How to unlock your potential

Most of us  have potential to do better at building this business. The message this AM is simple and very meaningful.

 

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

- Winston Churchill

 

Continuous effort. Keeping at it. Do something everyday. Being consistent.  Simple. Don't allow distractions to take you from your goals. Be consistent with your efforts and you'll see change taking place in a short period of time.

 

What's on your schedule to do today? 

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke 

Being prepared takes time

Abraham Lincoln said, "Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I'll spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe."

 

What this quote says to me is that it takes work just to get ready to do an important job. Have you taken time to give thought to what you really your future to look like? Have you taken time to think about what your very specific goals are for you to accomplish? Did you put your goals on paper? Do you look at your goals every day? Have you asked your mentor questions for what has to be  accomplished? Have you decided exactly how many hours you are willing to commit to work your plan? Every week! Do you have a specific outline that answers all the previous questions? Do you attend 1 webinar a week?

 

What the quote says is simple but powerful. It's about being prepared. It's about getting yourself ready to do the work. Once you're really ready, it's time to start doing what it takes to build your business. It's worth your time to be prepared.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

 

 

 

Moving out of our comfort zone

Everyone has their comfort zone which just means we have mental boundaries that for the most part gives us mental signals that maybe we shouldn't accept that challenge because we aren't very good at what there is to do.

 

The following is an excerpt from "Shaken" by Tim Tebow, which I just finished reading.

 

"When is the last time you did something different?  Something beyond your comfort zone.  Something that wasn't familiar but could do a world of good in the life of another?  When you stay put in your comfort zone, you don't grow.  You don't stretch.  You're not challenged.  You stay the same.  Stagnant.

 

When you are constantly challenged out side your comfort zone, eventually you become comfortable in that larger space.   When we do something that stretches who we are, that demands courage, that pulls us into unfamiliar territory, we grow."

 

I think it's fair to say that most of us came into this business without the skills to do what has to be done. I know that is certainly the case for me. It was a challenge to make calls, get appointments, give a presentation, learn the compensation plan. As the above quote says, it was a challenge to say the least.  

 

To move forward and become what we're capable of becoming takes courage. But it's worth the effort. One of the best things about this business is the personal growth we experience when we accept the challenges we have growing this business.

 

So how does someone experience personal growth? Stretch yourself. Accept the small or large challenges.  You'll be glad you did.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Ideas about what leaders do

I learned early that leadership is what's at the heart of this business and after all these years I still believe that is true.  Leaders help shape opinions because they are out front making things happen and people learn the business by watching and listening to people who grow personally as well as the business.

 

This following statement by John Addison is about leaders and what they really do.

 

"A leader can't be talented and skilled at everything. Nobody is. Being a real leader doesn't mean you're the one who knows how to do it all.  It means you're the one who knows how to get it done.   How to get it done always means working with the talent and skills of others."

 

I love that idea because that's how I learned this business. I believe I have certain strengths but I certainly am not skilled at everything. I have learned from others and have done meetings with other leaders who are way better doing certain things than I am. 

 

So maybe what this message is saying is, It doesn't matter who get's the credit.   "Just get'er done."  

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Just some thoughts and ideas

I received a few questions and comments about personal development and what it is and how a person gets better. I'm going to give you some words and phrases I've found over the years that to me relate to personal development.

 

Words that help to describe personal development:

Confidence

Determination

Attitude

Experience

Work ethic

belief....how we think.

 

Sight is a function of the eyes. Vision is a function of the heart. What kind of vision do you have for yourself and your business?

 

If we don't think differently, we can't live differently.

 

Most problems start in our inner life or our thought life.

 

Growth is sustained change. (definition: to carry on, to support, to maintain) 

Our worst enemy is our comfort zone.

 

Limiting beliefs are what stops people from making progress.

 

I hope you will read over and think about the words and ideas about personal growth. The better you get the easier it gets.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

 

Do you want to be something different?

There is one word that has potential to make an incredible difference for anyone who truly wants things to be different.  Think for a minute about the word change.  That word has been meaningful for everyone in a variety of ways because we've all experienced change in some way. 

 

Jim Rohn said "if you change yourself, you can change your life." What is it that you would like to see change? Yourself?  Your business? Your future? How about changing your effort? Your skills? All it takes is a decision, but it has to be your decision. No one but you can make that commitment.

 

Change is kind of scary because it means we will have to be uncomfortable for a short period of time and most of us don't like being uncomfortable so we avoid stepping out over that line that creates change. So let's start thinking about what it is that we want to change.  1._____________________________

             2._____________________________

 

Now it's a matter of making a simple plan and identify what you have to start doing.    Draw that line, then step over it. Some will have to fight doubt and negativity.   But fight back and start. Just get started.

 

Remember, every day is be nice to yourself day.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

Row the boat

The U of Minnesota has a new football coach and his name is P. J. Fleck.   I heard an interview of him and it's easy to see that this guy is going to be a very exciting coach. He has expectations about the effort he wants from his players. Time will tell. Below is what coach Fleck said in an interview:

 

"When you're rowing a boat, you can't see where you're going....Your back is toward the future, you can't control it.  You're rowing in the present, which is the only thing you can control," Fleck said.  "But you're looking at the past, which is the only thing you can't change - but you have to learn from it."

 

Very interesting to me and I hope to you as well. Read it slowly. Imagine yourself in a row boat with some of your team and each person is rowing with their back facing the future, but everyone rowing is looking at the past.  As is said, we must learn from the past, not focus on the past.

 

The point is, there is a great future for those who keep rowing regardless of their past. It takes work to grow but those of us who decide this year will be different will make things happen.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Maybe this is the secret

A few years ago I read something along the lines of the following.   There are only a couple things that really count:

1. what happens

2. what we do with it.

 

I don't know why I remember that but I think it's because what happens always seems to be a challenge. Of course there are many positive things that happen to us and for us. It really does come down to how we respond in our minds about what's happened.

 

Of course it's easy to respond to all things that would fall into the positive.   We welcome the positive. We love the positive. Then there are the negative or I would rather say the challenging things that seem to take place. 

 

May 1, 1970 was the first day I ever heard the word Shaklee. I had no idea if it were true but I got excited about the possibilities of what my sponsor was saying on that day. I decided to find out if what I heard was really true. Of course I learned it was true. But it was also very challenging because I had never done anything like this business.

 

I've learned that being willing to accept the challenges that come our way is really the answer. That's right, accepting challenges in my mind is the secret to succeed at anything. Think about it!

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Something to think about

The following quote is probably the most powerful and accurate one I have ever found.  It's simple. It's short. And I think every person can relate to it at some time in their life.

"I must say a word about fear.  It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life."

                                                         Yann Martel

 

I know that I can certainly think back to many, many times when I didn't do something because of the fear factor.   After reading these simple words several times, there is no doubt in my mind that this is what stops the majority of people from growing this business.

 

Think about it. We have products that are awesome to say the least, and they help people in many ways. There is a compensation plan that suggests we can earn thousands of dollars part time or build an incredible business that will make life easier. There are incentives that say a person can travel to unique parts of the world. How about the idea of earning a car payment?

 

What stops people from growing themselves and / or this business?

We have to make calls, we must learn how to get an appointment. 

We must tell the Shaklee story, we must offer people the opportunity of a better life.

 

I do believe that the quote is absolutely 100% correct that says, "only fear can defeat life." Think about it.

 

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

 

 

 

 

Are you ready?

Get ready, get set, GO!  I sent a message a few months ago but I want to repeat it as a reminder that we must be willing to do whatever it takes to grow this business.   

 

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Dream!  Discover how great you can become."

H. Jackson Brown

 

I think the above quote says what needs to be said. Make 2017 your best year ever. What do you want to get done during 2017?

                 1.___________________________                 2.___________________________

 

Enthusiastically,  

Gary Burke

 

Extra!

Greetings and welcome to the new year. Remember, the possibilities are awesome - it's all up to you. Ideas are below.

2017 Shaklee Goals & Objectives

 

What rank do you want to achieve in 2017?  

 

What incentives would you like to achieve? 

 

What would you like to be earning per month from your Shaklee business by June, 2017? 

 

By December, 2017? 

 

What do you want to achieve for yourself through your success in your Shaklee business in 2017?

1. 

2.

3. 

 

(Things like:  take the entire extended family on a week’s vacation together; establish a college fund for your children or grandchildren; pay off credit card debts; buy a second car; give away $100 bills every month to strangers; establish an investment portfolio—fund an IRA, set up Money Market account, etc; go to a day spa—all day!; go snorkeling with whale sharks; make a career change;  buy a place/cabin/condo up north or down south or out west.)

 

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