zaterdag 30 mei 2009

Beware of Energy Vampires getting into your life!


We all know people like this. When we spend time with them we feel like we are drained of energy, they almost literally suck up all the high vibrant positive energy we possess. Energy vampires - such as drama queens - leave you feeling drained and listless, but these fifteen ways to protect yourself from negative influences will help!

vrijdag 29 mei 2009

Develop Mental Toughness!


Why does one end up as the winner and the second becomes the first runner up?
What is the difference between someone freezing in the face of fear and someone facing an impossible situation and still having the willingness to conquer it?


CEO's, Sportspeople, Top Athletes, Prime Executives, Entrepreneurs and Leaders of all kind possess this amazing quality called Mental Toughness.

For you it might be the difference between reaching your goals or keep staring at them!
It is necessary to possess this ingredient in order to overcome any obstacle or to overachieve in all different dynamics of your life; Your Finances, career, lifestyle, relations, emotional wellbeing, physical performance and health, your spiritual connection and your contribution to others.

If I had to describe Mental Toughness I would refer to it as; You having the physiological edge that enables you to be consistent, confident, focused, and determined during high pressure situations in order to perform at your maximum potential.

It's not a skill that you are born with, and neither is it an easy attribute to acquire. That is probably the reason why 80% of all people don't have it. The 20% who do, make all the difference and are mostly referred to as the "examples" or "rolmodels".
They say that to acquire this force is well worth the hard work and the endurance.


Imagine that you have it too in following situations;

- Excel during pressure situations

- Get going under high stress
- Having a mental advantage over competitors
- Being very flexible and able to bounce back fast after a setback

- Being unstoppable through most any circumstance
- Deliver results even when the likelihood of succeeding is low
- Set new standards in times of crisis

- Shift into a higher gear when every one else around you thinks about quitting

And times of crisis might just be;

-Your business or investment has been failing

-You have received a bad management and/or peer review at your job

-Everything at the party/wedding/gathering that could go wrong, has gone wrong

-You lost your company
-You’ve been assigned to work with a group of people that you do not get along with

-You just got fired
-You are getting divorced
-You have to speak in front of a small or large audience
-You are way behind on a project and the deadline is fast approaching


Those who are strong minded are not hard to spot.
True mental toughness, however is sometimes hard to find.
There are many characteristics that a person may possess that may mimic the characteristics of a mentally strong person.
If someone is stubborn, opinionated, outspoken, bossy, or demanding some might see them as strong minded and may confuse that with toughness.
Toughness is not usually seen in the actions of a person, rather in the reaction of that person. You might know a person who seems to be a rock mentally.
This person seems to know what they want and know how to get it. Not only that, they have an answer to every question, an opinion for every topic, and an idea for every circumstance.
That may seem to be the formula for success in the mind, but what happens when something goes wrong? Or a plan or project fails over and over and over again?
This is where those who are mentally tough strive and excel.

There are six major characteristics of mental toughness


-Confidence; Whatever happens, stay loyal to your own values and principles. Believe in yourself no matter what and move on. The darkest hour of the night is the hour before the sun rises. You did it once, you can do it again.


-Focus; Where attention goes, energy flows. What you focus on tends to expand and becomes bigger, brighter and more real. Focus on all the things that bring you energy, vitality, strenght, optimism, passion and wellbeing. Fuel your inner engine with high octane gasoline!


-Motivation; Motion creates emotion, move, shake, exercise and eat healthy vibrant foods. Listen to some inspiring CD's, go and attend a great seminar, read several great books and start motivating yourself. Find some rolmodels to use as an example. Go and have a great conversation with some people who already achieved the success level in the area that you are aiming for.


-Courage; Acting in spite of fear, having the heart and taking the responsability to face the bull. Even if your heart is racing and you blood pumping like crazy. Fail forward. Whatever you do, don't quit ad feel the zest of life running through your veins. Set new standards and step up!

-Strenght and endurance; Life is no sprint but a marathon. People overestimate what they can do in a month and underestimate what they can achieve in a year. Keep your body and your mind sharp to be living on the edge if needed. Endurance is created by consistency and training.


-Resiliency; It doesn’t matter how confident, focused, motivated, courageous, or composed you are, if you do not see your goal to the end then it may turn out to be pointless. Being resilient is pushing through until you reach your destination. Take it step by step, one day at the time, as long as you keep moving in the direction of your Cristal clear goals.


Developing Mental Toughness is the same as developing your muscles, start with it today and practice every day until you reach the level that - you too - are part of the small percentage in this world who make a world of difference.


Leo Stroobants

The Energy Evangelist

donderdag 28 mei 2009

6 tips from the superstars


Here are some tips that were send to me a genuine mogul:

Tip 1) "What do other networkers want?" This is the
question you need to ask yourself in order to find out how
to attract them. Give them want they want. Solve their
problems for them. Then you will attract them effortlessly.
Tip 2) Do NOT spend time trying to prove to people why
they should join you! Newbies do this all the time, the pros
never do. Give people real value and you will never have to
pitch your business to anyone ever again.
Tip 3) If you are buying leads, you are lazy. Learn to
generate your own leads, otherwise go get a job.
Tip 4) Every night before you go to bed write down 5
things you need to get done the next day. This way you will
wake up with your goals in mind. And with each task you
accomplish you are a step closer to reaching your ultimate
goals.
Tip 5) Confidence is a decision. People judge you by the
way you look and sound, so if necessary, give yourself a
physical and/or mental make-over. In your videos and your
pictures do NOT look like you just rolled out of bed.
Tip 6) Learn copywriting. You'll need to master this skill
in order to write anything in this industry -- even something
so simple as ad copy. You need to know the psychological
triggers that make people respond and take action.

Now get going, crystallize your dreams!
Leo Stroobants

Powerful Personal Development!


When I say Think and Grow Rich, what comes to your mind?
Almost everyone in sales and those interested in personal development have read this classic by Napoleon Hill at least once. And almost everyone who's read it has a positive comment. Many (like me) will say, "Turning point in my life."
Everyone has a turning point in their quest for lifelong learning. Everyone has their Aha! In your personal development, it's what you choose to listen to, watch or read that enhances your understanding of your life and teaches you what you need to do to succeed.
Napoleon Hill's 1937 quote sets the standard. "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
And once you have the information, it's all about what you are willing to do to take advantage of it.
Most people know Napoleon Hill was the author of Think and Grow Rich. The person Hill emulated and studied was Orison Swett Marden. Not many know that.
Marden was the leading positive-attitude genius of the 20th century. Well-known before 1930-almost unknown today. He was a founding father of personal development and positive thought. Aha!
Author of more than 40 books, Marden also was the founder of SUCCESS magazine. Here are a few of his words of wisdom from the book he wrote in 1908, He Who Thinks He Can.
  • "Every child should be taught to expect success."
  • "The man who has learned the art of seeing things looks with his brain."
  • "The best educated people are those who are always learning, always absorbing knowledge from every possible source and at every opportunity."
  • "People do not realize the immense value of utilizing spare minutes."
  • "No substitute has ever yet been discovered for honesty."
  • "Poverty is of no value except as a vantage ground for a starting point."
These are quotes worth learning and passing on to others. One hundred years old!
Based on my personal experience and personal Ahas!, I'd like to challenge you with the rules of personal development and give you some examples of what I have learned so you might make your own plan to succeed or enhance the one you have.
1.Expose yourself to knowledge.
At the end of a seminar I gave on positive attitude, I received an evaluation from a woman named Mary with a comment that read, "I wish I would have heard this 30 years ago." I got goose bumps of sadness and thought of a Jim Rohn quote: "All the information you need to succeed already exists; the only problem is you're not exposing yourself to it." This information existed 30 years ago. Mary just hadn't exposed herself to it.
Jim Rohn is known as America's leading business philosopher. His CD, The Art of Exceptional Living, is among the modern classics of personal development. Jim Rohn is the current master of inspiration and Aha! He imparts wisdom in every sentence.
Between Marden and Rohn, there is a long list of valuable books. I owe my career success to these books and to personal development information to which I have exposed myself.
Most of the books are more than 50 years old. Many with religious connotations-but still preaching the right words and thoughts. One of the most notable is The Power of Positive Thinking by NormanVincent Peale. Biblical and brilliant.
2. Simple is powerful.
If you read it and it seems too easy or too hokey, reread it. It's probably part of your personal development foundation.
One of my early Aha! moments of personal development was the simplicity of the message. Sometimes it's so simple, you go right past it without understanding the impact it can make.
A classic example is the eternal How to Win Friends and InfluencePeople by Dale Carnegie. In 1936 he wrote, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." How many salespeople could benefi t from that single Aha!? I think all of them.
Interesting to note that Dale Carnegie's lessons still are being taught in the classroom 70 years later!
3. Think and apply to improve.
In As a Man Thinketh, published in 1902, James Allen says, "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts." Thinking what can be done is at the core of your personal development. About 54 years later, in the million-seller, The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightingale writes, "We become what we think about all day long." Get it?
In 1969, I listened to Glenn W. Turner on a cassette tape: "Act as though you have already begun to achieve. Not fake it-live it."
4. Take a daily dose.
Think about the time-worn expression, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Apply that to personal development, and it means learn and apply one new thing every day. At the end of a year you will have 365 new pieces of information.
5. The older the better.
If you want a new idea, read a book that's 100 years old. "The best educated people are those who are always learning, always absorbing knowledge from every possible source and at every opportunity." -Marden, 1908. Or, "History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats." -B.C. Forbes, 1919.
6. Personal development and positive attitude are joined at the hip-and at the brain. And there is another component-being of service.
"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative." -Clement Stone, 1946. Add that to the 5000-year-old Chinese proverb, "To Serve is to Rule."
7. Do it even as your butt falls off.
In 1898, Elbert Hubbard wrote an essay titled, Message to Garcia. Deliver the message, get the job done, complete the task-no matter what. Many have read that essay. Few have emulated it.
Personal development challenges you to think forward. "Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come." -Victor Hugo, 1874.
Personal development challenges you to be your best. "You cannot mandate productivity; you must provide the tools to let people become their best." -Steve Jobs, 1988.
"I am the greatest of all time." -Muhammad Ali, 1963.
Personal development challenges you to make decisions based on the person you seek to become. "The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." -John Ruskin, 1869.
Wondering where you can "find more time" to devote to your own success? "It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste." -Henry Ford, 1901. Just a thought.
The key word is not development; the key word is personal. Do it for yourself, in your own way, and make your own time for it-or not.
The biggest Aha! of personal development is from Russell Conwell's Acres of Diamonds. Considered to be one of the finest speeches ever written, Acres of Diamonds offers a multitude of lessons about the rewards of work, education and finding the riches of life in your own back yard-or your own library. Aha!

I borrowed this article from Jeffrey Gitomer, who is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling.
I hope this might inspire you to get going on a new week of opportunities and chances!
Licensed to thrill,
Leo Stroobants
The Energy Evangelist
www.leostroobants.com

10 Prosperity Tips




As we all know living a prosperous life is about much more than just having enough money. In order to be truly prosperous, you need to change your total mind-set from lack to abundance. You need to make a mental and emotional shift and start living your life on a more abundant level - in all 8 Dynamics of life! (Professional-Career/ Financial/ Material-Lifestyle / Emotional /Relational-Family/ Physical-Health / Spiritual / Contribution

Below are some 10 tips for doing that:

Prosperity Tip #1 - Do What You Love


When you spend time doing things you really love, you automatically feel happier and you put in motion an entire set of events. When you feel happier, you emit more positive vibrations, and attract the things you want more quickly and easily! Start spending more time doing the things you really love. Spend more time doing things that give you energy. This can include hobbies as well as transitioning to a more fulfilling career.

Prosperity Tip #2 - Affirm You Always Have More Than Enough

The more you focus on lack, the more lack you will experience in your life. Turn this around by constantly affirming, "I always have more than enough money for everything I need." The more strongly you can come to believe this, the more your physical surroundings will shift to match your expectations. Where attention goes, energy flows. So what you continuously put your attention to, will expand!

Prosperity Tip #3 - Take Action

Before he became Buddha, Siddartha spend his entire time thinking and visualizing the world as he wanted. Until he decided to take action. Action isn't always necessary in order to attract abundance into your life, but it sure doesn't hurt. Don't sit around waiting for your circumstances to change - get out there and change them! Things don't change, people do! Taking even one small step toward what you want can often trigger a flood of opportunities and synchronizations that get everything moving in a more positive direction. At the very least, taking action can boost your confidence and make you feel more in control of your circumstances. Are we human being or human doings? Really?

Prosperity Tip #4 – Gratitude and Appreciation

Start your day with gratitude and it will become one overloaded with gifts. An appreciative mind-set makes everything seem better. Not only do you feel more abundant, your very focus on the positive aspects of your life will naturally attract more things to be grateful for. Pick up the habit of writing in your gratitude journal. Make it a daily habit to appreciate the wonderful things that happen to you - even the small things. The more you do, the more you'll find good stuff flowing into your life as if by magic.

Prosperity Tip #5 - Love, Love, Love

The most important force of all, the emotional drive we all thrive by. Love is one of the most powerful and transformational forces. It can heal the most painful situations, transform lack into abundance, and inspire positive change in both the giver and receiver. Practice flowing feelings of deep love for everyone and everything in your life. Love your blessings, your friends and family, the difficult people you encounter each day, and even your illnesses and obstacles. When you love them, you heal and transform them into genuine blessings.

Prosperity Tip #6 - Boost Your Self-Worth


Your beliefs have everything to do with the things you experience on a daily basis. Only when you feel worthy about yourself, you can recognize the worth in others. If you don't believe you deserve abundance, you will continually push it away! Start improving your self-worth and affirm constantly that you deserve to be happy, healthy, wealthy and full of energy. When someone gives you a gift or compliment, accept it with gratitude! You don't always have to return it, just happily accept it. The more you do this, the more you will open yourself to the blessings the universe wants to send your way too. And believe me, there are many!

Prosperity Tip #7 - Make Room for More

If every nook and cranny of your life is crammed with clutter and disharmony, you've got no ROOM for prosperity to come in! The Universe hates vacuum. Once a year you should trow away (or better yet give away) the clothes you haven't been wearing in the last year. Make space to be filled up again with new goodies, new energy! One of the quickest ways to get abundance flowing more smoothly through your life is to clear a space for it. Get rid of physical clutter and release painful emotional burdens and unresolved issues. Clean up your physical, spiritual, emotional and financial affairs, and watch how easily they are transformed from stagnant to vibrant.

Prosperity Tip #8 - Change Your Beliefs, Change Your Life

Besides poor self-worth, you may have other limiting beliefs that keep you from experiencing the prosperity you deserve. For example, do you believe you must work hard to receive a lot of money? Do you believe that rich people are rude and insensitive? Do you believe that having a lot of money would be a burden? Learn to examine and question your beliefs about prosperity - and change the ones that limit you. This is an ongoing process that can change your life in powerful ways.

Prosperity Tip #9 - Fire Up Your Abundance Radar

You've probably heard it said that whatever you focus on expands. Prosperity is no different! Get into the habit of seeking examples of abundance wherever you go. When you're shopping, pause to notice the abundance overflowing from store shelves. Each one of those products began with a simple idea in someone's mind and was created in physical form! Take a trip to your local farmer's market and marvel at the abundance of produce available. Each one of them was started with a tiny seed planted in the ground and nurtured until it grew into a luscious fruit or vegetable. Take time each day to reflect on the abundance you see all around you, and you will attract more of it (in all forms) into your life.

Prosperity Tip #10 - Positively Abundant

Positive thoughts and emotions will automatically attract more positive circumstances into your life, including prosperity! Negative thinking is nothing more than a habit of looking at the less favorable aspects of every situation. But every negative situation has at least ONE positive benefit. The more you can train your mind to look for the blessings and remain open to possibility, the more blessings and possibilities you will see! Start a new positive thinking habit today and watch how it transforms you into a magnet for everything good.

There are many more ways to attract greater prosperity into your life, but these tips offer a simple way to get started.

Life is meant to be lived fully!

Licensed to thrill,
Leo Stroobants
The Energy Evangelist
www.leostroobants.com

dinsdag 26 mei 2009

What about High Blood Pressure?


What about High Blood Pressure?

So much has been written, so much has been said about it. When we are young we wipe this topic off the table since it seems so far away. Unfortunately more and more people, even "youngsters" get to handle with this. Too dangerous, too serious and too frequent, so let's get a closer look,...

High blood pressure (HBP) is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, heart failure and other health problems.
"Blood pressure" is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways.

Look at it like a garden hose that yo squeeze; the water will need to speed up to get through wich will increase the pressure against the interior side of the hose,...

Overview

About 1 in 3 adults in the United States has HBP. HBP itself usually has no symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. And that often is the problem. During this time, though, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body. All that time this is happening without the person not realizing this. How scary is this?
This is why knowing your blood pressure numbers is important, even when you're feeling fine. If your blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it that way. If your blood pressure is too high, you need treatment to prevent damage to your body's organs.

Blood Pressure Numbers

Blood pressure numbers include systolic (sis-TOL-ik) and diastolic (di-a-STOL-ik) pressures. Systolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood. Diastolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats.
You will most often see blood pressure numbers written with the systolic number above or before the diastolic, such as 120/80 mmHg. (The mmHg is millimeters of mercury—the units used to measure blood pressure.)
The table below shows normal numbers for adults. It also shows which numbers put you at greater risk for health problems. Blood pressure tends to goes up and down, even in people who have normal blood pressure. This is why we should check our blood pressure regularly on different times during the day. If your numbers stay above normal most of the time, you're at risk.

Blood Pressure Level Categories for Adults (in mmHg, or millimeters of mercury)

Category
Systolic
(top number)
Diastolic
(bottom number)
Normal
Less than 120
And
Less than 80
Prehypertension
120–139
Or
80–89
High blood pressure
Stage 1
140–159
Or
90–99
Stage 2
160 or higher
Or
100 or higher
The ranges in the table apply to most adults (aged 18 and older) who don't have short-term serious illnesses.
All levels above 120/80 mmHg raise your risk, and the risk grows as blood pressure levels rise. "Prehypertension" means you're likely to end up with HBP, unless you take the necessary steps to prevent it.
If you're being treated for HBP and have repeat readings in the normal range, your blood pressure is under control. However, you still have the condition. You should see your doctor and stay on treatment to keep you blood pressure under control.
Your systolic and diastolic numbers may not be in the same blood pressure category. In this case, the more severe category is the one you're in. For example, if your systolic number is 160 and your diastolic number is 80, you have stage 2 HBP. If your systolic number is 120 and your diastolic number is 95, you have stage 1 HBP.
If you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, HBP is defined as 130/80 mmHg or higher. HBP numbers also differ for children and teens.

Outlook

Blood pressure tends to rise with age. Following a healthy lifestyle helps some people delay or prevent this rise in blood pressure. So again, building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key!

People who have HBP can take steps to control it and reduce their risks for related health problems. Key steps include following a healthy lifestyle and maybe having ongoing medical care.

Leo's tips for lifestyle changes

  • Don't smoke cigarettes or use any tobacco product.
  • Lose weight if you're overweight.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Eat a healthy diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables and is low in fat.
  • Cleanse your body on a regular bases.
  • Learn to breath efficiently.
  • Limit your sodium, alcohol and caffeine intake.
  • Try relaxation techniques or biofeedback.
That's it y'all, and if you feel like you need to know more about this, just e-mail me or leave me a message and I'll get back to you!

Licensed to thrill,
Leo Stroobants
The Energy Evangelist.
www.leostroobants.com