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“Why didn’t we do this before?”

Having spoken to so many first time cruisers, their reaction is always the same - they ask themselves “Why didn’t we do this before?” It is great value for money and should be tried at least once. Cruises are much more affordable than they were in the past and many offer better value than the conventional land based holiday as all food and entertainment is included in the price. Prices for a 7 night fly cruise to the Mediterranean can start from as low as £399, however in general prices work out at approximately £100 per day. This price includes flights where required, transfers, accommodation on board, all meals, (be prepared to put on 1lb a day, although a gym on board most ships will help to keep the weight off) entertainment and you get to see a new port each day. Unbeatable value.

1st Cruise Holiday Tip

To get the most from your evening meal, choose the second sitting where offered as you will rarely be hurried to finish and you will get more chance to make the most of the social setting.

“There is nothing to do on a cruise!”

Are you active and need lots to do? Do you want to totally relax and watch the world go by? Do you want to dress for dinner or do you require a more casual approach? Are you happy to fly and join a ship or do you prefer to cruise out of and back to the UK? We will guide you and point you in the right direction, alternatively you can contact us and one of our experienced cruise consultants will be pleased to help.

It is important to have a good idea of what you want as the range of cruises is enormous. Large vessels in excess of 100,000 tons offer superb family facilities including ice rinks, climbing, basketball and mini golf to name but a few. In the evening following a superb meal in one of the many restaurants on board, the ship really comes to life with casinos, night clubs, cinemas and a full range of entertainment to keep the fun loving active individual happy 24 hours a day.

If this all sounds too much for you and your idea of a cruise means lying back and watching the world go by in total relaxation, then there is plenty of choice to offer. These ships tend to be smaller and although they don’t offer the full range of facilities, they do make up for that in character and tradition. Dinner tends to be of a more formal nature and the range of excursions generally more interesting.

“I thought cruising was only for the well-off”

There is still the old aged perception that cruising is only for the ‘well-off’ and the upper classes. Nothing could be further from the truth! There are now cruises and cruise lines that suit all tastes from 3 star Thomson and Island Cruises through to 6 star Crystal Cruises. There are cruises that cater for families and others that are adult only. There are very traditional cruises where you have formal nights and the gents and ladies dress in dinner suits and cocktail dresses and there are ships that are totally casual and formal nights are the last thing on the agenda.

“I’m afraid I might get sea-sick!”

Most if not all cruise ships have stabilizers, however many cruise ships are so big these days that you don’t even know that you are at sea. In the event of a passenger feeling sea sick there is always a doctor and nurse on board who can give the necessary injection if required or offer sea sickness tablets. Please note that there will be a charge for any treatment from the doctor and therefore adequate travel insurance is a necessity. If you think that there is the possibility of sea sickness it is advisable to contact your own GP before travel.

Generally speaking, cruise ships travel where the weather should be good, however just occasionally the weather patterns can change and there may be an alteration to the cruise ships itinerary. This is very rare but can happen.

“What do I wear?”

There is always that temptation to take clothes for every eventuality, but it is advisable to carefully look at your destination and its climate and pack accordingly. If you are taking a fly/cruise there will be a weight allowance and that allowance will increase the further that you are flying. For Ex UK cruises there is no weight allowance.

On more traditional ships (P&O, Fred.Olsen, Cunard) you can usually expect two formal nights where gentleman wear dinner suits and ladies cocktail dress. Although a suit with tie for gentlemen is acceptable. It is advisable to look at the ships dress code and pack accordingly. Details on this will be sent with your tickets, however if you are in doubt please check with your 1st Cruise Holiday consultant who will be pleased to help.

Above all, don’t be concerned about impressing people or having enough elegant clothes; the whole point of cruising is to make yourself at home, relax and enjoy yourself.

1st Cruise Holiday Tip

It is well worth taking your time to book the cruise that suits you best.

1. Look for the destination that interests you and the itinerary.

2. Look at the cruise line that suits your needs. (Do you have a family or are you just a couple?)

3. Look at the ship and its facilities. Does it offer what you need?

4. Look at the price and that you are not too stretched. Remember on most ships you will have to pay the additional costs of drinks, gratuities and excursions. (Look at our offers page to see if any suit your requirements and pocket)

5. First time cruisers look at our Taster Cruises. 1 to 7 nights in duration.

6. If in doubt call our cruise consultants who will help you choose.

After you have booked your 1st Cruise

Once you have booked your cruise and your tickets arrive, they will usually be accompanied by a booklet describing the ship and cruise that you have booked and advising on things like dress codes, gratuities, shore excursions, etc. Do spend some time reading this documentation as you’ll gain valuable advice on what to pack and how much to budget for drinks, gratuities and excursions.

All ships accept credit cards, though you can deposit travelers cheques or cash when you register at the start of a cruise. You’ll then run an account while you’re on board and settle at the end. A final bill will be delivered to you cabin/stateroom on the last night.

For your convenience and if your tips are not pre-payable (your 1st cruise holiday consultant will advise you on this) some ships will distribute envelopes for passengers to fill and dispense on the final night. You are advised to take dollars, sterling or euros depending on the on board currency.

Inside or Out?

Cabins or staterooms as many cruise lines now call them come in many shapes and sizes, but to simplify matters they come in 4 categories. Inside, Outside, Balcony cabins and Suites.

Inside cabins are less expensive than their outside equivalent. There is no natural light, however lighting is good and inside cabins are now designed with drawn curtains to give the impression that there is a window in the cabin. If you do suffer from claustrophobia, you are probably better to choose an outside cabin especially if it is your first cruise. The advantage of an inside cabin is the price and you do sleep well with no natural light to wake you in the morning. The disadvantage is no natural light and you are unable to view the weather. Therefore a scouting mission is required to get your weather report. Many past passengers book an inside cabin to keep costs down and as you spend little time in your cabin apart from sleeping and a quick change for dinner they do not feel the need to spend needlessly.

Most cabins come equipped with TV, Phone, Safe and private facilities in the way of bath or shower.

Outside cabins will either have a porthole or picture window depending on ship and/or position on ship.

As you move up the cabin/stateroom scale, they become larger and better positioned on the ship. Mid ship cabins are generally more expensive than those at the front or rear of the ship. The facilities will increase and provide greater wardrobe space. Balcony cabins are now becoming much more popular and ships are providing more and more of these cabins.

Suites have a lot more facilities and many include canapés being sent to your suite each night before dinner together with a glass of Champagne. Some of the larger suites include your very own butler and pianist, however, these do come at a price.

For more of John Gibb’s excellent advice for first-time cruisers and more of his 1st Cruise Holiday Tips, check out 1stcruiseholidays.co.uk

1st Cruise Holidays.co.uk is filled with answers to commonly asked questions and solutions to the natural worries of cruising for the first time.

The site doesn’t only cater for travellers worried about cruising, though! With detailed information on every cruise line and ship, including ratings, itineraries, ship details, ship photos and more, you can find out everything you want to know about your cruise holiday before you book it.
1stCruiseHolidays.co.uk has an expert team of cruise consultants who will find you the best possible deal to make your first cruise experience a great one!

Name: John W Gibb
E-Mail: john@1stcruiseholidays.co.uk

This article may ONLY be reproduced providing credit is given to the author, John W Gibb, with a visible link to the source - http://www.1stcruiseholidays.co.uk

December 30th 2008 Posted to Media Resources

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What goals do you have for your life? If you have goals, is it just in your head? Or do you have a methodology to manifest them?

A systematic process to think of anything you want, and ultimately acquire it. Sounds like magic, doesn’t it? That is because by using a process, the results are so effective that it seems like something out of a fantastic anecdote.

For the beginner, I recommend the following undemanding two-step process:

First step: Elaborately envision the goal. For example, if your goal is to move into a new house by the middle of next year, then close your eyes and picture the house clearly. Be specific; for example, be exact about the neighborhood.

And the smell… Imagine what everything would smell like! Can you smell your favorite food that you are cooking in your new huge kitchen? Can you smell the faint fragrance of the roses in the backyard through that open window? Can you get the soft whiff of the ocean as it roughly clashes on the rocks a few hundred feet from your balcony?

Can you hear it? Can you hear the ocean? Can you hear the pale, but the unmistakably robust sound of the waves?

Touch the leather on the recliner. Can you feel the abounding texture? Can you see the deep luxuriant color? Can you smell the plush tang of rich leather?

If you have trouble conjuring up images of your own creation, then you must spend more time dreaming about the things, which make you happy. Certainly, if you practice the above exercise again, you will see the difference. You may need some practice in conjuring up your future reality.

Second step: Write it down. Write it down in detail. Write it and read it. Read it every day.

Do not forget those details that make the goals worth living. For example, do not just visualize the house, envision it with the people you feel affection for, and care for, in it with you.

Take one goal at a time, and you will realize that how you acquire your objectives is not important, but the reasons you want to acquire them are. The reasons are the feelings you create in yourself, when you envision your dreams so unmistakably.

There are many paths to the goal. In fact, there are infinite paths, with infinite variables intermingling at every possible junction. We often make the mistake of concentrating all our energies on this most complicated arrangement, instead of the goal itself.

Remember, if you take one goal at a time, then there is only one goal, that one dream. All paths lead to that one goal. Concentrate on that, and everything in your life will be orchestrated to gently deliver you to your goal.

In my most recent book, “If You Row, You Will Not Drift - Perfect Life Management - The Life Wizard”, I take the techniques of management of the fortune 500 companies, and use them to run our everyday lives. So you can finally get organized and row ahead with a purpose. The secret here is the management of your thoughts, and its final direction toward everything that you want.

As I conducted the goal manifestation process every time I thought of having something worthwhile in my life, the stronger my faith got. Perhaps it is the combination of vision, determination, and prayer. Or perhaps it is something so unexplained that the universe throws at us, which the humans cannot even conceive at the present time, but it works.

About The Author

Shaun Ajani is an internationally published author of many books and articles, including, “If You Row, You Will Not Drift - Perfect Life Management - The Life Wizard”, “Extreme Project Management”, “How Real is Your Soul?”. He has worked with aviation, IT, retail, HR, finance, education, and training industries, in companies like Motorola, Dollar Stores, Nation Gifts, Code Factory, Washington Mutual, Boise Cascade, Sears, and Spherion.

http://www.ajani.com

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I just Googled the phrase “goal setting”, and found approximately 3,600,000 web pages that relate in some way to that phrase. This shouldn’t surprise us, because conventional wisdom is that goal setting is an important skill.

It is easy to document both through anecdotal evidence as well as through research that setting goals can help us achieve more. There are hundreds of books, tapes, speeches, workshops, and websites that will provide us with tools and processes to set goals. One would think for something as important as goal setting, with as many tools as there are available, that everyone would be a goal setter.

This however isn’t the case.

While I could fill a book with the reasons why, there is one that is very important.

People don’t set goals now because they didn’t achieve the ones they set in the past.

They’ve followed the goal setting process they learned or read about, but the seminar or book stopped at the wrong time. The seminar stopped with the setting of the goal. That is like ending the game after the first play, then going to sit on the sidelines, while the goal is out on the playing field.

My advice to you, if you can identify with what you’ve just read is to stop worrying about goal setting. And start focusing on goal achieving.

In other words, stop worrying about which goal setting model to use, or which software to track your progress with. Stop making the goal setting process the focus, and start putting the focus on goal achievement.

Here are three things you can do to put our focus on goal achievement and drastically increase your success:

1. Get sick and tired. It is often said that people really begin to reach new health goals when they become “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Achieving a goal means that you want something different than you have now. To build your ongoing and sustaining drive to achieve the new item, knowledge or situation, you must become disgusted and dissatisfied with the current situation. This doesn’t mean that you should become bitter or grumpy, but rather it means to develop a healthy dissatisfaction with the way things are now (current profitability, the cycle time for new product development, or your inability to find a bathroom in Brazil).

2. Get (and stay) excited about the result. To sustain the challenges, setbacks and disappointments along your way to goal achievement, you must have another motivation as well. You must really want the benefits that will come to you when the new goal is achieved. Build a clear and compelling picture in your mind of what you will feel, sense, see, and believe once your goal has been achieved. Focus on the results you will gain from the goal, rather than just the goal itself. This is important because in the end this is what you are after, not “just” the goal itself. As you work towards your goal, the goal might shift, but as long as the desired results remain clear, you have improved the likelihood of achieving the end result you desire.

3. Start a plan and get started. Notice I didn’t say to lay out a complete plan of all the steps between you and your goal. If your goal is of any size and importance at all, it will require many steps, and it will be very difficult/impossible to identify them with any degree of certainty at the start. Too many people think they need the perfect plan. They delay starting so they can get the best information. They want to talk to one more expert, read one more book, examine two more options. Get started already! Give yourself a clear idea of a general approach, and some clear first steps. Allow yourself the luxury of knowing that the next specific steps will become clear as you stay on the path.

Doing these three things will drastically increase your success in achieving any goal you set.

Actually, let me say it more strongly. Until you have these three factors going for you in large (although potentially varying) amounts, you won’t achieve the goals you set. You will lose momentum. You will lose focus. You will lose hope. You won’t be able to overcome the first setback. And you will fall into the convenient and comfortable thinking that goal setting “doesn’t work” for you or that you need a new tool, a new technique or a new guru to help you set “better” goals.

Whether you are setting goals for yourself, the team you lead or for your organization at large, take this advice to heart.

Focus less energy on setting the perfect goal and spend more time preparing yourself for ultimate success. Stop worrying about the resolution, and start focusing on the resolve that will be required to succeed.

Doing this will bring you greater success, less frustration and will help you and your organization move closer and closer to your potential.

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

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The road of life is not paved with gold. There are many set backs that can catch us off guard at times. These set backs can send us on a downward spiral of despair or they can lift us up and over the obstacles, depending upon how we choose to view them.

How do you view your set backs? Are they obstacles or are they stepping stones?

Someone once wisely said, “Obstacles are those ugly things that appear before us when we take our minds off of our goals.”

If you don’t know which road you’re taking, you will never know if you have arrived. In life we must set goals in order for us to be successful. If we do not set these goals we will end up running into all kinds of obstacles and detours on our road to success.

Do you have a plan for your life? Do you know where you want to be this time next year? How about in 5 or 10 years, have you set goals for the future?

If you have not set goals for yourself you are like a man driving without a roadmap. You have no idea where you are going. Perhaps you like being in the passenger seat and just taking in the view along the way, but sooner or later you may find yourself in a place you didn’t want to go.

Take a look at your life right now. You are where you are in life because of choices you have made in the past. You and you alone have bought you to the place you are right at this moment in life. Are you happy where you are? Do you have any hopes or dreams for the future? Or do you prefer to stay exactly where you are? Remember, that a rolling stone gathers no moss. If we are not moving forward we are drifting backward and we start to gather moss and deteriorate.

Hopefully, at this moment, you want to go forward in life and find all the wonderful things that life has to offer you. In order to do this you must set a goal. Pick any goal you wish. Start by thinking about where you would like to be 6 months from now. Take it a step at a time.

Once you have decided on what you would like to see in your life 6 months from now it is time to break it down into bite size pieces. Say to yourself, “I want to be _________ in 6 months. In order to get there I must do _________________ .”

As you look down the road ahead, you can picture in your mind your goal as an achievement. In order to achieve this goal you must think about what obstacles may show up along the journey from point A to point B.

It is important that you plan what you are going to do with the obstacles that show up on the pathway. If you are prepared for them before hand they will not loom so large and you will be able to cope with them before they rear their ugly heads.

Have a plan of action. There are many roads that may lead to your desired goal. Be sure to have plan A, B and C just in case something comes along to detour you.

It is certain that obstacles will come, the question is, will you look at them as something to bring you discouragement or will you look at it as a stepping stone to help you fine tune your goal.

For every problem there is a solution. Don’t let yourself become dismayed when plan A doesn’t work the way you wanted it to. Try to be clear headed and look at other possibilities. Use your obstacles to bring you to a higher plane where you can see clearly where you want to go.

This article is bought to you by Sharron Myers

Sharron Myers has been a teacher of Spiritual Truth for over 30 years. She also is a Certified Aromatherapist and Personal Development Consultant. Be sure to check out her site: www.sharron-myers.com

To Live the Life You Want, Learn the Skills You Need
www.sharron-myers.com

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To find the best price cruises online and booking them with confidence, you need to understand a few things about how the cruising industry comes up with their lowest price, and follow a few simple steps that the travel professionals at your local agencies don’t want to you know!

The fact remains that over 90% of cruise reservations are done through a travel agent, and you’re not only at the mercy of their service fees, but also to the prices they charge for a particular cruise and sailing. So why do so many individuals go through this booking avenue, when they know the deals are far better online, and they have access to a computer and the Internet?

The answers simple! The cruise industry believes that customers new and seasoned may not truly understand the cruise ships industry language, or feel comfortable booking online! They put their dependency on many travel professionals to interpret the cruising lingo that is the integral part of the cruise booking process.

However, if you take the time to learn and understand the cruise lines language such as guaranteed staterooms, singles supplement, or run-of-the-ship, you should have no worries booking your next vacation cruise online, and start taking advantage of all the fantastic savings!

Booking Cruise Travel Over The Internet Is Simple and Easier Than You Think!

When you’re searching the Internet to find a cruise special, keep in mind that if you go direct to the main cruise lines site, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, or Princess, you may end up paying a higher cabin price than the online cruise discounters, even though they may be showing reduced cabin prices on their sites.

In order to get the best discounts, you should source large vacation suppliers such as Travelocity, Expedia, or exclusive cruise booking sites like CruiseDirect.com, which specialize in selling cruises, and offer a unique booking engine that can quickly put together your cruise package in minutes.

Why go through these online cruise specialists, and travel suppliers?

Even though the cruise lines want to deal with you directly, they also need to keep a solid business relationship with their travel agencies that are currently booking a majority of cruises for them though their local offices and online vacation websites.

With online travel suppliers and Internet cruise company’s, they deal with the cruise lines a little differently, and they either pre-purchase cabins at a very low discounted price, or they’re large enough to be directly linked to the cruiselines inventory database system. They are also capable of receiving live updated stateroom information daily, and in most cases hourly! With this powerful online system, they can take these updated cabin inventory deals, and pass them directly to the consumer, which offers you the consumer far deeper discounted savings!

What this means to you, is that once you understand what these suppliers are offering, you will have a better chance of reserving your favourite cruise in minutes and take advantage of the incredible discounts that could easily range from 20% - 60%, depending on the seasonality, type of itinerary, and actual cruise ship you book.

Just make sure that before you make any reservations online, that if you have any doubts, or understanding what your booking, contact the customer service departments via their toll-free numbers, or the cruise lines email, and they will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have prior to booking your next cruise vacation.

About the author: William Lezubski is a professional in the Travel Industry and is the owner and author of “Discount Caribbean Vacations Web Site” at http://www.discount-caribbean-vacations.com A quality source of top Caribbean Cruise information at your fingertips! If you’re looking to go on a cruise to the Caribbean, plan an All-Inclusive Island vacation, or would like to know what’s the latest trends in holiday fashion, and luggage, you will find all this right here in one convenient location.

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I’ve been cruising now for over 25 years and it’s been a wonderful way to spend a
vacation. There have been plenty of articles written about what to expect and how to
prepare. This may offer a few insights and observations that duplicate those ideas.
But, I figured that I might hit a nerve here of there.

The obvious decision you have to make is why cruise at all? Won’t I get seasick?
Won’t I get bored? Aren’t the rooms tiny? What if I fall overboard? What if there’s a
fire? Isn’t it expensive?

Great questions, and here are the answers: Yes, maybe and so what? Anything
terrible might happen even if you decide to just stay home. But, cruising is like no
other vacation for the following reason: you’re at sea. There, I said it. And what can
happen at sea? Yes, you could get seasick (unlikely), drown (very unlikely), or be
attacked by pirates (very, very unlikely). The modern ships have stabilizers that keep
it, her, um, stable. They are huge behemoths capable of carrying thousands of
passengers, take up city blocks, and can rise fourteen stories high. They have
spacious public areas with an assortment of dining, entertainment, swimming pools
and sporting activities. The cabins vary in size depending on budget but all contain
tv’s, bathrooms with showers and storage.

The food is legendary: huge quantities at your disposal 24/7. The entertainment
can be terrific. The attendants are attentive. The crew is courteous. And the best
thing is the ports. They come to you while you sleep. The next morning, voila: a new
place to visit. The ship even docks at the port most times, or offers a short tender
(small shuttle boat) ride. Either way, in minutes, you’re ashore. And the cruise line
provides many choices of port tours.

And the next best thing is that it’s an all-inclusive vacation. With the exception
of alcohol, soft drinks and tipping, the base price covers everything. Excursions are
extra, though. But one can pay the basic charge and tips and not spend a penny
more, if desired.

A big plus for cruising is that you unpack only one time. And, because they go to
almost every major vacation spot, you can cruise your way around the world on
anything from 7 to 30 day adventures. As a novice, I would opt for a short, 3 or 4
day introductory jaunt. They depart from both coasts year-round. I would also
recommend leaving the kids at home this trip, it’s far better to get acquainted with
the ins and outs without the extra stress. Enjoy the new venue and check out each
nook and cranny. If you like the experience, schedule something longer and you’ll
probably have a larger ship to explore.

A final thought. If you are still apprehensive, talk to any travel agent and ask
your friends who have cruised. Read the cruise reviews on the Internet. But beware:
it can be very addicting and the minute you return, you’ll probably be planning your
next trip.

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for
nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising
and has a Master’s Degree from Monmouth University. He had his own
advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design
firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, “Pursuit of the
Phoenix,” available at amazon.com. His latest book is, “Inside the Yellow
Pages.” Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com,
a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

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The alarm goes off at 6am, you roll out of bed and run down the hall to wake up the kids. You’re going to be late again! You shower fast while the kids are getting dressed then you head downstairs to grab nutrition bars because you don’t have time to make breakfast. You grab the backpacks on the way to the babysitters, give them fast kisses when you get there and you’re on your way to work. Did I mention the crying?

It’s only a description of the first hour of your day? It’s no wonder we go through life without setting goals or developing an action plan! We have no time! Without goals, we merely exist day to day. Before you know it, years have gone by without much progress.

It’s estimated that less than 3% of people actually document their goals but it’s these same people who accomplish more than all the others added together. If your goals aren’t documented, they remain dreams. Twenty years from now it will still be your dream.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. may help you to define them in a way that will ensure results.

S - They need to be specific. Stating that you want to lose weight or pay off your bills is not specific enough. What are you going to do? Why are you going to do it?

M - They need to be measurable. How are you going to do it? You need to be able to see progress. With concrete and measurable goals, you will.

A - Are they achievable? Are they realistic?

R - Are they relevant to your situation now? Does it motivate you?

T - Set a time frame for completion. When are you going to achieve it?

Next, develop an action plan based on your timeline for achievement. Don’t become discouraged if your goals are not met on your first try. Goals will be revised because circumstances and priorities change in life. Expect it - plan on it. You’ll have obstacles but find alternatives.

If your life is chaotic it will be harder to manage but the important concept here is not to give up. You need an action plan more than the person who has it all together. Keep adjusting the plan. Work with it! As time goes on you will see results as long as you keep it in focus.

Cathy Gariety is a Registered Nurse and Personal Coach at Power Group Coaching based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can contact her at cgariety@power-group-coaching.com

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A statement of mission is one of the most powerful things you can do, whether you are running a major corporation or a small team. It expresses the purpose for the organisation’s existence, its raison d’etre, and becomes the rallying point around which everyone can unite.

Often managers create mission statements because they think they should and then leave them gathering dust on the shelf. But this is to mistake the real power and purpose of mission statements. If put together with real understanding of what a group of people can achieve, they can act like irresistible magnets drawing everyone in the same direction.

It is one of the core roles of leaders, whether at the top of the organisation, or anywhere within it, to confirm, verify, communicate, and live the mission statement. Here are some of the ways that can happen.

• Write your Mission Statement down. Although it can be used for promotion purposes, it should never be seen purely as a promotional tool but as the group expressing the best version of itself.
• Think first about how the group benefits others. These could be those who work for it, those who are its customers, the wider community, or future generations.
• Think in terms of being sent on a mission by a higher power. If you see the organisation as fulfilling a role at some profound level, beyond perhaps your immediate understanding, then the Mission Statement becomes easier to write. Your mission will have far more power if you get a sense of the business’s unique and special purpose, rather than simply re-stating its aim to make money for its stakeholders.
• Tie in your Mission Statement with your goals, aims, and visions.
• Use language that everyone can understand. The best Mission Statements are simple monosyllabic one-liners.
• Don’t worry about getting it right first time. Just like our own understanding of our purpose on this earth, understanding the mission of your organisation is a work in progress. So keep at it and revise it as you go.

Of course, it is easier to state these high-sounding aims, another to find the right words. So, take a look at some famous mission statements used at various times by well-known companies.

1. Reebok: “Our purpose is to ignite a passion for winning, to do the extraordinary, and to capture the customer’s heart and mind.”
2. Walt Disney: “To make people happy.”
3. Wal-Mart: “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.”
4. The Body Shop: “Tirelessly work to narrow the gap between principle and practice whilst making fun, passion and care part of our daily lives.”
5. Marks and Spencer: “Our mission is to make aspirational quality accessible to all.”
6. Sony: “Our mission is to experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public.”
7. Coca Cola: “The basic proposition of our business is simple, solid and timeless. When we bring refreshment, value, joy and fun to our stakeholders, then we successfully nurture and protect our brands.”
8. 3M: “To solve unsolved problems innovatively.”
9. Glaxo: “We are an integrated, research-based group of companies whose corporate purpose is to create, discover, develop, manufacture, and market safe effective medicines throughout the world.”

And here to top these statements is the mission statement of Ringland Bros circus, penned in 1899:
“To be good, mankind must be happy. To wreathe the faces of humanity in smiles for a time, to loosen the chains that hold man captive to his duties and return him to them better fitted for his obligations, is the mission of amusement.
Amusement unfetters the mind from its environs and changes the dreary monotony of the factory’s spindles to the joyous song of the meadowlark. It softens the wrinkles of sorrow, makes smiles of frowns.
This is the mission of amusement - and the circus with its innocent sights of joy for the children and its power to make all men and women children again for at least one day, comes the nearest of any form of amusement to fulfilling this mission.”

We can of course write our own mission statements. Doing our own statements makes writing them for our organizations much easier. Here is the mission statement of a working mother:
“I will seek to fulfil my duties towards both my work and my family since both are important to me. My work is the place where I aim to achieve service towards others, the expression of my technical knowledge and the building of harmonious and satisfying relationships. My home is the place where I aim to find happiness, peace, contentment and joy. Despite all the challenges, I aim to balance work and home and the genuine needs of those who look to me to help them.”

Let the last word be with Paul Beeston of mission-coach.co.uk: “To live your mission is the most generous thing you can do. Your mission is always going to make a major contribution to your life, the lives of others and the planet. Humankind and the planet needs you to live your mission. Your mission is part of the tapestry of life and without it there are stitches missing. Is there anything more important for you to do?”

© Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com

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Close your eyes. Imagine that everything you desire is just a wish away. All you have to do is close your eyes, focus your thoughts and ask your genie to make your wishes, dreams, or goals come true. Wouldn’t that be cool? What if you didn’t have to rely on anyone else but yourself? Not even your own personal genie. Wouldn’t that be even better?

Think back to some of the goals that you have had in your life thus far. How many of them did you really wanted to achieve, but for one reason or another, they never materialized? How different would your life have been if you had succeeded with the majority of them up thus far? As adults we’ve learned that it takes time to achieve the things we want in life. But what if as children we learned how to increase the chance of goals being attained and the speed in which it happens. Wouldn’t that be a worthwhile piece of education? The following is a tool that the majority of adults have not heard of, practiced, or mastered.

In The One Minute Millionaire Robert Allen and Mark Victor Hansen discuss a technique that they learned from Brian Tracy for achieving goals. Brian Tracy writes his goals down every single day, not just one or two, but his six top goals.

How did he arrive at the number six? They represent the six major areas or resources of your life: body, brain, being, time, people, and money. But he goes further than just listing the goals on a 3 x 5 card. Brian Tracy affirms them as well. He writes supporting the goal, as if he already has achieved it, just like visualizing and speaking from the goal itself. Allen and Hansen suggest that you not only affirm your goal, but that you begin it by stating that you are ‘happy’.

Because adding the word happy helps one acknowledge that they are in the current state of being. It is like a light bulb going on that helps you recognize the state of joy, and concentrating on the feeling will help you magnetize more if it. Couldn’t everyone use a little more happiness and good things in life? The last step is to ‘write down what service, product, or information you plan to render and in what quantity and quality: I am providing excellent value by selling x number of products to x number of satisfied customers each day.’

Why is this technique so successful? Because the 3 x 5 card is kept with you all day long, and read aloud a minimum of four times, at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and just before bedtime. The goals should be changed and upgraded regularly, but no less than monthly. This technique keeps your goals in the forefront of your mind, so that you begin to not just want them, but to actually live them. The trick is to always think positively. Always think of the thing you want to achieve and not what you want to change or the fear that you may have associated with the goal-like failure.

Are you excited? Isn’t this technique inspiring? If you are a parent, why not get into the habit of doing this yourself and introduce it to your children as early as possible. Imagine how much they can accomplish in life by using these wonderful tools, and the confidence that will result.
Self esteem comes from achievement.

Mastering the art of goal-getting is just another step in climbing that mountain to success - why not start them out young.

Eva Gregory, master coach, speaker and author of The Feel Good Guide To Prosperity, http://www.feelgoodguide.com, has instructed thousands on the Laws of Attraction in person, on the radio and in dozens of teleconference training seminars and programs. She is the author of several books and e-books and has co-developed several telephone-based and internet-based training courses on the Laws of Attraction. Her most popular program to date is her Leading Edge Living One Year Success Program. (http://www.leadingedgecoaching.com/Living/index.shtml) Eva is regularly featured on radio and in the media and is a recognized authority on the Laws of Attraction. To learn more about her products and services, visit Leading Edge Coaching, http://www.leadingedgecoching.com NOTE: You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to eva@coacheva.com

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#4. YOU ARE NOT CONSISTENT

The secret to doing anything successfully is consistency. Remember when you learned to ride a bicycle, or roller skate. You took a few tumbles, but got up and did it again and again until you mastered it. You created neural pathways that are still there. Isn’t it amazing how you can get right back on a bike and know how to ride it, even after years?

To master something requires repetition, repetition, repetition. Do it badly, allow for a few bumps, but keep doing it. Do not become discouraged. We all falter once in a while. Keep connected to the vision. Connect with the feelings you generate when you see yourself succeeding. Come from that place as you take the journey.

Do you find that you set unrealistic goals? It is important to allow yourself to take baby steps to success. Take that huge vision and break it down into smaller steps that are easy to achieve. Set yourself up to take consistent action with small, successful steps.

Do you lose momentum because you are moving ahead too fast? It is easy to start out with great enthusiasm and then lose steam when you have not prepared properly. You may find yourself once again taking inventory and focusing on what has not yet appeared and then stop.

Once again, remind yourself to take consistent, small steps that build momentum. Consistent action is the key. How many people give up right before a huge success? We cannot possibly know how close we have been to success before when we gave up at the 11th hour.

Dr. Nancy Heimstra teaches people who don’t know what they want to be when they grow up an easy way to get clear on their life purpose so they can make more money, have better relationships and live the life they always wanted, by taking action.

coachnancy@spirit-alchemy.com

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