Burke Hedges Speaks

>> “A task without a vision is drudgery; a vision without a task is
a dream. A vision and a task are the hope of the world.” <<    

Having a strong vision for your business and life is not only a
look into the future, but also a constant reference point for
you to line yourself up with.  Your vision is your point of
reference. 

All of us can see in our mind’s eye what we want to be and do
in our life.  Then, it’s up to us to find a way to realize that
vision. We can put our imagination to work.  For some of us,
we systematically plan out the steps needed to achieve our
vision.  And others might trust their gut and move forward
more instinctively.

Your personal vision includes your business, career, family
and lifestyle. What do you see for yourself in your business? 
What kind of success do you envision?  How about your family
life?  What do you envision a happy and fun family life to be
like?

Starting a new business is the most important time to start
thinking about your personal vision for your life.  It’s the
time when your enthusiasm is at its highest and your idea of
what you want to accomplish is clear and strong.  This is why
we always tell new distributors to “write down your why”. 

It’s that important.

So, what are some of the consequences of not having a strong
vision for your life and business?  What happens when you
live your life not really caring one way or the other? 

Often, you feel as though your work has no meaning.  There is
no underlying sense of purpose. The effort you put in is only
a means to something else and is not gratifying in and of itself. 
It just pays the bills…but beyond that, there’s nothing else in
it for you.

The strength of your vision will give you a solid sense of
direction and bring meaning into your life.  It’s your purpose. 
Something to be returned to, over and over again, to check your
bearings and sense of commitment. 

Have you ever heard the statement, “Your why has to make you cry”? 

It’s true that you’ve got to be passionate about your vision. 
When you feel so strongly about your reason “why” it becomes
infectious.  Others around you begin to feel it.  They become
more passionate about their business because they see how
passionate you are.  Your vision rubs off and can carry your
team through good times and bad, building a sense of commitment,
passion and spirit.

Becoming a great leader means that you’re the carrier of that
vision.  You tell the story that reinforces the dream.  You
inspire others as you point the way.  It all starts with you
and your personal vision for yourself, your life, and your future. 

Let that vision jump-start your business and guide you.  Then,
share your vision with everyone around you.  Your team, your
prospects, your family.  Become so passionate about it that
it becomes infectious…and watch your business grow.

Make it a great week!

 Well, we’re a week into 2010 … have you implemented some new plans,
or is it back to “more of the same?”

You know, most “new year’s resolutions” are already broken today -
or will be by the end of this month.  So, if that’s you - you’re
not alone.

Last week I spoke to you about needing to set New Years Intentions,
not resolutions.  I say this because I think the whole “resolution”
business is broken.

If one of your resolutions was to get your financial life turned
around, hear me now - It’s not going to happen with a resolution. You
need a plan and you need guidance.

Let me ask you a question.  When you woke up this morning did you plan
your day based on the things that that “fire you up” & that you feel
passionate about OR are you plans made based on what you need to do
to solve your immediate cash situation?

Do you spend your time working IN a successful business - making it
bigger, better & stronger?  Or, are you constantly trying to
‘figure out’ how to make your business a success?  If you wake up
everyday thinking about how you’re going to solve your money problems,
how you’re going to build a big business - but you never actually
GET there, then read on.

In order to get back on track in your life and business, you need
to do 4 simple things. 

1. Stop the bleeding

Where are you bleeding money in your life & business?  Get in there
and find out where and put a stop to it - immediately.  If you’ve
constantly got more money going out than coming in, it’s going to
cause some serious stress. 

For example, if you’re driving all over town doing one-on-one
meetings with people to show them your business opportunity,
you’re probably spending money on gas, wear & tear on your car,
and perhaps some coffee for you & your prospects.

How much are you spending each month on this?  Are you seeing
a return on your investment?
2. Put a stop to stress

Chances are there are several factors in your life that are making
your situation more stressful than it needs to be.

Maybe you’ve got an unsupportive spouse because of all the time
and money you’re spending without getting anything in return.

Perhaps you’ve got “toxic” team members who call you non-stop
to complain.  You’ve got to get those folks off your back - fast.

Once you make the decision to stop the bleeding in your business
and you move forward in profitability, you’ll find a lot of thing
often change - spouses become more supportive and you’re often
too busy to take phone calls from complaining team members
anymore.

3. Generate some income quickly

If you’re stagnant in your business and really need to make
some income fast, then sit right now and make a list
of the ways you could so that. 

How many new customers would you need?  How many new
business partners?  How many people do you need to talk
to this week to make that happen?

Map out some ideas right now for generating income this
week in your business.
4. Refocus

Finally, ask yourself this important question:

Will the thinking that got me where I am right now get me to where
I want to be in the future?

If your answer is “No”, then now’s the time to refocus your thinking
and make plans for the future.  Plans that you put into action!

I’d like to encourage you this week to look at your business
like a business…not a part-time hobby.  A business has to be
profitable in order to stay in business and so much stress can
be eliminated from your life once you get your business into
profitability. 

Look at where you’re bleeding money, get rid of distractions,
make a plan of action to generate some fast income, and focus.

Have a great week!

Welcome back to another edition of the Monday Minute!

For many of us, this is a holiday week.  If you’re spending time
with family and friends I wish you very happy holidays & a wonderful
New Year!

I don’t know about you, but many people (including myself) use this
last week of the year to make their New Year Resolutions.  We do
it every year…and I have a question for you:  

How did you do last year on the resolutions you set for yourself? 

Did you keep them?  Or has the desire to do something else, or
slide back into your old ways made your resolutions fall by the wayside? 

If you find yourself making a list of resolutions each year and
then forgetting them by February 1st, I’ve got a tip for you. 

Instead of making resolutions, make “Intentions”.

What is an “Intention”?  An Intention is a purpose held in your mind. 
It’s a desired goal you want to experience.  

According to the dictionary, and intention is:

“An act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result. 
The end or object intended.  The purpose, or attitude towards the
effect of one’s actions or conduct.”
 
Intentions are more than a hope or a wish.  They’re a steadfast and
fixed idea. When you think about your intentions, you think about
having, being or doing something and it gives you pleasure.

There is power in your intention.  Your compelling reason for working
your business drives you to intention.  It’s your “why”.  You
probably have it written down somewhere.  Take a few moments this
week to go back and look over those compelling reasons that caused
you to seek out and get started in your business.

What “Intentions” can we fix in our mind that will help drive us
closer to our desired goals we want to experience?

It’s not too late to dig deep and come up with a focused purpose,
a desired goal you want to experience this year.

To your success in 2010!

It’s Monday and time for another edition of the Monday Minute. 
Thanks for joining me!

Last week we talked about what it is you really owe to your team. 
It’s so important to separate the act of helping someone grow
from dragging them across the finish line.

You can’t build this business for the people on your team.  You
can only continue to build your own business and be an example
of success for them to follow.

In the end, it’s their business and their success will be based
on the amount of personal effort they put into it - not on how
much you try to help them.  Give your teammates the resources
they need to succeed, encourage them to plug-in, cheer them on,
and then work like heck on your own business to set a great example. 
The rest of it you leave in their hands.

I get asked dozens of times every month by ambitious distributors
from all over the world, “How can I motivate others to become more
successful?”

You know, it sounds like a great skill to have - the ability to
motivate someone else.  But the truth is, you cannot successfully
motivate others.  It’s not possible.  You can INSPIRE them with
your words and actions, but true motivation for them must come
from within.

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If your team doesn’t have that internal motivation, that fire in
their belly, then any motivation you try to give them will be just
like putting spray paint on rust. Eventually, when the motivation
from an event or pep talk wears off, it’s a person’s commitment
that is left over.
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You cannot motivate others to want to succeed any more than you
can push a rope uphill.

The truth is, a person must first want it for themselves before they
will ever become successful, right?  You probably know this from
experience.  You go to a meeting and leave all “fired up” only to
fizzle out 2 weeks later.

Being inspired is great and we should all strive to listen to, watch
or read things that inspire us and give up that jump start we need
to pursue our goals.  But motivation comes from deep within.  It’s
lasting…it ’sticks’.  It’s about something bigger than just walking
across that stage or getting a big commission check.  It’s about
changing your life and your family’s life forever.

Wanting success for someone else more than they want it for themselves
can become toxic for both parties.  The key to having motivated people
on your team is to be motivated yourself.  Not just inspired - but
deeply motivated and driven to success.

>> Being motivated means that you don’t need someone else to remind
   you of the opportunity you have in front of you.

>> Being motivated means that you wake up each morning ready to take
   on the day, create new relationships, market your business and show
   people how to get started.

>> Being motivated means that you attend the events and trainings without
   having to be reminded that the events are taking place.

>> Being motivated means that you invest in your education by reading
   books, listening to audios and modeling successful people.

>> Being motivated means that you take massive action, regardless of
   who believes in you, supports you or joins you.

>> Being motivated means that you learn the system, how to do business
   and produce results.  It’s important to you.

This, in my opinion, is what true motivation looks like.  Can you spot
it in yourself?  Can you spot it in your teammates?

So, what do you do when you find yourself surrounded by prospects
who are unmotivated to get started or a team that’s unmotivated to
take action?  Do you try to find ways to motivate them?  No, you
FIRE THEM and find new people.

Find new people who are hungry for success, who will stop at nothing
to get it and are determined to develop themselves into a leader that
others are looking to follow.

They’re out there, believe me, there are plenty of people searching
for a system to plug into that can change their lives.  They’re out
there searching for the right business model, the right leader, the
right system and the right support to reach the top! 

Will you be the one to find them?  Or will you be too busy trying to
drag people across the finish line?  The decision is yours…now take
action!

Make it a great week!

Welcome to another edition of the Monday Minute! 

Last week I finished up a series on motivation : what keeps you
and your team motivated and what distracts and takes away from
that motivation.

This week, I’ve got a short message for you on the power of belief. 
I’m a strong believer in the power of thoughts.  What we think
about and believe about ourselves creates our current reality. 

The most powerful element of your success in any part of your life,
but most importantly in your business, is your belief about yourself.  

Your belief about what you’re capable of. 

You’ve probably heard this before:  Whatever you strongly  believe
will become your reality.

If you believe that you will succeed in your business and you pursue
that success with action, then you will!  If you entertain, think about,
or talk about the possibility that you might fail, you’re only harming
yourself.  Failure cannot be an option for you. 

You can’t expect to have success if you’re only “trying” this business. 
“Trying” a business to “see if it works” is a lottery ticket mentality. 
You “try” broccoli.  You work a business!  You make a decision, write
down your goals, and pursue a course of action that takes you closer
and closer towards achieving those goals. 

The most important belief system you can build is a prosperity
consciousness where you absolutely believe that you are going achieve
your goals. You could call it “Positive Knowing” instead of just
“Positive Thinking”.

Sometimes just thinking positively isn’t enough.  Positive thinking
can quickly turn into wishing or hoping. But Positive Knowing is
when you absolutely know that no matter what, you will be successful.

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Let’s talk for a moment about willpower.

Your willpower to keep moving ahead towards your goals is based
on your own level of confidence, conviction and faith. It’s based
on your belief in your ability to triumph over ALL obstacles.

How can you develop willpower?  You develop it through persistence,
working on your goals, reading about successful people, listening
to audio programs based on self-growth and self-development and
by reading books about people who’ve achieved success.

The more information you take into your mind consistent with success,
the more likely it is that you will develop the willpower to push you
through the obstacles and difficulties you will experience.

This week, I’d like you to try an exercise in self-discipline.  I
believe that your thoughts and words are so powerful.  They effect
your beliefs about yourself and controlling them is essential for
anyone who wants to achieve something of great value.

Controlling the types of things you think about and speak about
is also the hardest exercise in self-mastery that you will ever
engage in.

I know you’ll agree with me that you can’t go around complaining
about your team, your job and your life all day and expect good
things to happen.  It just doesn’t work that way!  The results you
have in life will be a direct outcome of the thoughts you have,
the words you say and the actions you take.

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So, for the next week I’d like you to try to think and speak only
on those things you desire.  Think about all the ways that you
CAN instead of all the ways that you CAN’T. 
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If you spend a lot of time complaining that you’re not reaching your
goals, stop talking about it and make a plan of action that will
help you begin to start reaching those goals. 

It’s a hard thing to do but with practice, you can reach the point
where you are thinking about your goals and desires in a positive
light most of the time. Then, out of those positive and empowering
thoughts will come the words you speak. 

Try it - you’ll see.  Your whole life will change for the better!

See you next week!

Hello and welcome back!  Last week we started talking about
motivation - that fire that burns inside of you pushing you into
action towards your dreams. 

In order to motivate the people on your team, you’ve got to
stay motivated and excited yourself, right? 

Everyone has different motivations when building their business. 
Perhaps you’ve got a huge financial motivation.  For many people,
they desire respect and are motivated by being around other people. 
They enjoy working together as a team.

But whatever your motivation is for building your business, there
are some things you must watch out for if you want to stay motivated.

Now, I’m not talking about the “Hoo-rah” kind of motivation where
you go to a conference and get all pumped up for the next week
until you fizzle out.  That’s not what I mean when I say
“motivation”. 

I’m speaking about that internal desire that inspires you, causes
you to lose sleep at night, and moves you to press forward.  This
type of motivation doesn’t come and go.  It stays with you until
you’ve achieved your goals.

That’s what we’re going to talk about in today’s Monday Minute…

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So many of us start our businesses “fired up”.  We’re supercharged
and ready to take on the world.  Then, we face a little rejection…
a little discouragement…we hear a few no’s…and suddenly, we can’t
get up the energy to do the activities we KNOW we must do to build
our business.

Excuses creep in.  “I’m too busy tonight” or “I just haven’t had
the time.” We tell ourselves instead of making those prospecting
phone calls or scheduling meetings.  But what has really
happened is we’ve lost some of our motivation. 

>>  Always remember to stay plugged into your upline and team
functions, especially when you’re feeling unmotivated.  Don’t pull
away from those relationships.  You may want to pull away because
you don’t feel like you’re winning, but hiding out doesn’t work. 

It’s when you’re feeling low that you need to surround yourself
with positive and excited people.  They’ll lift you up and help
you get going again!

>> Don’t allow yourself to give into doubt.  When you’re
pursuing your dream, it often is harder and takes longer than
you thought it would.  But don’t give up! 

So many people come up against resistance and assume that means
the door is closed and they should quit.  But anyone who ever
achieved great things did so against all odds.  They pushed ahead,
even when times got tough.  Don’t doubt yourself.  Keep pressing
towards that dream in your heart and do not stop until the job is
done!

>> Just be yourself.  Your dreams are attached to who you are. 
One surefire way to de-motivate yourself is to constantly compare
yourself to other leaders in your business.  It’s great to learn
from others and celebrate other people’s victories, but it’s a huge
mistake to compare your successes with someone else’s.  

The different between a dream and a fantasy is simple:  You’re
willing to work for a dream.  You’re willing to take action for a
dream.  You’re willing to lay it all on the line for a dream.

I want to encourage you this week to never give up.  Keep pressing
forward towards you goals. 

Until next week…Be your best!

Thanks for joining me again this week for the Monday Minute! 

I wrote to you last week about two of the most important words
in becoming a great leader - praise and appreciation. 

Your prospects and the people on your team are starved for
praise and someone to appreciate their efforts.  If you can
excel in praising people, you’ll go far as a leader.

This week I’d like to teach you some techniques on staying
motivated.  Getting motivated is usually pretty easy.  But
staying that way- day in and day out - when the road gets
rough, can be tricky.

And as a leader, you’ve also got to be concerned about keeping
your team motivated and moving forward.  If you’re going to
motivate others, you’ve got to stay motivated yourself.  To
do this, you must understand what keeps people motivated as
well as what destroys motivation. 

So lets’ get going!

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Everyone is driven by the same basic needs.  We often think of
basic necessities like financial security, a roof over our heads
and food on the table - stuff like that.  But you and I both know
that people don’t get into this business JUST for the money.  There
are so many other things at play that effect people’s motivation.

>> A desire for respect is a huge motivator.  People often look
   at “status symbols” like a car or clothing as a sign of success 
   and respect.  This is why so many direct sales companies have
   car programs.  Earning that car is a huge sign of respect- and
   many people will work harder for the car than they will for money.

>> A need for financial security will keep people working hard.  No
   one wants the constant stress of being in debt and worrying about
   our children’s future. 

>> A desire for power and to leave a legacy is very powerful.  For
   some of us, simply making an additional income isn’t enough.  We
   want to leave a legacy.  We yearn to have our great-great-grandkids
   set financially for life because of the hard work we’ve put in now.

>> If you’re involved in a health and nutrition related company, you
   might have a strong motivation to stay healthy.  You want to understand
   every ingredient in your product and you’re excited about sharing
   the wonderful health benefits your product provides.

>> For some, helping others is a key motivator.  It’s always fun to have
   nice things in life.  But what motivates some people deeply is helping
   others succeed.  Seeing someone on your team win gives you a thrill
   nothing else compares to. 

Next week I’m going to reveal some huge de-motivators.  They’re the
things that keep us stuck in our business and life.  Once we understand
what they are, we can learn how to move past them and achieve our goals.

Until then, make it a great week!

Vince Lombardi said winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

Believe me when I tell you I can predict with 100% certainty whether
you will succeed or fail in the next 12 months in this business.

How do I know this? Because…

All I have to do is look at your habits. Success leaves clues and
your habits will tell it all.

Your daily habits will decide your future. When you first look
at it, habits appear like small harmless routines. They’re
predictable and comfort us, especially during times of stress. But
not all your habits are small or harmless. In fact, when it’s all
said and done, who we are and what we become is the sum of our habits.

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You do not decide your future. You decide your habits! And your
habits decide your future!
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So, what is a habit, and how will it affect your success in this
business over the next 12 months?

A habit is a pattern of action that is automatic and difficult to break.

You can have good habits and bad habits. Constructive habits and
destructive habits. The key is to choose your habits very carefully,
because in the end, the habits you choose affect the quality of your
life. The choice is up to you.

What are your:

-Income producing habits?
-Work habits?
-People skills habits?
-Training habits?
-Skill development habits?
-Teambuilding habits?
-Communication habits?
-Parenting habits?

Are the habits you choose an asset or a liability? Are the small tasks
you’re doing everyday getting you closer to your goals or taking you
away from them?

Answer those questions honestly. And take a step today to become aware
of how your habits are affecting your life. The best way to become
aware of your habits is to sit down and take an inventory of them.
Think about which habits are helping you move forward in your
business and which ones hold you back.

Do you spend all your spare time in front of the TV or are you taking
the time to read books that will expand your mind and improve your
business building skills?

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Imagine if everyone on your team was doing EXACTLY what you’re doing
to build your business. Does that excite you, or scare you to death?
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Your productive habits are like seeds planted in your life. You’re
not going to see a harvest overnight; it takes time for that seed to
grow. But you can rest assured that the habits you have will reap a
harvest. They’ll either bring about positive results in your life
and get you closer to your dreams, or they’ll bring about misery and
pain.

By taking inventory of your habits, you’ll see what’s really important
to you. What things do you really value?

When you choose your habits, you’re really deciding what things take
priority in your life, right? When you squander your valuable time
watching 3 hours of TV instead of doing activities to build your
business, you are making the decision that watching TV is more
important than your financial future and that of your family as well.

Once you gain control of your habits, you gain control of your life.

Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become words.
Be careful of your words for your words become actions.
Be careful of your actions for your actions become habits.
Be careful of your habits for your habits become your character.
Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.

Your daily habits over the next 12 months will either guarantee your
success or your failure. It’s that simple!

Have a great week & I’ll see you next Monday!