Simple TruthsSimple Truths is the brainchild of Marc Anderson, founder of Simple Truths. I have used Simple Truths movies for several teambuilding events, workshops, and seminars. You can use them for an icebreaker or for a small group discussion. I have used them and they WORK ! Simple Truths has books for teambuilding too. Here are the top ten uses for Simple Truths books:
1. Reinforce your meeting theme with a motivational "takeaway" that will keep the message alive.
2. Thank your best customers.
3. An inspirational gift for your employees!
4. A surprise gift to welcome each new employee.
5. Thank individuals or volunteers for making a d ifference or for going the extra mile.
6. Celebrate an employee's birthday or company anniversary.
7. Perfect gift for your completing a class or certification program.
8. Send a different book each quarter to "stay connected" to your best customers, your distributors, or your sales team in the field.
9. Invest in the personal development of your people.
10. Celebrate a company milestone, anniversary, goal achievement.
Self-motivation...what does it mean? There's a simple definition for a complex subject: "Self-motivation is an inner drive that compels behavior." What makes it complex, however, is that little word "inner," because what works for me may not work for you, and vice-versa. There are, however, some common denominators; some basic fundamentals when it comes to motivating ourselves. It's these fundamental ideas and some other things that have worked for me personally, that I'd like to share with you. As we all know, it's not always what is said, but how it's said that can turn the switch from "off" to "on." One idea, if you're ready for it, can change your life forever. Charging the Human Battery is one of my all-time favorite projects because it's a little book from which everyone can benefit. Who do you know that doesn't need a little help staying positive; or a little "shot of inspiration" from time to time? I know I do! This book has 50 short chapters about ways to motivate yourself. Today, I'd like to share the chapter on dealing with stress...an important topic for our times! Enjoy! Stress, and how we deal with it, is a big factor in staying motivated. I read a great article recently in Men's Health magazine titled: Break the Stress Cycle... Separate the Stressors from the Energizers. It offers some simple, great advice on dealing with stress. Some stress is unavoidable. Some is not. "The trick is learning to distinguish between the two," says Paul Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress. He can't identify your sources of stress for you, because one man's stress is another man's joy. So you'll have to do that part yourself. Divide your stresses into two lists: "accept" and "change." As you draw up your lists, you'll naturally pay attention to what your brain knows about your sources of stress, but make sure you listen to your body's complaints as well. When are you experiencing those headaches? Or back pain? Is there a pattern to your heartburn, or a particular stretch of your commute that provokes road rage? "Learn how your body responds so you can detect early warning signs of stress," says Dr. Rosch. In evaluating your stressors, do sweat the small stuff. It's the petty problems that cause serious stress in the long run, says Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D. Having to listen to your girlfriend's Jimmy Buffet CDs night after night really could push you over the edge. (But not into Margaritaville.) Your activities during these first 7 days are not merely a prelude. Simply sitting down to identify all the things that stress you out, and deciding to do something about them, is a powerful stress buster in itself. It's been known since the 1950s that stress is exacerbated if a person has no sense of control and no hope that things will get better. Having goals, and reaching those goals, is the healthy opposite of that. "Too often, we are adrift on the sea of life," says Dr. Rosch. Drop anchor. To learn more, or to see inside Charging the Human Battery and read a few chapters, just click here.  It was a very painful wake call It is branded on Marc Anderspn's brain forever. Marc simply refer to it as the "fall of '94." From 1990 to 1993 Successories® grew from $5,000,000 in sales to $45,000,000. We were mailing more than ten million catalogs annually and we were on a roll. The simple concept of "decorate your walls with great ideas" had taken off! Then Murphy's Law hit us like a ton of bricks. Everything that could go wrong, did. In June, Jim Allison, our CFO, was diagnosed with brain cancer at 47 years old. I was devastated for Jim and his family, and because of Jim's illness, software and fulfillment projects critical to our holiday success were delayed. As hard as we tried, we couldn't catch up. The rapid growth had outstripped the company's infrastructure and our ability to manage it. It was every entrepreneur's nightmare, and when the dust settled in January... our losses were significant. For a guy that was in the "attitude business," mine was pretty lousy for a couple of weeks. Help came from Mike Singletary, the Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears (currently the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers.) Mike had joined our board of directors the previous year. He knew I was down in the dumps and walked into my office and closed the door. He said, "Mac, we can get through this. This is just a bump in the road. You've taken us to $45,000,000 in just 3 years...and I'll guarantee you one thing - it didn't happen by accident." As Mike continued to speak, I could feel the goose bumps. I could feel my spine begin to stiffen. I could feel the belief and the courage returning. It was a pivotal moment in my life. What did I learn about Mac Anderson from that failure? After some soul searching, I came to realize that my strengths were my people skills and creative skills. My weaknesses, on the other hand, were in the details - accounting and operations that were critical to success. I needed to hire people who had been there and done that; so we could rebuild our infrastructure to grow the business again. It was a very painful wake-up call. I had failed greatly...but from that failure came some of the most valuable lessons in my life. Failure is a big part of life, but it's how we react to failing that will determine our destiny. If we learn from it and move on, it can help to make us all we can be. If you fear it to the extent that you never take risks, you'll never grow. The story about "Failing Forward" is one of many in Marc's book The Nature of Success. The Nature of Success Return to home page
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