You Must Believe

In the world of achievement and performance perhaps the most talked about quality is Belief.  For today, we will focus on that one fact.

Maxell Maltz wrote Psycho-Cybernetics over forty years ago, yet this classic book still speaks to us today. 

You have to believe you will get

what you are going for or you

will never get anything you go for.

~Dr. Maxwell Maltz

It all boils down to belief.  Are you a believer?

Is what you aim for within grasp, or is it pie-in-the-sky?  If I wanted to be a ballet dancer, that would be foolish thinking.  There is no way I could become a ballet dancer at this point in my life. 

However, if I wanted to become a published author, I can do that. 

If your goals and dreams are properly placed and stated, then with enough work, concentration, and focus I do believe you can achieve some measure of success as you pursue these goals and dreams.  

Just be sure and add the belief factor. 

You have to believe.  No room for unbelievers. 

Unbelievers fail.  They fall short.   They get lost on the trail.

Believe.

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Step Up to the Plate

The baseball phrase “Step up to the plate” has some applications for us in other areas of our lives. 

When we “step up to the plate,” that means we are ready for full engagement.  We are in the game and ready to face whatever is pitched our way. 

Love the idea of “full engagement”.  If we step up, then we should be watchful.  What’s coming next?  Tune out the crowd noise, for they only want to distract you.  Tune out the chatter from the catcher.  He only wants to mislead you, redirect you, get your focus off focus. 

Engage

     Focus

          Attention

               Preparation

These are the mental steps that happen before and while we are at the plate.  

Remember the aspect of being “prepared for the next level” when we consider the “plate” metaphor. 

Sometimes, we show our metal and mental abilities when we step up and we get promoted to the next level.  Then we really have stepped up to the plate.  

I hope you find yourself able, willing and always ready to step up to the plate and hit the winning run. 

That will make your day any day of the week.

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Explore Yourself

This may sound like a negative, but hang on – it gets good.

The Premise-

When you’re lying on your deathbed,

one of the really cool things to say is,

“I really explored myself.”

~Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.

When you come to the end, the idea is to have used up everything within you.  If we have our music still inside of us, we have wasted some of life.

And this is not about music – it’s about living life full and out loud.  In the movie Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams does an abridged version of the great Thoreau quote:

“I went to the woods because I

wanted to live deliberately,

I wanted to live deep and

suck out all the marrow of life …

“ … to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

Gotta love that. 

I have discovered that I am a multi-layered, multi-faceted individual who can do a lot of different things.  I’ve discovered my passion along the way and now I am focused on what I want and am headed for it like a straight arrow. 

Are you in the process of sucking the marrow out of life?

Are you living life without regrets?

Let me tell you a story:

There once was a master violinist who had to sell his finely crafted violin.  After selling it he vowed one day to buy it back.

Time passed.

He saved his money and was finally able to visit the pawn shop.  Unfortunately, it has been sold to a collector who wanted to place it in a shadow box and hung on his wall.

The violinist visited the collector and pleaded with him to sell him back his violin.  The collector refused.  In desperation, the virtuoso asked if he could at least play his violin one last time before it became a collector’s piece, never to be heard from again.

The collector agreed. 

The virtuoso tuned the strings and began playing.  As the music filled the room, the collector’s heart was softened and he agreed to give the violin back to the master violinist.  He could not deprive the world of the lovely music from this fine musical instrument.  He could not let the violin sit in silence. 

Please don’t sit in silence. 

Get your music out – whatever kind of music you make. 

Do you write books?  Write, my friend.  Write.

Do you build buildings?  Build the finest you can build.

Do you work on computers?  Be the best computer repair-person the world has ever seen.

When you come to your end, I want you to be able to say with joy and confidence …

“I really explored myself.”

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is an important concept.  Let’s explore this idea.

Mindfulness deals with tuning into self and focusing on others.  We will consider both aspects.

Self-mindfulness

Are you mindful of “self” and your needs, of what’s right and good for you, and how you care for yourself?

Can you tell when foods are good for you or which foods cause an interruption in your system?

Are you mindful of your key indicators for good health?

I recently had a reaction to a cholesterol prescription.  I didn’t need my doctor to tell me to quit taking it. I noticed the bad effect and made the change.

We are mindful of these things. 

Others Mindfulness 

Can you read body language?  This skill would stand you in good stead if you interact with people for a living.  Do you know buying signals?  Do you know rejection signals? 

What are the signals that your mate is happy, or sad, or wants to be left alone?

Mindfulness is not a hocus-pocus mystical trick.  Oh no.  It is a real fact of life and something we should tune into. 

Great comedians become experts at crowd mindfulness.  They know in a few seconds when a crowd is with them and into their routine, and if not, the better ones are quick to change gears and win the crowd, or they lose their appeal.

See the importance of mindfulness?

Wish I had three easy steps to more mindfulness that I could offer you.  You know what?  You’re smart enough to figure this one out for yourself.

Just become a noticer.  Analyze data, signals, responses, and you’ll become an expert in mindfulness in your world. 

Really!

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

People Buy You First

Zig Ziglar said it.

          Brian Tracy says it.

                    Earl Nightingale said it.

All great trainers and speakers say it.

Have you ever heard of “the critical first two minutes?”  Those are the first 30-seconds to two minutes of time that it takes a new customer, friend, client or neighbor to determine if they like you, trust you, will listen to you and will want to continue in relationship with you tomorrow.

We speak from the moment we show up.  Our dress, our posture, our facial expressions, our mannerisms, our tone of voice and a thousand other factors all speak about whom we are and what we represent.

Make sure you master this principle.  You are being judged by it every day of your life. 

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

A People Skills Tip

Love this thought.

Fact:

~People want to feel worthwhile in life. 

~Compliments affirm people and make them strong.

~Encouragement is oxygen to the soul.  

~George Matthew Adams

~Compliments in front of others are the most effective ones you can give.

Improve your serve … compliment and encourage another person.

P Michael Biggs

UP-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

PQT

People who find time to have reflective moments are onto something.  When we can take the time to quiet the noise of our world, we might be amazed with the quality and quantity of thoughts that begin surfacing during those quiet moments.  And they are known to continue throughout the day.

Dan Brown and Dr. Maxwell Maltz offer this idea in Psycho-Cybernetics:

“Spend 15 minutes a day in your mental foxhole.  Find time in your schedule that is simply for thought and reflection.  Make it your personal retreat space and preserve and protect this mental space and time.”

They call this: – PQT - Personal Quiet time

Dan tells of a man he knows who rented a small office fifteen minutes from his main office.  It was equipped with a comfortable chair, a lamp and table holding note pads and pen. 

As often as he could, this man would retreat to his PQT office and sit for fifteen-thirty minutes.  As he reflected, with the light off, he was seeking ideas and thoughts to enhance his life and business.  When an idea emerged, he turned on the light, wrote a quick outline of the idea, and then resumed his darkened retreat time.

Worth considering.

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time