Personal Effectiveness

The Most Inspiring Carpenter

Jonah had just bought a piece of land near Nazareth and needed extra tools to till the land. One day as he was going to the market he saw a sign “Joseph & Mary Carpentry“. He went in and started chatting with the carpenter, a young man named Jesus. (more…)

Skill vs Talent

Do you want to use every ounce of potential to achieve more? Do you want to succeed in life? If you are anything like me, you probably want more out of life. You want to succeed. You want to thrive. You want to prosper. Mediocrity is not an option. (more…)

The Power of Discipline

Does positive thinking and motivational talk turn you on? Does it activate your mind to imagine the possibilities? Unfortunately, motivation alone does not bring success. You will only progress in life if you take action. Learn to take action even when you feel bored. Utilize the power of discipline to get more out of life. Discipline means doing the right thing, at the right place, at the right time, for the right purpose, to achieve the desired goals. It means following through with your commitments regardless of your emotional state. (more…)

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Here Comes the Men in Luck

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it”, said Thomas Jefferson.  Then Oprah Winfrey said “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity”. And the Japanese have an interesting saying “The day you decide to do it is your lucky day”. Today is your lucky day my friend if you decide to create your own luck. (more…)

In Goals We Trust

A group of five guys, including yours truly, were coming from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, on one chilly Friday morning. Our car got a flat tire and as fate would have it; our spare tire was flat too. (more…)

Who Is Your Customer?

There is a customer born every minute, said P.T. Barnum. Wherever I go, I see and meet customers. Some are my customers; some are the other guy’s customers. Each of us has customers. We make a living or a fortune by finding and satisfying customers. (more…)

Do you have a Blueprint for Success?

A prudent construction company will not start building a house before designing the blueprint for it.  Many people set out to be successful without planning exactly how they are going to get there or even have a way of verifying that they have arrived. It is like setting out to sea without a compass. You may get to your destination, but it may take a long time. You will get there a whole lot faster if you have a compass.  Likewise to succeed you need to have a blueprint or framework. (more…)

What a Car Mechanic Taught me About Success

Everywhere I look, I seem to find lessons to share with you on this blog about success. Yesterday I was talking with a friend, a car mechanic, about life in general. He mentioned that he enjoys reading my blog. He requested that I share a few lessons with you that he applies in his life. So here we go… (more…)

What is Kaizen?

Kaizen is the process of reaching your goals in life by harnessing the amazing power of baby steps. It is a simple concept imported from Japan, that can transform your life if you apply it.

According to Wikipedia, “Kaizen (continuous improvement) is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers.”

Instead of focusing on giant leaps towards your life goals, you can apply the principles of Kaizen to better yourself each and every day. Kaizen is all about making small changes and monitoring results, then adjusting. Instead of big overwhelming goals, you can have smaller goals, which can be rapidly adapted and accomplished. (more…)

Is your Belief System screwing you up?

Today has been a very humbling experience for me. I stepped back and reflected on the last eight months since launching this blog. I re-read some of my earlier blog posts, and the dear readers’ comments. The support from my dear family, friends and readers has been nothing short of amazing. I really appreciate everyone who has joined me in this journey of personal growth and discovery.

This year, I have been unshackling myself from mental slavery. I earmarked 2009 as the year of unparalleled professional and personal growth. It has meant getting rid of some beliefs that were royally screwing my life and preventing me from getting ahead. (more…)

Chasing the Wind of Success

Ok my friends, let us change gears today. We are still in the “get ahead series”, but let us try and attach meaning to our quest for success. Sometimes chasing success can be like chasing the wind. The more you get the more you want. When is it ever enough? But on the other hand, is chasing the wind such a bad thing, anyway?

Many of us are always looking to climb higher. Unfortunately, the higher you climb the more you realize how far you still to go. Do you spend your life looking for the next promotion, the next relationship, the next success? (more…)

Chapter 16: Some Cautions, and Concluding Observations

MANY people will scoff at the idea that there is an exact science of getting rich; holding the impression that the supply of wealth is limited, they will insist that social and governmental institutions must be changed before even any considerable number of people can acquire a competence.

But this is not true.

It is true that existing governments keep the masses in poverty, but this is because the masses do not think and act in the Certain Way. If the masses begin to move forward as suggested in this book, neither governments nor industrial systems can check them; all systems must be modified to accommodate the forward movement. (more…)

Chapter 11: Acting in the Certain Way

THOUGHT is the creative power, or the impelling force which causes the creative power to act; thinking in a Certain Way will bring riches to you, but you must not rely upon thought alone, paying no attention to personal action. That is the rock upon which many otherwise scientific metaphysical thinkers meet shipwreck–the failure to connect thought with personal action.

We have not yet reached the stage of development, even supposing such a stage to be possible, in which man can create directly from Formless Substance without nature’s processes or the work of human hands; man must not only think, but his personal action must supplement his thought. (more…)

Use the Will to Get Rich

TO set about getting rich in a scientific way, you do not try to apply your will power to anything outside of yourself. You have no right to do so, anyway.It is wrong to apply your will to other men and women, in order to get them to do what you wish done. (more…)

Resist Poverty and He will Flee from You

TO set about getting rich in a scientific way, you do not try to apply your will power to anything outside of yourself. You have no right to do so, anyway. It is wrong to apply your will to other men and women, in order to get them to do what you wish done.

It is as flagrantly wrong to coerce people by mental power as it is to coerce them by physical power. If compelling people by physical force to do things for you reduces them to slavery, compelling them by mental means accomplishes exactly the same thing; the only difference is in methods. If taking things from people by physical force is robbery, them taking things by mental force is robbery also; there is no difference in principle. (more…)

The Certain Way of Getting Rich

Before setting out on your journey for prosperity, be clear on where you want to go. Paint a complete mental picture of what it is that you want to achieve. Be consistent in the image you formulate in your mind. And behind your clear vision must be the purpose to realize it; to bring it out in tangible expression.

A story is told of a shy young man who wanted to succeed. He saw an older man from his home town fishing. He mustered some courage and approached the highly successful old man and asked, “What is the secret to your success?”. Without saying as much as a word to the young man, the old man grabbed him and pushed him down into the lake. (more…)

What has Gratitude got to do with Getting Rich?

Let us say two of your friends are moving house. Like a good friend that you are, you decide to help them with the moving. It is back-breaking work, one friend (Jack) is moving on Monday, and the other (Alex) on Tuesday.

After the move, Jack goes quiet for a couple of months. On the other hand, Alex sends you a thank you card, with a bottle of champagne and calls you for a house warming party. You realize that even Jack had a house warming party, only you were not invited. With all things being equal, who would you feel closer to? (more…)

How Riches Come to You

Do you give more than you take? It is possible to have fair business transactions and yet give more than you take. The more seeds you plant the more your granaries fill up. We live in an amazing universe with an unlimited supply of riches in store for those who learn how to tap into it. (more…)

The Power of Thoughts and Wealth Creation

We live in a thinking universe. Thoughts are the only way to produce wealth from the formless substance that exists in the universe. Everything you see around you is a thought. The formless stuff becomes physical upon thoughts. You become what you think about.

Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created. (more…)

Personal Branding for Rich Men

Most of my theories on personal branding would not resonate well with people in the little village I come from  in Kenya. Bob Marley said “a hungry man is an angry man”. I say a hungry man has little time for personal branding. Personal branding seems to work better for rich men, and for good reason. (more…)

Personal Branding Outside your Comfort zone

Real growth is only experienced when you step out of your comfort zone. Going out of your comfort zone does not guarantee success by itself. However, staying put at your comfort zone only guarantees getting similar results, not more. Today’s blog post is dedicated to people who have recently or are planning to step out of their comfort zone. (more…)

7 Habits of Highly Effective Personal Brands

We all have personal brands by default. However, to get an effective personal brand, one that gets results, we need to do more. Today’s post looks at 7 habits that will propel your brand to effectiveness. (more…)

How to Ruin Your Personal Brand

Personal branding is not easy for the vast majority of people. However, over the years I have noticed that some people end up ruining perfect personal brands. If you really, really need to ruin your personal brand, you will be pleased with today’s blog post. (more…)

10 Ways to Stamp Authority in your Career

Today we take personal branding to your career doorstep. One of the most powerful ways of propelling your career to the stratosphere is through positioning yourself as an authority. You can eliminate doubts about your abilities, marshal people around your ideas through smart professional and personal branding. Here is how… (more…)

The Value of Consistency

“In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It is not what we do once in a while that shape our lives, but what we do consistently” – Athony Robbins. (more…)

10% of Your Actions Define 90% of Personal Brand

Transform your personal brand by identifying the key 10% of your actions and habits that shape people’s perception of you. Obsess about that 10%. Make positive changes. Laser target your efforts. (more…)

13 Personal Branding Mistakes

There is a right way for building a personal brand, and there is a wrong way. Watch out for the following traps on the wrong road to personal branding. Today we look at how to avoid the common mistakes in personal branding efforts. (more…)

Guilt and her Emotional Cousins

Conscience is a powerful guilt-meter. When someone has a conscience they feel guilty for doing things that do not conform to their moral code of conduct. On the other hand, they get feelings of integrity when they do the ‘right thing’. Conscience is often referred as the little still voice within. Many people are deaf to this voice and lead a guilt free life. Guilt is a powerful emotion that has its place in human survival and success. (more…)

10 Powerful Strategies for Dealing with Heartache

In 2001 at the age of 21, my planet stood still. I was engulfed in a tide of darkness for a while there. My heart was paralyzed. I was in severe emotional pain and the pain was real. I would not wish that pain on anyone; the pain of a heartbreak. No matter how hard I tried to forget her, my efforts seemed futile. (more…)

Love and the Appreciation Factor

According to the late Mother Teresa “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread”. The greatest human need is the need to be appreciated. Showing love and appreciation to others implies abundance on your part. When you have an abundant mindset, you attract love and success to your life. (more…)