Success is Multifaceted

Here is an article from Ted Nicholas used with his permission.

Enjoy.

A warm hello from Cyprus, my favorite island in
the world. The sun is setting on my veranda at this
moment as I pen these words.

Ever think about this?

The average small business owner barely makes a
living let alone ever becomes wealthy.

Many entrepreneurs work extremely long hours.
But hard work alone is definitely not the answer to
achieving massive success.By contrast, nearly every wealthy super achiever
I’ve known and worked with are not workaholics.
(To be fair, I also know a few workaholics that are
rich. But they are unhappy and unhealthy in every
instance.)

While the super successful are productive, they are
also multifaceted in how they spend their time. And
their lives are a lot more fun too.

I believe it is this “well roundedness” factor alone
that makes all the difference. And multiplies their
margin of success.

I thought I’d share today lots of personal things
about facets of my own life that you may find of
interest.

These insights may give you food for thought. And
also encourage you to add some factors to your
existence.

Besides my work, here is a brief look at how I
spend the most valuable asset I have – my time.

** Reading **

I read 2-3 hours a day and have for many years.
This includes solid “How To” books, written by
those who really walk the talk.

But I also enjoy fiction. Favorite fiction writers
include Ayn Rand, John McDonald, Rex Stout,
Elmore Leonard. My very favorite author is the late
Miss Rand.

Newspapers that I read daily include Wall Street
Journal, the International Herald Tribune and the
local paper in whatever country I’m in.

Magazines that I look forward to include GQ,
Vanity Fair, Economist and Readers Digest.

I also read Globe and National Enquirer, which
publish some of the world’s most powerful
headlines and which are good study materials for
any marketer.

** Hobbies and Health Pursuits **

My anti-aging research has convinced me we are
close to being able to extend life to 120 healthy,
vigorous years. I do all I can to prepare myself for a
long and active life.

Happily health is 80% lifestyle. And only 20%
genetic. I spend time playing tennis, walking,
weight resistance, hiking and swimming.

I also meditate each day for at least 20 minutes.

My diet is what I call the 90/10 secret. 90% organic.
Mostly fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds.
Meat once or twice a week.

10% includes all the things I love most, such as
pizza, hamburgers, frozen yogurt and pasta.

When I’ve shared this diet with close friends, clients
and family they grow to love it.

I take 63 natural supplements daily. I make sure I
sleep 7-8 hours a day as this is very important to
your health.

** Music **

Among my favorites are Mozart, Sinatra, The
Beatles, Rod Stewart, Celine Dion and Tony
Bennett. I also love authentic Greek music.

** Dancing **

Ballroom, Tango, Mamba, Foxtrot, Greek -
Bethany and I take dance lessons at every
opportunity. (Look towards the bottom of my home
page at www.tednicholas.com to view my Greek
dancing.)

** Family Time **

It is extremely important to spend time with
children and grandchildren together and
individually whenever possible.

An annual highlight of mine is to rent a lovely
beach home for a week on the east coast of the U.S.
All my family enjoy this special concentrated time
together, as we live all over the world!

** Friendships **

One of life’s great values are the friends you choose
to spend time with. The art of conversation is a
particular great joy of friendship.

** Romantic Relationship **

In my view the most important of all human
relationships. Why? The person with whom you
choose to share your life is crucial to your
happiness.

I wouldn’t trade my personal relationship with
Bethany for anything. It’s my highest value.

** Fashion **

I love men’s fashion. And women’s too! I especially
love ties, shirts and hats.

With all the above you may wonder when I find
time to work!

Not to worry. I spend from roughly 1 pm to 8 pm 6
days a week on my work. And I enjoy every
moment of it. It’s a true labor of love.

Let me know if the above gives you any ideas to
help you make some changes that may help you
enjoy your life even more.

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/

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Spiritual Empathy For Success

Finding  Spiritual Empathy

Without getting  deep  into religion I wanted to take a second and give you this to think about.

Empathy is important part of who I am. From being a EMT when I was younger to a karate instructor and manager of people. I accidentally hit a guy in the groin yesterday in the karate studio and I really had some empathy for him. (He is fine.)

Empathy gives me a sense of knowing where people are in their life and if I have the knowledge to help or the ability to direct them in a productive direction I will. But, I also believe they must do the work. They need to sharpen their own skills,abilities and talents.

In my karate school my students must learn and earn rank the same way I did. I do have empathy for the ones that have to work hard. But, we all must work hard at some achievements in our life. We must challenge ourselves to grow.

Empathy is in short demand by many people because of our ego.

The ego seems to step in and lay claims to the notion that you are a person of time, space, and boundaries, that you are one by yourself. Let the ego step back and you’ll begin to notice the awareness of your connection to the infinite, your Source of creation and the people around you.

 You know you’re on your way to great relationships when you can look into the face of another and see your own past, present and future. When you can see your own mistakes and failures, when you can see and enjoy their victories as you see your own, you’re on your way.

When you can do that you are a person of spiritual empathy.

Success Strategies and Difficult People.

Dealing With Difficult People

Success Strategies and Difficult People. 

Most people believe that in the martial arts world you only defend yourself after the attack. In my opinion that makes you stupid and injured.

Action is always faster than reaction. Common sense will tell you that.

The one major reason I love martial arts (Kenpo Karate) is the practicality of it and how it can be a great metaphor for success training in life and business.

We are all in contact with difficult people from time to time. Could be at work, at school or as we go about our lives.

I have been in management over 20 years and have seen it all. I constantly have employees in my office for advice from personal situations, employee conflict to how to start a business.

My Boss has a running joke; he has called me Dr. Lane for years now because whenever he walks into my office he sees an employee asking for some help.

I would like to give you an example of dealing with difficult people using martial arts as the analogy.

Let’s use the office for example. When you have a team of people working together you will have several different styles of difficult people.

Here are a few using Martial Arts as an example.

• 1. You have the Brawler. This person is always on the attack. They want to be heard and they want it to be known that they are always right. At times they just start getting upset for no reason it seems.

The best way to handle this person is to just let them say what the need to say and let off some of that internal pressure.

Then step right in and give your side. Let them know how you feel, your opinion and stand your ground. Don’t have to be aggressive, but forceful.

• 2. You have the Ninja. Not to offend any Ninjitsu Practitioners, I have some close friends that study Ninjitsu. The Ninja will not come at you face to face. In the workplace this is the most dangerous. They take shots at you when you turn your back or from behind closed doors. You see them whispering to others when you enter the room.

The best way to handle this is to call them out of the shadows. The next time they make a gesture or you catch them making a dig at you call them out on it. Just ask them about it in the open.

They will deny it for sure. But, now they are aware that you know.

For the most part people get along just fine in the workplace, but you will always have some that will be difficult.

Hope this makes sense.

Have a Great Saturday.

Great Service = Success.

Great Service = Success.

I have a friend that has owned a tire and auto service center in Aberdeen, N.C. for years now.

I always like to just stand around and talk to him every chance I get.

He and I had a talk one day about business and how good his business was. I ask why he thought that was? I knew the answer, but I just wanted to find out if he had planned his approach to his business that way.

He told me that when he first started in business it was rough. He spent many, many dollars on ads with poor ROI.

Then he thought to himself one day, what is the reason he remains a customer to all the places he spends money and why did he return to spend more money?

He said, “I figured the number 1 reason was the service. So, I made the decision to quit all ads and just out service every other tire and auto center in town.”

Today, they do that very well. If you ever ask a customer why they take their cars there, they will tell you that they feel like family. They will tell you they get great service and they have a high level of trust with them.

I ask him a few weeks back, if Obama happened to be in town and his car needed repairs would he work on it? He looked at me, smiled and said, “Only if he has cash in hand.”

1-Out service you competition.

2 -Build trust.

Have a Great Weekend!

True Friends

 Finding True Friends

Build relationships that will make a true friend. We are social creatures who need to have social relationships and connections.

Before my dad passed away a couple of years ago, we had a conversation about friends. My dad talked about the importance of having true friends. He said, “If you can count all your true friends on one hand you are a very lucky man.”

A true friend is hard to find. A true friend understands who you are without judgment. A true friend will show up for you when the others turn away. The following story defines a true friend.

A man was walking along a path one day when all of a sudden he fell into a deep hole. He tried and tried without success to find a way out of that scary situation. Before long he was exhausted and ready to give up.

He looked up to see a businessman walking by and he yelled out, “Hey help me out of this hole!” The businessman wrote out a check and threw it into the hole and said, “Here, this will help,” and walked away leaving the man feeling helpless.

The man continued to call for help from the dark hole he was in. Soon a priest walked by and said he would help. The priest wrote a prayer down on a piece of paper and threw it into the hole and walked away.

At that moment he had made his mind up that he would never get out of that hole. But, in that moment an old friend walks by and could see his friend had fallen into that deep dark hole and needed to find a way out. So he shouted down to him and asked, “Do you need some help?” The man in the hole calls back, “Yes!”

So his friend jumps down into the hole. The man in the hole just couldn’t believe it. “Why did you do that? Are you crazy? Now we are both stuck in here and we will never get out. What kind of help are you? His friend said, “Relax, I’ve been in this same hole before and I know the way out. Just follow me and I’ll lead you out of here.”

 Have a Great Day!

Wise Monk

When I hear a story like this one. I think of Master Po, from the Kung Fu series. The world could learn much from Master Po today.

I heard a story about two monks that were out for a walk one day.

As they walked along the roadway the older of the two monks pulled a mirror from his robe and began to gaze into it.

After a short look the monk placed the mirror back into his robe. The young monk watched and then spoke. “Why is it that you are so vain that you must carry a mirror to gaze at yourself?”

The older monk replied, “It’s not that I’m vain, I look into the mirror to see the person responsible for my life. If you have a problem you never have far to go to find council or the person responsible, look within, my young friend.”

Now, snatch the pebbles from my hand.

Have a great day all!