If you CAN’T do anything about it,

Why Worry?

If you CAN do something about it,

Why Worry?

You probably remember Roger from our article Life Is Terrific Around the World.

It’s been 25 years since Roger took the Successful Life Course. He still remembers and practices goal setting and the other principles taught.

And it has helped him to be successful. He achieved his goal of going around the world in 1985.

Now, 24 years later, Roger went back to India.

Here he is in front of the Taj Mahal, in the same place as before, with a Life Is TERRIFIC! bumpersticker!

Way to go Roger! Thank you for sharing with us!

What-a-ya’ got to be thankful about?

We’ve been bombarded lately by the news media, the pundits, economists, bankers, and politicians that “We’re in a RECESSION,” aka “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” If you dwell upon the situation, study it and wallow in it, you’ll begin to feel apprehensive, doubtful and scared!

Things are really not that bad for us. We’re enjoying smooth sailing. It’s been a good year…maybe not a great year, but a very goood year! We’ve served a lot of wonderful, appreciative customers who have paid their bills. We received lots of orders for our products from new folks we’ve never dealt with before. We’ve addressed business meetings across the U.S.A. and around the world. Our 3-day classes here in Texas have been well attended. We’ve met new people, traveled to exotic locations and had fun! Did we achieve all our goals? No. Did we experience any disappointments? Of course. Could we have improved our revenue? Yes. Are we happy anyway? You better bet we are!

We’re thankful and happy for the support of our many wonderful clients and friends. You have given us confidence by placing your trust in us! We are enjoying the blessings of good health, family, freedom, travel, “toys”…and the knowledge that we live in a part of the world that most people would love to experience. They find it hard to believe that we have it so GOOOD…and wonder why some folks complain and feel so bad!

Here’s a good suggestion…take at least an hour…a reflective hour…and make a list of everything good that happened in your life in the last 12 months…from the little things to the big ones! It’ll require a little time for you to “shift gears” from what’s wrong to what’s right. Maybe you got a promotion, more responsibility and the opportunity to grow…a new job…a new client, or a new addition to your family, or remodeled the house, the old car kept running good, or you traded for another car, home, job or bike. Your kid got well or made good grades…someone special respects and loves you…you improved your diet, exercise and energy level…you watched a sunrise, walked in the moonlight…lived without fear…set and achieved some new goals. You get the idea. Rack your brain…put it into “positive gear,” count all your blessings and see how very much you have to be thankful for! Add to your list daily!

Think about what you think about…thankfulness and blessings, or complaints and despair? You decide, it’s your choice…complainers will always have plenty to complain about…happy people look for things to be happy about and they enjoy happy, healthy, productive lives!

We expect 2009 and 2010 to get better…the markets will recover…our new President will do better than some folks expected…the sky won’t fall…the sun will continue to shine. Get HAPPY ‘n Stay TERRIFIC!

Ed Foreman
Earlene Vining
Linda Barrett
Phillip Hettich

It’s always good to hear success stories from our graduates.

I recently got an email from Roger Knipp. Roger took the 3 day Successful Life Course with Ed Foreman and Earlene Vining in 1984.

He said “As a result of the course, I set a goal of going around the world, which I did in 1985. I took a picture of myself in front of the Taj Mahal in 1985, holding up a Life Is Terrific bumpersticker. Had that picture in my living room for two decades and still cherish it. And Ed put it in his newsletter in late 1985.”

Talk about the power of goal setting!

Now Roger is going back to India and is going to take one of those bumperstickers. He says “I will be seeing the Taj Mahal again and I want to strike the same pose holding the same bumpersticker.”

We’re rooting for you, Roger! Please send us the new picture when you get it!

Do you have a success story to tell? Sharing success encourages all of us to better things and helps counteract all of the negative news we are bombarded with daily. If you have a success story, please let us know by clicking the “comment” button below or send an email to support@edforeman.com.

I’ve often heard that Ed Foreman was the only person in the 20th century to be elected to Congress from two different states (Texas and New Mexico), but I learned something new today.

I ran across an article in The New Mexico Independent pointing out that Obama will be working with the oldest Congress ever. The average age of the members of the House of Representatives will be 57, the highest on record.

Discussing the ages of the Representives from New Mexico, the article goes on to point out that “The youngest was Ed Foreman, who, when sworn in, was just 35 years, 11 days old. Foreman was actually elected to Congress at a younger age — six years earlier, he was elected to Congress in Texas’ 16th Congressional District.”

There goes all of my excuses….

Reuters reports that researchers have confirmed that happiness is contagious and they have the statistics to prove it.

Getting connected to happy people improves a person’s own happiness, they reported in the British Medical Journal. James Fowler, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, said “If a social contact is happy, it increases the likelihood that you are happy by 15 percent, But every extra unhappy friend increases the likelihood that you’ll be unhappy by 7 percent.”.

“Among other benefits, happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced mortality, pain reduction, and improved cardiac function.” he said.

So, if you want to be happy and healthy, it helps to have happy friends. To increase your chances of having happy friends, BE a happy friend.

A short film about the magic of looking for the best in people.

This movie has played at 34 film festivals worldwide and won 17 awards.

Some people are always getting ready, but never quite pulling the trigger. They are putting the “final touches” on a project (or as we say in Texas “They’re fixin’ to do it”). This keeps them from being as successful as they could be. (I say “they”, but I am as guilty of this as anyone…).

There may be a couple of reasons for not completing the project, publishing the article, or whatever. One is procrastination. Another is perfectionism.

Sometimes we procrastinate because of “information overload”. With all of the resources we have available today, with the internet, etc. we could go on forever researching the right answer (or the wrong answer). The trick to this one is knowing that we will NEVER have ALL of the facts. There are diminishing returns for additional research. We must determine when we have enough information to move forward.

Procrastination drains us of energy, because the project remains on our to-do list. Our mind keeps nagging us with ideas for completing it, thus distracting us from what we are doing. There are only 2 alternatives to get this mental energy back. Either we decide we are never going to complete it, and permanently drop it from the list, or we get busy and get it done. As Ed Foreman says, “If you’ve got a frog to swallow, do it first thing in the morning.” The sense of accomplishment we get from completing a goal enhances our self esteem and gives us the energy to tackle the next one.

Another reason a lot of us have for not completing the project is that we want it to be absolutely perfect. Our name is going to be associated with it and we want a spotless reputation. What we need to remember, though, is that no one will get any benefit from the project unless we put it out there.

I remember early in my computer programming career when management chose to release a product with a known bug! I was flabbergasted! How could they publish something that we knew had an issue??? They pointed out to me that the benefits of using our software would by far outweigh the issue in one little part of it. Something software companies learned early on was that it could be fixed in the next release (and yes, there would always be a next release…).

The solution to perfectionism is to remember, as one mentor kept telling me, “Good enough is good enough!”. Aim for perfection, but put it out there when it works well enough. You can always improve it later.

Now, Ready, Aim, and FIRE!

One of the most outstanding business books I have ever read is
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt & Jeff Cox.

The book is an easy read. (The audio version is even better). Even though the book is an introduction to the Theory of Constraints, it is written as an enjoyable novel about a new manager who has 90 days to turn around a failing manufacturing plant or lose it. You follow him as he and his team, with clues from a mysterious consultant, come to grips with a new way of managing their business. The insights they find are incredible and can be applied to any type of business.

If I were to tell you the bottom lines to the Theory of Constraints, more than likely you would not recognize the huge impact it can have when properly applied. I’ll give you a hint, though. In the process of trying to save his plant, this manager learns that he can make a profit selling some of his products below cost!

If, after you finish The Goal, you want more information about The Theory of Constraints, Goldratt has a new book called Beyond the Goal: Eliyahu Goldratt Speaks on the Theory of Constraints (Your Coach in a Box). This book is a discussion about the application of the Theory of Constraints to businesses, including software companies. (Again, the audio book is better. Eliyahu explains the details himself). But, don’t skip The Goal and go straight to the new book! You will really regret it.

If you’re tired of dry, boring business books, The Goal will be a welcome change.

I just got a call from a friend of mine. She is president of a company involved in construction and remodeling.

Thinking I already knew the answer, I asked her how her business was doing. Surprisingly, she said “Great! We almost have more business than we can handle! Our challenge is getting enough good people to do the work.”

When I mentioned that a lot of businesses, especially housing related businesses, are experiencing a recession, she simply said “Not over here!”.

What do you think would happen if she started thinking, “Oh no. The economy is falling apart. And the housing market is the worst. I better pull in the reins, cut costs, not take on so many jobs in this risky environment, and start a hiring freeze.” ?

Exactly. It would be a self fulfilling prophecy.

So, does that mean we should just stick our head in the sand and ignore what we see? Of course not. But in every situation, there are opportunities for people that look for them.

If some of your customers are buying less from you now, think of ways you can provide more value to help them through difficult times. Not only will your business grow, but you’ll gain some very loyal customers.

Be like the late Sam Walton. When asked for his opinion of the 1991 recession, he said, “I’ve thought about it, and decided not to participate.” Within only two years Wal-Mart’s share price was up 200% !

If you are a huge multi-national bank or investment company, then ok, maybe you’ve got a steep hill to climb. But, if not, then ignore the exaggerations of the media, and just take care of business.

Like Earlene Vining says, “If it is to be, it’s up to me.“