All of us have them. And whether we’re constantly aware of them or not, they shape our lives. And while most of the population today doesn’t think about the impact they have on their destiny, the rich have discovered how to cultivate them and use them to their advantage. What are they? Habits.
Why Bad Habits Are Like Thieves
We all have habits that we consider bad, such as smoking, always being late, or even procrastinating when something important needs to be done. Why are bad habits bad? Because they rob you of something. Smoking robs you of your health and takes years off your life. Constantly being late to meetings, functions and appointments robs you of respect and credibility. And, procrastination can rob you of the best possible outcome of a situation. In short, bad habits are like thieves that rob you of riches. Your riches are not just monetary, though the thieving bad habits can rob you of monetary riches too. Your riches also include your health and your time.
Good Habits Bring Riches
Bad habits are not choosy about the riches they rob from you. They’ll rob you of all of them. Consider smoking, for example. It takes time to smoke a cigarette, and if you’re in a public place you will probably need to go outside to smoke. Thus, you’re losing time as you stand outside to smoke. Your health is also being compromised. And finally, your wallet will also feel the pinch every time you buy another pack of cigarettes. A single bad habit, such as smoking, can rob you of several different kinds of riches.
Good habits are the ones you want to cultivate. Good habits bring you riches rather than robbing you of them. Consider these good habits: flossing, eating healthy foods, exercising, getting enough rest. Most would agree that these are good habits to have. These habits will keep you healthy, and when you’re healthy and feeling well you are able to focus on other areas of your life such as work and relationships. On the other hand, when you’re not feeling well all you can think about is feeling better, and this takes your focus off of the other areas of your life.
The rich successfully cultivate good habits on a regular basis. They get up early, exercise, eat healthy, and make it a point to get the day’s work done. If they got up late, ate junk food and watched tv instead of getting their work done they would not be rich. They would all be a bunch of poor slobs living paycheck to paycheck like most other people.
How To Cultivate Good Habits Like The Rich Do
Cultivating good habits is not difficult. In fact, it’s an easy thing to do. The first step is to decide which good habit you would like to cultivate. To cultivate a habit means that you begin doing it, and you keep doing it until it becomes second nature to you – like breathing.
To bring this into perspective, let’s say you would like to write a booklet but you’ve been putting it off. The habit of procrastination has been robbing you of the riches a booklet would bring to you. You must make the decision that you won’t put if off any longer. Creating a good habit and cultivating it begins with a decision.
Once you’ve decided to write your booklet, you must then begin to write it. You may need to do some research first. That’s ok. Research is part of writing sometimes. The point is, you’ve stopped the bad habit of procrastination and now you’re moving forward.
But, a decision isn’t a habit. In order for this decision to lead to a habit you must make another decision. You must decide that you will work on your booklet every day until it is finished. After a few days of doing this and seeing progress, your habit will be set and you won’t want to break it. You’ll be pleased with progress you’ve made and you will want to continue.
Habits Will Make Or Break Your Booklet Business
Once you’ve completed your booklet, you will have a product to sell. The process of selling that product becomes your business. If you don’t have good habits, you won’t have a business. Every step in your business will require good habits.
Think of it this way. Remember when you were in school? In order to graduate you had to cultivate some good habits. Those habits included showing up on time, studying, and turning your completed work in on time. You might also have cultivated the habit of asking questions. Without these habits, you would not have graduated to the next level. You would have been held back because you did not complete the requirements to move forward.
Business works the same way. And, because a booklet business is your own business, you won’t have anyone telling you what to do and when to do it. Therefore, you must be even more diligent about developing and cultivating good habits.
You can do it. Start by making a list, mentally or written, of all the habits holding you back from what you want. Resolve to replace those habits with good habits that will get you moving forward. Then, implement your new habits and stick to them. It may take a little time, but soon you’ll see real progress and the riches will begin to flow to you as a result.
Cultivate the habits of the rich and be rich! Cultivate the habits of the poor, and be poor. The choice is yours.
To your riches!
Kim
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You Don’t Have To Be A Celebrity Like Farrah Fawcett Or Michael Jackson To Make A Difference
June 26, 2009 · Leave a Comment
If you’re reading this right now, then congratulations. You’ve been given another day. The question is, what will you do with it?
Not everyone has made it to this day. Most notably, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, who both died yesterday. But, they are only two of many who died yesterday. We know about Farrah’s and Micheal’s deaths because they lived such public lives. But, there are many people, worldwide, who died yesterday whose names we do not know. I wonder what kind of legacy each of them left behind.
As an author you have the opportunity to help others by bringing them information they need. Being an author gives you a kind of star status. It’s a well known fact that the general public views authors as celebrities. What will you do with that celebrity status? Will you use it to help others?
If you’re reading this and you haven’t started your booklet yet, if you’ve continually put it off, now is the time to write it.
If your booklet is finished and it’s sitting, it’s time to get busy and get it into the hands of those who need it.
Time is the one asset we can’t control. You don’t have all the time in the world. The only time you have, and the only time you will ever have, is right now. Farrah Fawcett knew her time was short. She created a film to help others with cancer, and to help those whose lives have never been touched by the disease to understand what cancer does to a person. She allowed the cameras to capture some very difficult moments – moments that anyone else probably would not have wanted on film. It was a very courageous thing to do. Her final legacy isn’t the tv shows or films she made, and it isn’t the posters that made her famous. Farrah’s final legacy is one of a true desire to help others.
Micheal Jackson, however, died suddenly and as I understand it, unexpectedly. He didn’t have any foreknowledge that the day he died would be his last day. I wonder what he might have done differently if he had known.
The point is you need to make every moment count. You don’t have to be a huge celebrity like Farrah or Micheal to make a difference. As a booklet author, you can make a great difference in the life of someone else. It doesn’t matter if the world doesn’t know who you are. If only matters that your market knows, and that your booklet is helpful to them.
Today is here. You’ve got right now. How will YOU use this time?
To your riches!
Kim
PS: Like this post? Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon. And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post. Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!
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Tagged: Farrah Fawcett, time management, why write a booklet