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4 Success Nuggets

4 Success Nuggets That I Didn’t Learn in School

Published by Kenneth

Growing up and going through grammar school, middle school, high school and even college for four years, there are certain things or 4 nuggets of success that I didn’t learn which are crucial to success in any industry. In all of my years of schooling, about 16 years worth, I had some great teachers who taught me many very valuable life lessons in addition to academics. However, there are key things that my teachers and coaches never taught me about success and achievement until I began being mentored by some very successful business men and women. I wanted to pass some of these hidden nuggets of success on to you! For those of you willing and open to learn, you can utilize these 4 success nuggets for your own use! Some of you may have already been taught these principles. If you have, then congratulations, I hope that they are working for you!

Nugget #1: Failure is positive

Failure is positive if you learn from it! In school, we are taught that a failing grade or getting something wrong is bad. The truth is, the only way to succeed in anything is to fail, learn, adjust and do it again. Any successful businessman, athlete, actor, etc will tell you that they failed more times than they succeeded. We only see the finished product and think that they never had any difficulties or hardships. We fail our way to success! Once you understand that concept, you should not have the fear of failing as long as you learn from it.

Nugget #2: People are key to your success

Have you ever heard of someone being “book smart” or “street smart?” Both can be and are important. However, what I have found is that as long as you know how and where to get the information, being book smart is a bit overrated. Today, with Google and other search engines, you can literally look up information on just about anything. Having people skills and getting along with others is crucial to you success. It isn’t so much what you know as it is who you know! There is no such thing as a “self-made” man or woman. We are the product of the people that we associate with and the books that we read. Yet, in school, it is all about the individual and their book smarts rather than truly learning how to work with others and encouraging them. I didn’t learn the “people skills” necessary to succeed by helping other people until I got connected with other successful business men and women who made their fortunes by helping and working with other people. Like the late Zig Ziglar said, “If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.” Become good at dealing with people, it will be much more satisfying and easier for you to succeed. 

Nugget #3: There are other ways to make money

Now I understand that every single person reading this comes from a different background and upbringing. Some of you reading this may have been taught or raised by your parents, etc. to have an entrepreneurial thought process and own your own business. My father has owned business all of my life. In school, I was taught to get a job. Not one of my teachers/professors ever recommended to start my own business. If anything, they always pointed out the negatives and great risks that you have to take to make it on your own in business. They preached get a job or “career” only. After graduating college, I did what they told me to do and got a job. I quickly learned that a job or career was only going to take me so far and I that was at the mercy of the company business owner to decide how much I would be paid and whether or not I got to keep my job. I don’t know about you, but I do not want my future to be in decided by someone else! What I learned is that you can make money multiple ways; through a job/career, owning your own brick and mortar business, or through a business system. A business system is powerful because you can duplicate yourself. Why is McDonald’s so profitable? It is not because they make the best burgers in town, but because virtually very city and town has a McDonald’s. Each store makes money and when you add it all up, McDonald’s makes billions of dollars. Imagine being able to have 100 of you going to different jobs and you get to keep the profit! That is the power of duplication. I didn’t learn that in school!

Nugget #4: Your thoughts and words are powerful

Probably the biggest nugget that I did not learn in school was how powerful our words and thoughts are. I did not learn how to control my thoughts and think positive. This is also known as having a positive mental attitude. There was no teaching about having positive expectations in my abilities or outcomes of situations; that it was all up to chance. What we think and speak about ourselves can either have a positive or negative impact on us. If you always say, like I did, that, “I am bad at Math,” then how do you expect to be good at Math. Instead, the teacher should have stopped me right there and corrected me and made me say that, “I am good at Math!” I have since learned that what I think and what I say about myself and others has an impact on my success. It is very difficult to succeed in a negative frame of mind. Have you ever seen or heard of someone saying that they are no good at something and then go out and become successful at the very thing they said they were not good at? Watch your words and your thoughts.

As I wrap up, I would like to thank all of my teachers and coaches for the positive influences that they have had on my life. The fact that I did not learn the above success nuggets in school does not necessarily mean that they did not want to teach them to me and my fellow students, but they may simply not have known these principles. I was very fortunate to have found the business team that has mentored me and changed my thought process and life for the better!

If you would like to learn more about our business team and what we do and teach, visit my Join a Winning Team page. This will help us to understand what you are looking for in a mentor and a business opportunity. Please understand that what we do is not for everyone. In fact, we really only want to work with serious, ambitious people who are truly looking to learn how to become successful, and are not looking for handouts! This may sound harsh, but I want to make sure that you know what you will be getting from us! I look forward to connecting with you.

To Your Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

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Action Is The Key!

Published by Kenneth

Every goal, every dream, and every success that we achieve comes about by action. Most people want success and have a plan on how to achieve that success.They think about everything that they have to do and write down an action plan but fail to do the one thing that will help them get where they want to and that is take action.

The fact is, the very action that brings about success or goal achievement is usually the action that moves people out of their comfort zone. The reason why most people don’t take action is that they do not want to get out of their comfort zone. It is easier to stay put than to put themselves in a position to fail and look bad. The people who are willing to step out of their comfort zone are generally the same people who go on to achieve great success.

So how do you take action if you are somebody who likes to think and ponder before moving forward? I like to describe this as paralysis by analysis. These individuals think about the positives and negatives of their decision but never take any action to make their goals happen. If you fall into this category, here is a way that you can begin to take action but make your thoughts more productive: Have your thoughts always lean toward taking action. In other words, your thoughts should be on how can I achieve these goals rather than all of the obstacles that are in the way of achieving the goals. Take the “how can I?” approach and not the “I can’t!” attitude. 

For those of you that fall into the take action category but don’t really think too far ahead (that is me), make sure that you are not just busy trying to achieve your goals, etc, but that you are productive. We all have 24 hours in a day. Why is it that some people become so successful while others barely get by? It is not just that they are busy taking action to become successful, but they are productive. They are getting results. If your schedule is filled with all sorts of appointments but you are no further along today than you were a month ago, chances are you have just been busy and not productive. Keep this in mind as you are taking action, is your action taking you closer to accomplishing your goals or moving you further away. That is how you can tell if you are just being busy or being productive.

I hope that you are taking action and are willing to move out of your comfort zone. There is so much more outside of your comfort zone than what lies in it, and your success is so much closer to you than you think. Action is the key to making that happen. If you would like some more tips on how you can take action and what kind of actions that you can take to move closer to the success you want, then click here and I will see you on the other side.

To your successful actions!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

Do You Have A Mindset For Business Success?

Published by Kenneth

Every significant endeavor or business plan has a beginning– it comes from the mind, the source where every activity flows from.

Before you jump onto “Success Interstate”, one of the first things that you must prepare is your mindset.

What does it mean to create the right mindset for success? Here are a few suggestions:

•Making money in ANY business is NOT a get rich quick scheme. You don’t just get in business and have money deposited into your bank account. It takes hard work and dedication to keep pressing forward in order to profit.

•You must spend some time educating yourself in your business or endeavor. Simply picking up a couple of books will not make you an expert in your field or market. Study others who have already succeeded in what you are trying to do. This takes some time and effort. After all, how long did it take you to get your university degree?

•Invest time for trial and error. No one gets it ‘right’ on the first try. Be ready for setbacks and failures, but learn from them and then get up off the canvas and battle again!

•You will deal with negative people who will try to tear your dream and goals down. There are many people who are too scared to step out and try something different. By you attempting something great, you make them uncomfortable and take away all of their excuses to try and succeed. In turn, they will try to drag you down with them to make themselves feel better. Some of the resistance will come from your friends, close relatives, co-workers, or even your BOSS! If you do not have the right mindset and persistence to keep pushing forward, they will steal your dream.

•Be like a dog on a bone- be ready to be “in it to win it!” Like in any business, if you are not prepared for the long haul with the peaks and valleys of business, you will quit midway because you have put in a half-hearted effort to succeed. Keep this thought in mind when things get tough: How badly do you want success?

Commit yourself to developing your mindset for success and enjoy the journey on “Success Interstate!”

To your success,
Ken Cloutier

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Tips on How Self-Improvement Brings About Success

Published by Kenneth

In order to become become more successful, it will require some sort of change on your part. If you talk to the average person and talk about self-improvement, he or she will most likely think that self-improvement is for the person that has “problems or issues” and not for them. In fact, self-improvement is exactly what it sounds like- improving yourself. You improve yourself in order to become the type of person that people will want to be around as well as attract success. Following success habits and actions over and over will eventually lead you to the success that you are looking for. Self-improvement, therefore, is vital to your success.

 I have listed some tips and thoughts on how your self-improvement can and will create your success.

• Stop thinking and feeling as if you’re a failure, because you’re not. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept YOU?

• When you see hunks and models on TV, think more on self-improvement, not self pitying. Self-acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.

• When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them to feel better about themselves and improve their self-image. Don’t go down with them. They’ll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.

• The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don’t feel stupid and doomed forever just because you did not get that sale or hit that goal. There’s always a next time. Make rooms for self-improvement.

• Take things one at a time. You don’t expect black sheep’s to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self-improvement is a one day at a time process.

• Self-improvement results to inner stability, personality development and SUCCESS. It comes from self-confidence, self appreciation and self-esteem.

• Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self-improvement doesn’t mean that you have to be like the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. The aim is to get an improved and better YOU.

• Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying “hi” or “hello”, greeting someone “good day” or telling Mr. Johnson something like “hey, I love your tie!” are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we’re being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.

• When you’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self-improvement, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self-improvement.

We should always remember that there’s no such thing as ‘over night success’. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, business partners, office mates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self-improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.

To YOUR success!!

Kenneth Cloutier

 

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Crush Your Fears

Published by Kenneth

Fear is something every human experiences. Some fears have been ingrained in us at birth; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Every other fear that we have is a learned event. Even the most successful people that you can think of have certain fears and doubts. What made many of these people successful is how they overcame their fears and pressed on towards their goals.

So how do they do it? Can you think of a fear or doubt that has held you back from achieving your goals and dreams? What led you to that fear and what have you done to overcome it? The good news is that If you understand what causes fear, it is possible to overcome the fear and move forward!

Let’s start with what fear actually is. Fear is: False Evidence Appearing Real. Yes that’s right, fear is actually all in your mind. Many fears that you or I have is actually actions played out negatively in our minds. Let’s say that you are “fearful” of talking to people that you don’t know or starting a conversation. When you think about how to start a conversation, all you think about is “what if the person does not want to talk to me?” or “what if the person ignores me and I look foolish?” You play out all of the negative outcomes in your head and then do not talk to the person. In order to destroy that false thought process, you should change your thought process to “what if I talk to that person and we hit it off?…I have made a new friend, possibly a best friend!” It is all about having positive expectations that good things will happen when you take action. Whenever you are faced with a fear, the first thing to do is to change your thought process and start thinking of the positive outcomes rather than the negative ones.

So now that you have changed your thought patterns about your fear and the negative actions associated with it, the next step in overcoming your fear is taking action. I’m sure that you have heard this before that action cures fear. It’s true!

When you take action against your fear, you will find out that what you feared so much was all in your head and everything works out just fine. It is like the Wizard of Oz- there is nothing behind the curtain! Let’s re-visit the earlier example of talking to someone new or starting a conversation. If you take action and go ahead and break the ice with a stranger, more times than not, they will give you a positive response and you will realize that you had nothing to fear after all. Action cures fear!!

 Each time you take action against the very thing you fear, it will get easier and easier. Think about the first time you learned how to swim. Chances are you were a little bit afraid of the water and did not want to let go of your mom or dad for fear of drowning. However, once you began to learn how to float and swim, your fear of drowning went away. Now you are doing flips off of the diving board and have not one thought about drowning or being afraid of the water. Action cures fear!! Having fear is a natural human element. Many people let fear hold them back from becoming all that they were meant to be. Don’t let fear knock you down. Look fear right in the eyes and do the very thing that you are afraid of. When you face your fear and take action, you will begin to feel better about yourself and your confidence goes up. Who would not want to feel better about themselves and be all that they were meant to be? Destroy your fear!

Oh, and did I mention, Action cures fear!

For more of my success strategies, check out my FREE 10 Day Blueprint video series.

To you Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

How to Make Good Decisions

Published by Kenneth

Good decision making is crucial to anyone that wants to achieve success. In the very high-tech world we live in today, there is a battle for your mind. From the pressures of getting the newest cell phones/technology to the tv commercials telling you why you should buy their products,  to the world news attempting to direct you on how to vote, think, etc.we are constantly surrounded by others who want to make decisions for you.

It’s no wonder why so many people fall victim to their own decisions. They have never really had to. It is as if many people are like sheep that just follow one another into the slaughter house and then wonder “how did I end up here?” With the constant battle for our minds, we must understand how to think for ourselves and make the best decisions that can have a positive influence in our lives. We have fallen into the trap of trying to “keep up with the Joneses” (whoever they are) and if my next door neighbor, co-worker, friend, or relative is doing or not doing it, it must be the right thing to do. Those of you who learn how to think for yourself and make quality decisions can save yourself a lot of hard times and heart aches.

I am not proposing that I am an expert in decision making nor do I claim that I have made all of the right decsions. That is very far from the truth! In fact, the reason why I feel that I can write this post is because I have made many bad decisions try  ing to keep up with the rest of society! The key is that I have learned from most of my bad decisions  and more importantly, learned from the process of how I made those bad decisions.

 The way to make a good decision versus a bad decision is not at all complicated. In fact, it can be summed up with one word- VISION.

Vision allows you to look ahead and see things how you want the end result to be not as you see them currently This is not like having psychic powers where you are looking into the future, but you have a clear picture of where you want to be and then make your actions line up in order to get there.

So what does vision have to do with making good decisions you ask? Everything! If you don’t have the vision of where you are going, how can you get there? Furthermore, how can you take the correct actions and take advantage of the law of cause and effect?

Vision allows you to look far enough ahead to see what is coming. By doing this, you can now be proactive instead of reactive. When people are reactive to things it is like being hit by a barrage of punches from Floyd Mayweather. You are powerless and have to take them with no time to adjust.

If you take our slumping economy, bad job market, and high gas prices into account, you can see how the people with vision can avoid the life challenges of the majority. Those folks who have either went into business for themselves or started a home-based business where they can make additional income while maintaining a job, have looked ahead and fixed their leaky roof before it rains. They know what they want (or what they don’t want) and are doing something about it. They are being proactive.

So how about you? Have you been proactive or have you been hit with body blow after body blow from Floyd Mayweather?! After awhile those punches hurt and start to wear you down. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Have you lost your vision for what you want and are now just taking life as it comes? I know how that feels, I have been there. It is a very frustrating feeling to not feel like you have any control over your life or future. The good news is that you can take control of your financial future by making the right decisions. One of the best decisions that I have ever made was to start a home-based business and take control of my financial future so when the economy slumped or the job market dried up, I am able to get water from my well rather than wonder where the well is!

If you have vision of where you want to be for your financial future and are ready to do something about it, then click here and let’s talk!!

To your success!

Ken Cloutier- Get Motivated For Success

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