Hi There members:

I was looking for some thought stimulating content to share with you this week and I came across forwarded to me by one of our members.

It comes from a postcard by the entrepreneurial coach Andy Bailey who is CEO of Petra Coach. While you may read it as business guidance, it applies equally to our lives outside of work and our relationships with family and friends. Good luck in all life's challenges and successes.

1. Embrace change vs. Fear
change
Embracing change is one of the hardest things a person can do. With the world
moving so fast and constantly changing, and technology accelerating faster than
ever, we need to embrace what’s coming and adapt, rather than fear it, deny it
or hide from it.

2. Want others to succeed vs. Secretly hope others
fail
When you’re in an organization with a group of people, in order to be
successful, you all have to be successful. We need to want to see our
co-workers succeed and grow. If you wish for their demise, why even work with
them at all?

3. Exude joy vs. Exude anger
In business and in life, it’s always better to be happy and exude that joy to
others. It becomes contagious and encourages other to exude their joy as well.
When people are happier they tend to be more focused and successful. If a
person exudes anger, it puts everyone around them in a horrible, unmotivated
mood and little success comes from it.

4. Accept responsibly for your failures vs. Blame
others for your failures
Where there are ups, there are most always downs. Being a leader and successful
businessperson means always having to accept responsibility for your failures.
Blaming others solves nothing; it just puts other people down and absolutely no
good comes from it.

5. Talk about ideas vs. Talk about people

What did we all learn in high school? Gossip gets you nowhere. Much of the time
it’s false and most of the time it's negative. Instead of gossiping about
people, successful people talk about ideas. Sharing ideas with others will only
make them better.

6. Share data & info vs. Hoard data & info
As we all learned in kindergarten, sharing is caring. In social media, in
business and in life, sharing is important to be successful. When you share you
info and data with others, you can get others involved in what you are doing to
achieve success. Hoarding data and info is selfish and short-sighted.

7. Give people all the credit for their victories vs.
Take all the credit from others
Teamwork is a key to success. When working with others, don’t take credit from
their ideas. Letting others have their own victories and moments to shine
motivates them and in the long term, the better they perform, the better you'll
look anyway.

8. Set goals and life plans vs. Do not set goals
You can't possibly be successful without knowing where you're going in life. A
life vision board, 10 year plan, 3 year forecast, annual strategic plan, and
daily goal lists are useful tools of the mega-successful people in your life.
Get your vision and goals down on paper!

9. Keep a journal vs. Say you keep a journal but don’t

Keeping a journal is a great way to jot down quick ideas or thoughts that come
to mind that are not worth forgetting. Writing them down can lead to something
even greater. You can even use mobile apps or your Notes function in your
phone. But don’t fool yourself by saying you keep a journal and not following
through.

10. Read every day vs. Watch TV every day
Reading every day educates you on new subjects. Whether you are reading a blog,
your favorite magazine or a good book, you can learn and become more
knowledgeable as you read. Watching television, on the other hand, may be good
entertainment or an escape, but you'll rarely get anything out of TV to help
you become more successful.

11. Operate from a transformational perspective vs.
Operate from a transactional perspective
Transformational leaders go above and beyond to reach success on another level.
They focus on team building, motivation and collaboration across organizations.
They're always looking ahead to see how they can transform themselves and
others, instead of looking to just make a sale or generate more revenue or get
something out of the way.

12. Continuously learn vs. Fly by the seat of your
pants
Continuously learning and improving is the only way to grow. You can be a step
above your competition and become more flexible because you know more. If you
just fly by the seat of your pants, you could be passing up opportunities that
prevent you from learning (and growing!)

13. Compliment others vs. Criticize others
Complimenting someone is always a great way to show someone you care. A
compliment gives a natural boost of energy to someone, and is an act of
kindness that makes you feel better as well. Criticizing produces negativity and
leads to nothing good.

14. Forgive others vs. Hold a grudge
Everybody makes mistakes; it’s human. The only way to get past the mistake is
to forgive and move on. Dwelling on anger only makes things worse - for you.

15. Keep a “To-Be” list vs. Don’t know what you want
to be
A “To-Be” list is a great way to strategize for the future. I want to be an
elected official one day. I want to be a TED speaker. I want to be the CEO of a
public company. I want to be a great father and husband. Unsuccessful people
have no idea what they want to be. If you don’t know what you want to be, how
can you achieve success? What do you want to be?

16. Have Gratitude vs. Don't appreciate others and the
world around you.
Moments of gratitude, each and every one, transform my life each day- and
unquestionably have made me more successful and more happy. The people who you
are grateful for are often the ones who have a huge part in your success. Be
sure to thank everyone you come in contact with and walk with a spirit of gratitude
and appreciation and even wonder, about the world around you. Gratitude is the
ultimate key to being successful in business and in life.