Grow Bigger Than Your Problems!

One of the secrets to wealth is to THINK BIG! The fact is that very few people “think” big and even fewer “play” big. So why don't people want to “play big”? Usually, it’s because they believe they can't handle “big” or they don't want to handle it. Why? Because “big” often equals big responsibilities, big hassles and big problems.

One of the biggest differences between rich people and poor people is that highly successful people are bigger than their problems while unsuccessful people are smaller than their problems.

Unsuccessful people are constantly trying to avoid problems. They back away from challenges. The irony is that in their quest to make sure they don't have problems, they have the biggest problem of all... they're broke or close to it. The secret to success is not to try and shrink your problems; it's to grow yourself so you're bigger than any problem.

Imagine a “level 2” person is looking at a “level 5” problem. Does this problem appear to be big or small? The answer is that from a “level 2” perspective, a “level 5” problem would seem BIG.

Now imagine a “level 8” person looking at this same “level 5” problem. From this person’s perspective, is this problem big or small? Magically, the identical problem is now a SMALL problem.

And for a “level 10” person, it’s NO problem at all. It’s just an everyday occurrence, like brushing your teeth.

It’s important to realize that whether you are rich or poor, playing big or playing small, problems do not go away. If you're breathing, you will always have situations that aren’t perfect.

Therefore, the size of the problem is never the problem. It’s always the size of you!

The secret then is to grow yourself as a person, to be bigger than your problems so that they become insignificant and appear to disappear. Not because the problems are not there, but because you handle them so easily.

The bigger problems you can handle; the bigger business you can handle, the bigger responsibilities you can handle, the more customers you can handle and the more money and wealth you can handle.

Remember, your income can only grow to the extent that you do!

A universal principle states that “at all points in time you are either growing or dying”. That’s why it is essential to keep learning and continue to work on yourself.

This month commit to growing yourself.

This month, do not shrink from problems, do not avoid problems and do not complain about problems. Practice not letting problems bother you. In fact, don’t even call them problems; refer to them as “challenges” or “situations”.

This month, practice handling problems with elegance and ease. The way to do this is to let go of your attachments, as well as the emotion and drama you create when you don’t get what you want. Just stay present and handle one situation at a time with an open mind and an open heart. Trust yourself and trust the universe that everything will work out in the end.

The bottom line is that if you become a master at handling problems, what can stop you from happiness and wealth? The answer is NOTHING!

Daily Declaration:
I am bigger than any problems.
I can handle any problems.
Nothing will stop me from getting rich.
I have a millionaire mind!

Author's Bio

T. Harv Eker

Using the principles he teaches, T. Harv Eker went from zero to millionaire in only 2 1/2 years! He combines a unique brand of 'street-smarts with heart'. T. Harv Eker is the founder and president of Peak Potentials Training, the fastest growing success training company in North America.

Eker's high-energy, 'cut-to-the-chase' style keeps his audience spellbound. T. Harv Eker's motto is "talk is cheap" and his unique ability is getting people to take "action" in the real world to produce real success.

Eker is the author of the best-selling books, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind and SpeedWealth. He has also developed several highly-acclaimed courses such as The Millionaire Mind Intensive, Life Directions, Wizard Training and Train the Trainer. He is also the producer and trainer of the world-famous Enlightened Warrior Training.

For more information, visit www.peakpotentials.com or www.millionairemind.com

The Sales Profession: Attention Must Still Be Paid

ASIDE from some gardening and baby-sitting in my neighborhood when I was a child, my first summer job was in the summer of 1962, just before my first year of college. It was at Shoe Giant, a large discount shoe store in Langley Park, in Prince George’s County of Maryland, and I got the job thanks to a high school pal who also worked there.

The job entailed selling shoes. The shoes were tossed about in giant bins and some were stored in boxes. Once the customers had picked out the kind of shoes they wanted, my task was to find the right size, close the sale, write up a receipt with my sales clerk number on it and escort the customer to the cashier. (A pair of shoes there was rarely more than $10 — and was often less.)

I made not much more than a dollar an hour, as well as a small commission. I recall that my first week’s paycheck was about $70.

I did not stay at that job for long. Later that summer, my mother found me a job at the Civil Service Commission, where I sat at a desk and added numbers on an ancient Marchant machine with a crank, to find Civil Service health insurance payment data for various kinds of injuries and sicknesses. I hated that job, but I did it anyway. I missed Shoe Giant. I missed the drama of selling.

Even after all these years, and after many other jobs, my mind often returns to my brief stint as a shoe salesman. It was then, amid that tangle of sandals, sneakers, oxfords, high heels and brogans, that I discovered the ballet that is sales. Forever after, I have had a deep respect for selling and for salesmen and saleswomen.

Sales — when done right — is more than a job. It is an art. It is a high-wire act. It is, as Arthur Miller immortally said, being out there “on a smile and a shoe shine.” It is learning the product you are selling, learning it so well that you can describe it while doing a pirouette of smiles for the customer and talking about the latest football scores. It is knowing human nature so well that you can align the attributes of your product or service cleanly with the needs and wants of your customers.

At its best, selling is taking a doubt and turning it, jujitsu style, into a powerful push. Selling is making the customer feel better about spending money — or investing it — than he would have felt by keeping his wallet zipped.

I have special memories of people who have sold brilliantly.

In 1976, when I moved to Los Angeles, I desperately wanted a Mercedes 450 SLC, a car that was — even in used form — far more than I deserved or could afford at my entry-level, highly tenuous work as a scriptwriter. My salesman at Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills, Larry Anish, listened to my objections and simply asked, “Don’t you believe in your own future?” Of course, I bought the car.

Many years later, an insurance broker came to call on my wife about disability insurance. I scoffed at him and told him how incredibly unlikely it was that a healthy woman like my wife would ever be disabled. “Yes,” he said. “That’s what we think, too. That’s why it’s so cheap and pays so much if she does get disabled.”

I bought the policy, and when my wife did get temporarily disabled, it paid off magnificently and we needed it.

When in doubt about any aspect of human interaction, I always consult the best salesman I have ever known, Barron Thomas, real estate and airplane salesman extraordinaire, and occasional writer, who could sell oil to the Saudis.

In particular, I’ve come to love insurance sales representatives. After many years of skepticism, and despite many warnings from consumer “experts,” I have come to believe that you can rarely have too much insurance, and that whatever insurance you don’t have is exactly what you will wind up needing. The fact that so many people in insurance sell you what’s good for you, even when smart alecks are telling you not to buy it, makes their work extremely impressive. I wish I had paid more attention to them.

People who work in sales often sit next to me on airplanes, which are my true home. In “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller also wrote: “A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.” Those who are in sales are always aware that the next sale is behind the next door, and they are always great companions. They are where the rubber of production meets the road of consumption, whether in a showroom or a studio or on the phone or calling you at home. When the recovery starts, they will be the ones making purchases happen.

Lawyers and doctors and dentists and politicians and accountants and actors — all of us sell something, every day and every time we meet someone. For me, it all goes back to Shoe Giant, 47 years ago, and I wish that every 17-year-old I know could have that experience. It takes some ability at sales to believe in your own future, no matter what that future may be.

Author's Bio

Ben Stein

Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, game show host, documentary filmmaker, conservative political and economic commentator, and attorney.

Stein writes frequently on a variety of topics, including politics, investing and economics. He currently writes a regular column for the Sunday New York Times Business Section and for Yahoo! Finance online. His bestselling books (with investment advisor Phil DeMuth) include Yes, You Can Retire Comfortably, Can America Survive?, and Yes, You Can Time the Market. In 2009, he published a collection of essays, The Real Stars.

For more information, please visits http://www.benstein.com/