Hang In There by Gerry Robert

"Don't sweat the small stuff. Remember, it's all small stuff."

Life can be tough on a person. It can be tough on a family. So many people lack the mental ability to hang in there in the tough times. You can control your thoughts. You can practice perspective by changing the way you interpret your circumstances, situations, and environments. "The task is not to see a new world but to see the world with new eyes." The person who can change the way they view their world will win without fail.

John Milton said, "The mind in itself, in its own place, can make a hell out of heaven and heaven out of hell." You will experience in life the results of the dominant thoughts within your mind.

Don't believe it? Let me tell you a story.

A stranger chanced upon several workers in a small town in Italy. Curious and interested, he began to inquire from the workers as to what they were doing. "I'm laying bricks", said the first worker. After a few minutes of idle chat, he asked of another, "What are you doing? Laying bricks, eh?" The other worker, somewhat indignantly responded, with shoulders straight and firmness of voice, "Laying bricks? No, sir. I am building a cathedral." Both workers were working on the same job. One saw his tasks as laying brick upon brick upon brick, while the other one saw a work being offered to the Glory of God.

Two people, two perspectives! Why is it that some salespeople choose to see the worst in a situation while others choose to see the best in the same situation? Why do some people constantly see what's gone wrong while others look for what's right? Which one do you think will succeed further on this great journey we're on?

Everyone has obstacles. Everyone needs perspective in the face of those challenges. Your response to dealing with the storms of life will dictate the results you achieve. What follows are practical solutions to dealing with those times in life when everything seems to be going the opposite to your preferences.

Challenges of life will come. The only place on earth that we know of where there are no problems is a cemetery. Everywhere else will be hit by the storms of life. If you remember that there is something to learn in every problem, then you can learn to grow by the storms rather than being crushed by them.

W. Mitchell said, "It's not what happens to us that counts, it's what happens in us." He was right and he should know. His story of courage (he was seriously burned and later survived a plane crash that left him paralyzed) is an inspiration of someone who has sought to become better through adversity. Mitchell is probably one of the most 'up' people on the planet, largely due to the lessons he learned about life and how to live it while recuperating from his injuries.

Take a good look at the obstacles in your path. Instead of cursing them and wishing them away, ask yourself what you can learn from your situation. How can you become a better person through your obstacles? Someone once said that we go on experiencing life's lessons until we learn what we need to learn, and then we can move on. Remember, above every stormy cloud is a bright sun which never fades.

There is something to learn in every adversity!

Hang In There And Find the Gem

There are two sides to every coin. The Chinese call this the Yin/Yang principle. Every negative has a positive opposite. You just have to look for it. One person's disaster will become the vehicle for another person to become wealthy. See your challenges in life as blessings in disguise and try to uncover the hidden opportunities.

During the Great Depression, not everyone went belly-up. Some people actually became rich. When you see a problem, you also need to see an opportunity. One of the fastest ways to become wealthy is to solve someone's problems or difficulties.

Many successful businesses today have been born out of someone's problem. Take the man who took surplus sawdust from the lumber mills free of charge and formulated several wood-burning products from it. He saw that lumber yards had a problem with excess sawdust. They didn't know what to do with it. He acted and began a wonderful business.

"If it's going to be... It's up to me."

Hang In There And Be Patient

Every problem will go away. Either it will change or you will. No problem is permanent. It can't be permanent because everything is in a constant state of flux; everything changes. Worry is useless. Instead, of being ready to give in, just remember that every problem has a limited lifespan. Things will get better. Seek to grow.

"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert Schuller

How about Communism? Or the Berlin Wall? Who could have guessed that within days, the entire Berlin Wall could be demolished? Within weeks, Communism would crumble. A problem which many people feared would plague the earth for centuries disappeared in a flash.

Look at your problem and ask, "Will this matter in five years from now?" "What about next year?"

"Worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere."

Hang In There And Think

THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS, THERE'S ONLY A SHORTAGE OF IDEAS.

Problems are not the problem. Ideas are the problem. Every single problem, challenge, or storm you face today has as its solution an idea waiting to be used. If you could only understand that the only thing standing between your current problem and the wiping away of it is nothing but an idea.

So get your eyes off your problems and onto the solution. You may not be able to do anything about what has happened, but you surely can and should do something about finding a solution. That solution may seem like a fantasy right now, but keep in mind that the airplane was nothing but a fantasy until two brothers started searching for ideas to solve their fantasy. Fantasies can become facts.

It was Christmas Eve. The large country church was filling up. The air was worshipful and festive. Families came from far and wide to enjoy the majestic organ playing the beautiful carol of the holidays. But suddenly a problem arose.

The service was about to begin when the organist discovered that a church mouse had chewed through the inner workings of the massive air chamber. With only minutes to spare, the organist quickly composed a replacement carol which he played on his old acoustic guitar.

The cords were simple and the melody sweet. That evening was the first time the world had ever heard the famous carol Silent Night. By focusing on the solution instead of the problem, the end result was spectacular.

Hang In There And Be Grateful

EVERYONE HAS PROBLEMS.

"The man with no shoes grumbled in the street, until he met the man with no feet."

You're not alone. Even the most together people have storms to face. In fact, the people who are winning the most in life often have the biggest challenges in front of them. The people who win the most in life are often the biggest risk-takers.

Since you're not alone, why not align yourself with others who may be facing what you are facing? You could perhaps solve your problems together.

Upon returning from an extended international business trip, I had an overwhelming amount of urgent telephone messages to respond to. Most of the calls were from successful business contacts or partners who were waiting upon my direction for projects we were working on at the time. It was the last thing I wanted to deal with; I was tired and just wanted to relax, but I had to.

I quickly put things into perspective when I realized that this is a problem I would have given anything to have only a few years ago. I was successful and people wanted to work with me. My point is that the more successful we become, the greater the challenge. Never forget that the greater the obstacle, the greater the opportunity.

Gerry Robert is a bestselling author of "The Millionaire Mindset" and a seminar speaker.

Change Your Life by Gerry Robert

Most people lack direction in their lives. They don't give any time to considering what they really want out of life. They accept what is sent their way. They accept their results as a fact of life. What if things could be different? They can!

Ask any poor senior citizen if they wrote out clear, measurable goals for their lives when they were younger. You can imagine what the answer will be. Now, for contrast, ask a person who reaches the golden years without any financial worries. People who reach this period of life financially fit have probably developed and stuck with a plan which included goal setting.

Potential

We can do so much more than we give ourselves credit for. We have an incredible, unlimited resource available to us. It would shock the average person if they knew just how much they could achieve in life if they but tried, if they used what they had available. Because most people do not understand how much potential they have, they limit their aspirations to the level at which they know they can presently achieve.

It is well known that a sudden fright or danger will release every particle of energy to perform incredible feats of strength. A number of years ago, a Los Angeles newspaper published an amazing story of a woman named Francis Avita. She was a frail 100-pound woman who lifted an automobile, the portion of which weighed over 900 pounds, off the head of her brother, and saved his life. Lifting that automobile would have been an incredible feat for even a rugged 200-pound football player, but she summoned up superhuman strength upon the command of her mind.

If you could have anything you wanted in life, what would it be? If you could do anything you wanted, or be whatever you wanted, what would you choose?

Understand this, you can have, do, or be, anything you want.

A colleague, Dr. Lee Pulos, a clinical psychologist and leading authority in the area of the mind, reports that in order for change to occur, there are three basic elements that must be present: Desire, Expectation, and Imagination. Let's look at these elements.

1. Desire

You must want something to change. Desire is the unexpressed possibility of an idea wishing to be expressed. Don't limit your desires to what you think you can have. You must give yourself a chance to dream and to risk.

When an Egyptian shepherd boy was given charge of a flock of sheep, he was told, "The pool on the other side of the hill is for emergency only. Its water is limited, so don't use it unless other sources dry up." An extremely hot spell brought on the emergency, so the boy led his flock to the pool. Although the sheep drank from the pool all day long, the water maintained its original level.

The shepherd investigated the strange situation and made a curious discovery: the pool was fed by an underground stream. As the water was removed from the top of the pool, the underground pressure was activated into streaming upward. In other words, the pool had a constant and limitless source of supply.

A man's desire or mental powers are also limitless. "Then why," comes the logical question, "do the majority of men and women lead such limited lives?" The answer can also be found in the story of the pool: the majority of men and women never really investigate their potentialities.

They wrongly assume that what they presently do is all that they can ever do. They falsely believe that tomorrow must be as unsuccessful as today. So, they sadly accept self-limitation. And as long as people accept limitation, they will not be motivated to discover the great opportunities that lie ahead of them.

Desire is the missing element to open the door to their wealth.

2. Expectation

You must know and expect that what you are doing will work with repetition. Never desire something you don't expect and never expect something you don't desire. A young man who experienced great misfortune confessed that he bought an astrology magazine that morning. It said that there was great danger of an automobile accident, and to be very careful.

The young man said that he was charged with fear, and shook all over when he read it. He didn't want to drive that day, but he had to go to an important audition and the only way to go was by car. He had three accidents that day, injuring one man seriously. He was suffering from shock himself, and also received some contusions and lacerations. His car was badly damaged.

"What I greatly fear has come upon me," Job said in the Bible. His great fear brought on these accidents. He planted seeds of fear in his mind, and harvested the results in his life.

Robert Schuller once asked, "What great thing would you attempt if you knew that you couldn't fail?"

3. Imagination

Create mental movies of your desired goal. It's just as easy to dream for a supermarket as it is for a loaf of bread. Your goals may centre on physical, mental, monetary, or personal growth. You can work with many different goals simultaneously, but you must work through a series of steps in programming each goal for successful attainment.

A number of years ago, in a European nation, an extraordinary event occurred. Scientists were given permission to experiment on a criminal who was sentenced to death.

The criminal was informed that he was to bleed to death. He was placed on a table, with his eyes blindfolded. A small incision was made on his arm, but not deep enough to actually allow blood to flow. A small stream of warm running water was allowed to trickle down his arm into a basin, which he felt and heard distinctly.

The scientists began making remarks on the progress of the bleeding and his growing weakness. They commented on how the man was now approaching death. The man died in a short time, and suffered all the symptoms of a person who had bled to death. His subconscious mind actually created a reality based on false information from his imagination.

Gerry Robert is a bestselling author of "The Millionaire Mindset" and a seminar speaker.

The 6-Step Process For Developing Discipline In Your Life by Gerry Robert

Step 1: Identify one habit or area you would like to become more disciplined in.

The first step is to identify one specific behavior you would like to change. It should be written in behavior style. It should describe something you now do that you would like to stop doing or something you now don't do consistently and would like to do regularly.

You can use this step to describe the outcome you would like to accomplish. You must however, confine each worksheet to one specific issue or behavior. Attempting to do too much may be discouraging. Each worksheet will take you through this 6-step process. It only applies to one issue per worksheet.

Step 2: Find role models.

Ask yourself, "Who is doing it right?" By identifying one or more people who have discipline in this area you will see that if others can do it so can you. The people you list in this section need not be personal acquaintances of yours. You may not know them personally at all. They may be alive or dead. The point here is to cause you to think about specific people whom you believe had control in this area. People you will emulate.

Step 3: List the benefits of becoming self-disciplined in this area.

Now ask yourself, "What's in it for me?" You want to consider why you want to develop in this area. By listing the rewards you will be willing to work harder. You need to feel, smell, taste, see and touch exactly what it will be like once you are strong in this area.

Step 4: Consider the danger zones.

You now need to consider where you might fall. You need to give some thought to the danger zones. You know that if you are going to become more disciplined you will be tempted to fall off the wagon, to be led astray, to procrastinate. If you have been attempting to become more self-disciplined for some time, you know that for you there is a pattern of failure to comply. What happens for you? You start off strongly, then before you know it, you are doing the very things you said you wouldn't or you stopped doing the things you said you would and know you should.

Step 5: Use Advanced Decision-Making.

You cannot win in life if you are controlled by whimsical or situational decision-making. If you are to succeed in life, you will need to consider in advance, how you will live your life.

In this step you will need to give some thought to what specific actions you will need to take to accomplish the goal listed in Step 1. For example, if you wanted to become more disciplined in the area of exercise, one decision made in advance could be a decision to exercise every morning upon waking for 45 minutes.

Step 6: Enroll a support team.

This step is by far one of the most crucial. If you don't do this step, you are cheating yourself out of the real power behind this system. It is vital for you to finally becoming the strong and self-disciplined person you know you can and should be. Resist the temptation to avoid this step because it may be different from what you are used to or even comfortable doing. It will literally change your life.

What this will do is force you to do what you said you would and know you should. Find someone to call you at least once a week. Allow yourself to become accountable to this person. This has literally transformed my life and that of my students worldwide.

Gerry Robert is a bestselling author of "The Millionaire Mindset" and a seminar speaker.

The Power To Stand Alone by Gerry Robert

"If everyone is going left, I'm going right."

The Inversarian Principle very simply states that you should observe the masses, and do the opposite. In business terms, that means when the masses are buying gold, you should be selling it. When they are buying real estate, you should be selling.

And of course, when the masses are selling, you should be buying. But The Inversarian Principle goes far beyond business. When the masses are going in one direction, you should always go the opposite way. The masses are wrong about wealth. Most of the population is unhealthy, unhappy, and broke. What could you possibly gain by following them?

Most people are like a flock of ducks that are flying across the sky. Very seldom does a duck stop to wonder if the flock is going in the right direction. They just fall into line and follow the flock. Doesn’t it make sense that a duck who follows the flock will end up exactly where the flock is headed? Of course! And when was the last time that you saw one duck change his direction, and take off the opposite way? Not too often.

We must understand, that the reality of the masses quite simply states that the masses will end up broke and dependant on others for their survival. And if we follow the flock, that's where we will end up as well. To break this pattern, we must be like the lone duck who turns in the opposite direction, and heads away from the pack. Sounds difficult doesn’t it? It is! But the rewards will pay off for the rest of your life.

Soon, you will be flying much higher in the sky, and enjoying the life you create and not the one the masses dictate.

This principle is so obvious when you look at the literature or marketing materials of most salespeople. I do a lot of work with estate agents. One thing I constantly harp on is differentiation. Still, this industry, like almost every other, is plagued with sameness. Sameness is one of the fastest ways to loose in selling. Differentiation one of the fastest ways to win.

In real estate, for example, so many agents use the exact same approach. They almost all use the stupid, silly slogan, “Thinking of Buying or Selling? Call me!” Give me a break.You must do things that no one in your industry does. Don’t go to the same conferences as everyone else. For example, if you are selling tractors, go to the Airline Industry trade show. If you are smart, you can pick up all kinds of ideas from that show and win big in selling tractors.

The Winner’s Challenge

You must be an Inversarian. Observe the masses, and do the inverse. We recommend not even consulting others for important matters. By others, we mean other ducks, who don’t have the results you want in life. Sure, you should get advice, but make sure you get advice from the right type of person. The criteria is results.

Why do broke people ask other broke people for opinions or advice on how not to be broke? Heck, if they had any inclination about money, do you think they’d be broke?

Why do people go to sick, overweight doctors who smoke, for medical advice? The last person who can help you to health is an unhealthy doctor. Could you learn anything from a financial planner who is not rich? Ironically, most financial planners are far from wealthy.

Many people live their lives always worrying about what their family and friends think of them. Chances are, they don’t think at all. That’s the problem. They live their lives according to the way they think that their friends and family think that they should live. As soon as someone says, “I’m tired of being average, I want to soar with the eagles,” the masses, the flock of ducks that they are with, will try to drag them down with their meaningless quacking.

Understand this…what anyone thinks of you is none of your business.

At the end of the day, you must answer to yourself. At retirement, you will either have the life that you want for your family, or you will not. Others will have no solution for you at that point.

As you journey higher into the sky to join the eagles, you will find that there are two basic fears that are motivating your friends and family to try to stop you. Your family, in most cases, is motivated with good intent. They are living by the mindset of the masses, and they are not aware of their own inner strength, let alone yours. Their fear of your failure is greater than their excitement about your success.

You must step out of the mould, despite their advice. Often times your friends, on the other hand, have a much more selfish motivation for trying to keep you in the flock. They live by the mindset of the masses as well. They believe that in order to get ahead in life, one is either lucky or a con artist.

The masses also spend their lives blaming others for their failure. It’s the prospect’s fault, it’s the government's fault, it’s the recession, it’s his fault, or it’s her fault. Many failures believe that the reason they are where they are is because of their lack of education, or opportunity. In truth, none of the above could be further from reality.We are responsible for our own lives. We choose our own pathway to walk by the decisions we make every day.

When you tell your friends that you are going to soar with the eagles, and make great things happen in your life, you may find that they are not as excited as you are about your new plans. You see, when you become successful, you will shatter the myth that they live their lives by. You instantly force them to accept responsibility for where they are in their lives, and also for where they are going.

The masses would rather live in their comfort zone. You could be a threat to their whole belief system. So, don’t be surprised if when you shoot for the moon, they shoot at your heart.

Be strong! Overcome the need you might have to gain the opinions and approval of others. When you attempt to change your life, as you are doing now by reading this book, you will force opposition. You have decided to move beyond "just getting by". You want to better yourself.

Gerry Robert is a bestselling author of "The Millionaire Mindset" and a seminar speaker.