appointments and presentations. What gets measured gets done. Growth is as simple as that. What will you measure this week? Think about it.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

I asked myself a question

I have been thinking about what message I could send today and I've been sitting here for 15 minutes or so and come up blank in my mind. So I decided to ask myself some questions.  My question was this: what has been one of the key factors for me in building our business over the many years we've been involved? What came to my mind almost immediately was two words.  Comfort zone!

 

When I think back there seem to be so many things I had to learn. I think everyone has a battle with themselves at times and my battle was getting myself out of my comfort zone. I wasn't comfortable with the ideas of approaching people, doing meetings or making sales. My life was rather comfortable before Shaklee but the deciding factor for me to do the things I had to do to build was to accept the idea that I had to get out of my comfort zone.   I recall reading in a book that it's normal to feel kind of anxious and uncomfortable when starting a new project. I could relate with that comment.  

 

Basically the answer for me was simple but not easy. My desire to have a highly successful Shaklee business was greater than the idea to stay comfortable and not step out and learn to do what had to be done. I obviously was willing to get out of my comfort zone and what I learned was it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The principle is this: getting out of our comfort zone is probably the key for changing our future.

 

What might be stopping you from making your future be what you want it to be?  The answer is you probably have to start doing some things that make you feel uncomfortable. Think about it.

 

NOTE:  Faye and I will be in Mexico all of next week so I will not be sending any messages until we return.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke 

Get new momentum

Today's message will be simple and short but hopefully it will challenge you to think about what you want to improve. Another word(s) for improvement could be to "make some changes." What it takes to make changes is simply paying attention to what you've been doing and evaluating your results.  

 

I'm not talking about starting over and making huge changes. What I want to suggest is that you consider the areas you want to make improvements and then simply be willing to make adjustments. Maybe you need some new people coming into your organization. If that is the issue then what adjustments will you have to make to get that ball rolling?      

 

Sit down and think it through or talk to your mentor. Have a discussion about making adjustments and keep it simple and positive. Dream a little. You know the areas you want to improve. Think about it,then do something to get that ball rolling with new momentum.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Want to learn more about setting goals?

There are many things to consider when we want to get a business like Shaklee up and running to the point where it's highly successful. Having personal and business goals certainly are a part of making progress and becoming successful. Before I got started in this business I would have goals in my mind, but to be totally honest, I never, ever wrote my goals out or had a very specific plan for myself to achieve. 

 

What changed for me was when I read a book that said "leaders are readers and readers are leaders." I forget who the author was but I remember very clearly that helped me to become more focused.  I've read countless books since that time but almost every book mentioned goals.  The following are some comments I found in various books over the years:

- What goals would you set if you knew you wouldn't fail?  

- What would you have to change to start working at achievement of your goals?

Everyone has potential deep inside of them to achieve their goals. Everyone has the potential to do better but that potential has to be encouraged. Reading good books are what I have found to be the most helpful because all of those authors have literally become a mentor for me.

 

Master Coordinator Rick Seymour would be one of those authors as he has written a excellent book titled  "God in Your Goals." I would recommend this book in order to learn about goals. Rick is an excellent communicator and anyone who has ever heard him speak would agree with me on that.

 

Oh - a little bird just told me that today Rick Seymour is 70 years young.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK!             rickseymour@comcast.net

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

 

Can you measure your efforts?

This message is kind of a follow up to yesterday's message. If you want to grow I think one of the best things to do is to ask yourself questions, then ask uplines or mentors for help. Here is what I think is a good question to ask yourself: Am I doing the things that can be measured?  Making calls, asking questions, having appointments, giving presentations or telling the Shaklee story, following up, doing or attending in-home events, searching for others who want/need this great opportunity? All are measurable.

 

What are some things that cannot be measured? Our intentions can't be measured, neither can our desire or our purpose be measured. Doubt also can't be measured but it does create questions. You might make your own list of things many of us do that can't be measured.

 

The simple point for today is when you talk to people who are growing they are very willing to tell you what they are doing or have done to make their business work. What I think they will tell you are the things they've done that can be measured.  

 

Think about it.  

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

What brings results?

At times I get questions from someone who has been around this business for a while. Many are sales leaders at various ranks - in other words, they have already proven they not only know what to do to grow, but they also know how to do it. I think what happens along the way is some people just think they are missing something and they are looking for more knowledge or new ideas for growth.

Kenneth Hagin said, "Having knowledge is important but it isn't enough. It's knowledge acted upon that brings results."

My belief is simple. Just think back to what worked for you, or what is working for two or three others and start to develop the skills that make this business work.  The fundamentals. Talk to people about them, ask questions and listen, ask to show them a great idea. Get an appointment, learn to give a simple opportunity presentation and talk about the company, the products and the earning opportunity. Follow up, follow up, follow up. What do we want people to do to learn more? They must evaluate the products, attend area meetings, listen to webinars if available, listen to interesting CDs, watch interesting DVDs, have another appointment with you to answer questions and to go over the steps for getting started. Talk to your upline and / or your mentor and ask for help if you feel the need.

 

Here is my observation for growing.  Most people don't ask for help. They want to do it their way and they don't have a way. More people should ask their leaders for help for getting started and for helping others get started. Then develop the skills you will need to grow yourself and your business.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

Make this a month to remember - set a record

I find that when I read the sports section in the daily newspaper there are times when I find a comment by a coach or player that talks about getting better and doing what it takes to succeed. We all know there aren't any secrets. But there are reasons why some seem to have more success than others. The following quote is from Byron Buxton, a baseball player for the Minnesota Twins, and you might want to keep this in your file for future reference in case you want to send it to someone in your organization who is wondering what it takes to succeed in this business. 

 

"It's going to take a little adjustment but you have to make adjustments to improve yourself, and you have to fail to succeed. I'm just working day to day and trying to get myself better and prepare myself to be able to go out there and do good things."

Do you want to improve yourself?  In what areas? What might you have to adjust in order to improve? The above quote was made because he is being promoted as a future star in the game and he knows what it's going to take to improve. I'm impressed with the words, "you have to fail to succeed." Bullseye!  Correct! A fact! At times I wonder why more people don't accept the idea that failure, or learning lessons, is very simply just a part of the process for growth.   

 

It's April and I have a suggestion. If you want to make this a special month for you and your business, get out there and set a record for most failures in a month.  Why not? You'll grow. Your business will grow. Most of all you'll be an incredible example for many people.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke