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<!-- COPY --> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="verdana,tahoma,helvetica,arial"> <IMG SRC=""http://www.familybusinessstrategies.com/images/dmieck.jpg" ALIGN="LEFT" BORDER=0> <!-- BEGIN ARTICLE: NEWS --> "You're as successful as you want to be." <P> Just try and throw this statement out at your next networking function or family gathering and watch the sparks fly. Emotions may flare up, yet it will not discount the validity of this statement. <P> To prove this point and show you how we may limit ourselves by the choices we make, I'll give you three very simple examples. <P> <B>1. The Three-Letter Word That Can Cost You Millions</B> <P> One of the ways my clients go out of bounds in our coaching calls is by using the word "But." Consistently using this three-letter word will cost you relationships, sales and moneymaking growth opportunities. But" shuts down communication, turns off your creativity and turns you into a victim. <P> Ask yourself if you've ever been guilty of saying any of the following statements: "But that won't work. - But I've always done it this way. - But I've tried everything. - But I don't have a college education. - But I don't want to do that." <P> Repeating any one of these statements will limit your future success. And stopping the use of this dirty, three-letter word is under your control. <P> <B>2. The Four-Letter Word For "Victim"</B> <P> When you use the word "Can't", you're training your brain to shut down by focusing on how something won't work before you ever have the chance to consider the possibilities of how it might work. <P> Countless business owners have become enormously successful because they saw how something could be done, while everyone else saw all the reasons why it couldn't. (Can you say "Fed Ex?") You "can't do that in my industry" is an excuse for poor performance and a cry of victim hood. Make the conscious choice to banish the word "can't" from your vocabulary and watch the growth opportunities begin to appear in your life. <P> <B>3. The Green Giant</B> <P> Passing judgment on people who are more financially successful than you is one of the most dangerous ways to keep you struggling. It's the easy way for people to feel better about themselves and cover the fact that they're simply green with envy. Rather that asking "how," they'd rather point their finger and condemn others for succeeding. <P> How do you refer to people who make substantially more money than you? Common terms such as, "rich, lucky, out of touch, born into it, or greedy" subconsciously limit your success because it programs your brain to think something is "wrong" or "abnormal" with making big bucks. <P> If you think riches are laid out for just a few lucky people, you won't work towards acquiring riches, because it'll seem like a logistical impossibility. <P> Take a statement as common as, "He/she is actually pretty friendly and down to earth, for a millionaire." This statement shuts down your motivation to succeed. It implies the majority of millionaires are mean, greedy and heartless. After all, who wants to aspire to that kind of negative identity? <P> When negative thoughts about people who are more successful than you are expressed on a consistent basis, you'll subconsciously move in the opposite direction. <P> <B>Coaching Corner: </B> What kind of images do you have of people who are outrageously successful? Do you resent them? Or do you take them out to lunch and learn from them? <P> Remember, success isn't just for you. It's for others in your company, community and family. If you're a small business owner, think about how many more meals you could provide for other families if your business doubled its profits over the next year? <P> Success encompasses many aspects of our lives. Most people think of money when they hear the word success. STOP thinking like the herd and focus on the other measurements of success that you can improve upon - personal fulfillment, family life, community outreaches, relationships and spiritual contentment. By improving just 10% in each of these categories over the next six-months, how much more successful would you be? <P> <font size="1"><I> Copyright 1999-2003 by RPM Success Group , All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without the express written consent of RPM Success Group is prohibited. Call RPM Success Group toll free at 888-334-8151 for reprint permissions.</I></font> <P> <HR SIZE=1> <FONT FACE="sans-serif" SIZE=2 COLOR="#000000"> <B>Deborah Cole Micek </B> can be reached at <A HREF=http://www.RPMsuccess.com>http://www.RPMsuccess.com</A>.<BR> <FONT SIZE=1>: Known as The Communication Coach, Deborah Cole Micek works with business owners and entrepreneurs to help them achieve the freedom, fulfillment and financial independence they want. If you'd like to learn how to boost your personal performance, supercharge your communication skills and create a "systems driven business" that delivers the type of net profits you want, Deborah would love to help you set your own rules so you can win the game of business success. To help you get "growing" right away you can visit www.GetCoachedforFree.com where you register to receive more articles like this for free. Deborah is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst and the lead Communication Strategist at the international business coaching organization, RPM Success Group Inc. (www.RPMsuccess.com). You can reach her at Deb@RPMsuccess.com or toll free at (888) 334-8151. </FONT> </FONT> <!-- end of COPY --> <BR><BR> <!-- BACK TO Homepage --> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="verdana,tahoma,helvetica,arial"> <A HREF="http://www.ibizresources.com/index.html">&lt;&lt; Back to Homepage</A> </FONT> <!-- end of BACK TO Resoreces for Organizations' Homepage --> <!-- end of TEXT FOR MAIN AREA --> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <!-- end of MAIN AREA --> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <BR> <!-- end of --> </BODY> </HTML>