STOP THE PRESS! This just in …

Humpty Dumpty gives exclusive interview to the Wall Street Journal about the importance of earnest and accurate communications for entrepreneurs.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty says, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

Okay, well maybe he didn’t really say it. Fact of the matter is this (close your ears, children!): Humpty Dumpty is a fictional creation. It was that real character, Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, who forced those words into the hot little lips of that immovable and soon to be broken character, Humpty Dumpty.

Given that those words, then, are fictional and didn’t really come from the mouth of anyone truly significant, do they still matter?

Of course you know the obvious answer here (my readership, women — and possibly some men — from New Zealand through India to US and Canada are as smart as a whip!): Of course they matter, for there is (truly) no line between fact and fiction.

Refer to my earlier article on Closed Minds Live Quiet Lives (see the sixth paragraph) to see how fuzzy and blurry the line really is!

My father, who prides himself on his philosophical mind and has read (and actually understands) Nietzsche, would have a great debate with Humpty Dumpty. Well, okay, maybe not, as my father would probably refute the existence of Humpty Dumpty.

But let’s pretend here for a second! Let’s pretend the two entered into a great debate.

When I was growing up, my father used to harp (my word selection, not his) on the double negative. “If a man says ‘I ain’t got no apples’ he really does have apples,” my father would argue. His logic would confound my eleven-year old brain, because the laws of mathematics supported him. I had just learned that if you add -1 with -1, you will actually get +2. I didn’t (and still don’t) get how you could add one absense with another, and not just get something that exists, but something that exists twice. In fact, I’ve got a headache now, just thinking about it.

But, hey, it was a law. And the teacher would grade you based on your ability to memorize (not understand) the laws.

So there it was, my father was right.

Yet, I wanted to scream back at him: “Hey, if buddy says he ain’t got no apples, then he AIN’T GOT NO APPLES!” You could tie buddy up and hang him upside down and shake him till his wallet fell out of his pocket, but nary will ONE APPLE fall from the folds of his clothes or anywhere else.

But I didn’t, because the teachers were on my father’s side, and collectively they must have been more right than buddy with the bad grammar.

Now, thanks to the eternal words of my good friend Humpty, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal (oh wait, I made that part up), I now know that I WAS right. Because when buddy uses a phrase, it means precisely what he means it to mean. Nothing more and nothing less.

And, my friends, as much as I like to believe I’m right (along side with buddy), there is also the confounding truth that we live in a dual world. There is another law, the Law of Cause and Effect, that says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (Bear with me, folks, this does get dizzying!).

So as much as buddy is right, so is my father (and dammit all those fussy teachers too). For when my fathers HEARS a statement, that will means exactly what he chooses it to mean – neither more nor less.

And this duality, this existence of simultaneous truths, is what makes human communications so incredibly complex.

Between what I say and what you hear, in the invisible vapours of the air and in between my relationship with your words and my triggers, and your relationship with the same, the words transmute themselves. The intended meaning of whatever words were spoken are set free to the universe, and the receiver HEARS only what they intend to hear.

Understanding this will help you shift into the needs of your customers. It will make you a better business person and a better sales person. It will also make you a better partner, a better wife (or husband), a better mother (or father), and a better community member.

Humpty Dumpty is a sage old soul, and you need to both absorb what he says and DISCARD it. And then, and only then my friend, will you “get it.”

To your perpetual success,

Britt Santowski

Do any of these sound familiar?

• I’d love to explore my passion, but I don’t have enough time for another hobby
• I want to start my own business, but I need a steady and secure paycheck
• I should start on my business plan, but there’s show coming on TV that I just can’t miss
• I scheduled a highly productive day but got interrupted by too many phone calls
• I was going to be on time, but got stuck in a traffic jam

“But,” according to motivational speaker guru guy Les Brown, “is an argument for your limitations; and when you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them.”

IF you are going to be a successful entrepreneur, you absolutely have to

reduce the size of your but.

True, I LOVE how that sentence sounds. (In fact, I loved it so much I bought the URL ReduceTheSizeOfYourBut.com!) But beyond my little love affair with that skinny little ditty, it sure rings true, doesn’t it?

Do you find yourself falling into your big “but”? Time is a valuable commodity, and if you fixate on your limitations, then that will be what you produce. What you focus on expands! And when you waste your precious time, you’re actually preventing yourself from achieving the things you desire.

Below is a list of the top ten time wasters. If you find yourself spending too much time on these activities, try changing some of your habits so your time can be more productive and rewarding.

1. Wasting Your Worry. Many people will worry until doomsday about every little thing in their lives. This is simply unproductive and bad for your health, mind, and spirit.

• If you have something worrisome coming up, craft a plan of positive action on paper, then let it go. After all, worrying doesn’t accomplish anything positive.

2. Television. We’re a couch potato society! We schedule our lives around our favorite television shows and we spend less time doing more important activities like attending social events that could strengthen our relationships.

• Record your favorite TV shows and watch them during your leisure time, or limit your TV intake to just a couple hours a week. Or better yet, cancel your cable subscription! I freed up YEARS of my time by doing just that.

3. Video and Computer Games. This is becoming such a time waster that gamers are actually developing what is called “gamers thumb,” a repetitive stress injury. You can spend hours a day conquering giants and going to levels that don’t even exist or you can set about changing the world and following your passions. One will serve your spirit, and the other will get you divorced.

4. Internet time. Are you constantly browsing the Internet, Facebook or Twitter? Are your kids hearing you say, “In a minute,” much too often when they ask you to spend time with them?

• Keep your time on the Internet short and get involved in life. Instead of chatting with your online friends, spend more time with your real-life friends and family! Schedule online networking (eg, 20 minutes a day, from 9:pm to 9:20pm), and then STICK TO IT.

5. Telephone Chatter. Sure, we like to call old friends and chat, but do you chat on the phone all day long? If you do, you may find that you get hardly anything done all day.

• Keep phone calls to a minimum or set a timer to go off after 15 minutes. This way you won’t feel deprived of a good conversation, but it won’t take over your whole day.

6. Traffic and Commuting. Some of us spend an enormous amount of time traveling to and from work. You can turn your commuting time into productive time!

• Try carpooling or taking the bus, subway or train to work. You can use this time to read, plan your day, complete paperwork, or even relax your mind before a productive day.
 If you drive, turn your car into a mobile university by listening to inspiring and informative CDs. Where do you think I’ve done most of my learning?

7. Hobbies. Yes, there are people who are so obsessed with a hobby (see above, if your hobby is surfing the web or gaming) that they don’t make time to do anything else. They rush home from work to their hobby, even skipping dinner.

• If this is you, schedule your hobby time so you’re not skipping meals, missing time with your family, or cutting into other productive time.

8. Daydreaming. It’s fun and healthy to dream about career ambitions or future aspirations, but when those dreams prevent you from taking action in your life, then you’re wasting time. Avoid getting bogged down with too much dreaming.

• Make a list of your goals or dreams, then take action to make those dreams come true.

9.  Meetings. Although necessary, meetings can be one of the biggest time wasters of our workday. If everyone is wiped out from sitting in long meetings all day, productive time will be low.

• If you’re in charge of meetings, set and agenda with timelines, stick to your stated time.
• Limit the length of your meetings: be a pro-active facilitator, and keep needless chatter and agendas out of the meeting.

10. Planning. If you don’t take the time to plan your day, the important things you need to accomplish may not get done.

• Write down your daily goals and tasks.
• Schedule your day in the order of your top priorities.

Listen to your self-talk and when ever you hear yourself saying I ought to ____, BUT, remember that you too can reduce the size of your but!

To your success, and to your skinny but,

Britt Santowski

Do you define the success of your entrepreneurial ventures in dollar value only? Sure, money is nice. Definitely money is NOT evil. Banish that thought from your mind! Money affords you the lifestyle you desire, and lets you live your purpose fully. Success is BEYOND the dollar value. Far beyond.

Beware The Closed Mind, the Singular Thought

Success in its broadest meaning is not limited to only monetary and material possessions. Success unveils abundance in countless forms in both your life and the nature that surrounds you.

The universal spirit of consciousness craves to continuously manifest and express itself; this longing naturally wants to develop, to grow and become bigger and stronger.

Realizing this longing and natural inclination for growth is repressed in many of us, because of negative thinking and nonconstructive programming. Bottom line, of lack of faith in our abilities and natural talents hinders us dramatically.

Every individual has dual natures. One part wants to move forward and embrace change; the other wants to pull back and keep things the same. What you focus on expands. The part that you cultivates determines your final results in life; both parts will seek to dominate; you can control which side wins.

People with closed minds often believe their own experience as being a universal truth. “Because I see this tree from this view, this is all there is.” People with opens minds accept their own experience as something that happened and realize there are many truths. “Because I see this tree from this view, it is what I see. And there are other places to stand, and other ways to experience this tree.” From the ground, at any angle, from a plane, from the moon, from under the earth, from inside the tree. As a tree, as a seedling, as a piece of lumber, as a chair, as firewood. The list goes on.

Having an open mind matters. A lot.

Become the Open Mind, the Abundance Mindset

An open mind first considers the possibilities of other interpretations before reaching any conclusion. An open mind does not just gather information. It gathers possibilities. (The closed mind gathers dust.)

When one closes her mind and becomes stubborn, one in essence tells her higher self, including the “powers of the universe” that she cannot grow and encounter new things. So there will be no progress, no transformation.

Whatever your mind can envision, you can achieve. What your mind sees, believes feels and thinks are all conveyed to the subconscious mind. And your subconscious mind determines how you will react when opportunities present themselves.

“Luck,” according to Seneca, the famous Roman dramatist, philosopher, & politician 5 BC – 65 AD, “is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” If you are closed to the possibility of opportunity, all the preparation in the world won’t serve you.

Bear in mind though, always and forever, that it is not sufficient to merely imagine and hope it materializes. Having the power to imagine means also having the power and the capability to work on it to achieve it.

Focus on possibilities, rather than limitations and expand your thoughts to what is that you believe as yourself.

Here are four basic steps you can take to better program your thoughts for success:

1. Continuously and abundantly display images of your “model” persons, whom you want to become, and things that you want to accomplish. Read magazines containing stories and pictures of lives that you wish to attain.
2. Read autobiographies of successful people. Constantly read self-progress materials packed with examples and ideas of women and men who had set goals, overcome hardships and misfortunes and accomplished what they aimed for in the end.
3. Always affirm yourself. In each undertaking, take the time to focus, “close your eyes” and set a clear mental image of the outcome.  Then repeatedly say and claim that you have already achieved it.
4. Nourish your mind with positive thoughts before sleeping, after waking up, at lunch break, anytime.  Do not give a chance for negative thoughts to enter into your mind.

Thoughts hold great power. Be conscious of the thoughts that comes into your mind; let the positive in, never entertain the negative.  Open up your mind to possibilities and never be afraid to try; if you fail, take it as an opportunity that you have learned so much from failing and try again.

Open your mind. Your success, monetarily and beyond, depends on it!

To your exponential success,
Britt