FAILURE LIST OF THE FAMOUS

When you feel a little discouraged, just remember what these people accomplished when everyone else looked at them as failures. Believe in Yourself!

Einstein was 4 years old before he could speak.

Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school and was considered "unpromising."

When Thomas Edison was a youngster, his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. He was counseled to go into a field where he might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality.

F.W. Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21, but his boss would not permit him to wait on customers because he "didn't have enough sense to close a sale."

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Bob Cousy, a legendary Boston Celtic basketball player, suffered the same fate, but he too is a Hall of Famer.

A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he "lacked imagination and had no original ideas."

Winston Churchill failed 6th grade and had to repeat it because he did not complete the tests that were required for promotion.

Babe Ruth struck out 1,300 times, a major league record.

A person may make mistakes, but is not a failure until he or she starts blaming someone else. We must believe in ourselves, and somewhere along the road of life we will meet someone who sees greatness in us and lets us know it.

How to Say "No" and Mean It

“The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.”

- Tony Blair

How can you confidently respond when someone makes a request you’d prefer not to accommodate?

This article shares some ideas you can use to make sure you don’t find yourself doing something you’d very much prefer not to do.

The question has just been posed. Pause. Was your inclination to say yes, even though there’s a voice deep down saying “no.” Well, let’s raise the volume on that voice. What possible reasons could there be for saying no?

· It’s beyond your means?
· It’s beyond your comfort level?
· You have no interest?

Identify all the reasons you have for saying “no.” Identify which stem from a lack of confidence, versus a sincere disinterest in fulfilling the request.

What would happen if you said yes? Perhaps:

· You would be considered a teamplayer.
· It would make your boss happy.
· Your visibility with higher-ups would be improved.

It’s comes down to a simple cost/benefit really.

Would the discomfort involved in saying yes outweigh the benefits of possibly going along with the request?

Or, do the benefits outweigh your temporary discomforts?

the role of guilt

Saying “no” is hard for many of us and guilt often comes into play. Whether this guilt has its foundation in religion, a proper upbringing, or a worldview that simply says “it’s not nice to say no,” we often recognize it and make decisions we’d rather not be making, based upon it.

saying “no”

You’ve made the decision, after scientifically weighing the results of your cost/benefit analysis, do honestly say “NO”. Well, go ahead and say it clearly, and self-assuredly…in the mirror. Look yourself in the eye, and do it. Just say “NO.”

Say it like you really mean it, and then say it again as you would to whomever made the request of you. When you pretend you’re speaking to the person who made the request, does it come out differently? Practice and experiment with different ways to say “NO” until you find one you’re comfortable with. Then go, and say “NO.”

after you say “no”

If you’re used to giving in to others, then guess what? After all that practice, you may just be surprised to find that they are not willing to accept it! They may push, rephrase the question, or make a new, not altogether different, request.

Be prepared for this! Know your boundary — what ARE you willing to do? Revisit the questions you asked yourself before — what would happen if you said no, or yes? If you are serious about saying “NO” then stick to your guns.

Tell the individual making the request that you would appreciate it if they respected your wishes, and ask them to refrain from pursuing it further. If you are comfortable expressing your “reasons why” then do so speaking from your personal perspective.

tips on how to say your “no!”

1. The “Wet lettuce NO”

If you are going to say NO, you must say it in a way that means NO! Saying NO in a quiet, unassuming voice is like a hand shake that is floppy and limp.

By saying NO in a non confident manner it will make you feel as though you have got to convince the other person about your decision and the reasons why you have said it!

2. The “Mr Angry NO”

This is at the other end of the spectrum in how to say NO. It is done in an aggressive manner and usually said with contempt. It is not an effective way to communicate your NO.

Here are a couple of examples: “NO. I’m not doing that rubbish. You’ve got to be joking aren’t you.” And: “NO. I wouldn’t lower myself to do that piece of work”

3. The assertive NO

This is the best way to say NO! In a firm, yet polite voice say: “No. I will not be able to do that for you”

Also, if you want to say the reasons why, keep it short and sweet: “No. I will not be able to do that for you. I will be having my hair done at that time”

4. Use effective body language

When saying NO remember the power of non-verbal communications: Look the person in the eye when you say the NO; shake your head at the same time as saying NO; stand up tall; use a firm tone in your voice.

5. When all is said and done

Don’t forget that when anyone asks a question of you, you are perfectly OK to say, “Can I think about that and get back to you?”

No-one should be pressurized into giving an immediate answer, even if the delay is only a couple of minutes. It will give you some time to think it through and to gather your thoughts.

It will also give you some time to think about how you are going to say it, the words to use and your body language.

saying “no” exercise

Practice makes perfect as they say! What I would like you to do for the next 7 days is to start to say NO more often.

So whether it is the double glazing salesman, the cold call, “Would you like fries with that” or the shop assistant — practice saying NO to one person for at least the next 7 days.

You will be an expert come the end of the week!

what will happen
· You will feel much more confident and proud.
· You will find that practice makes perfect — the more you confidently say “NO” the easier it becomes.
· Others will respect your wishes and take you seriously the first time you say “NO.”
· You won’t find yourself doing things you never wanted to do in the first place.
· You’ll have more time to focus on the things you do want to be involved in.

10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Your Work Done

Are you having trouble getting all your work done? Is there a project you can't seem to find time to finish, or something you haven't been able to get started? If it doesn't seem you'll ever be able to cross everything off your “to do” list at work, see if any of the following are keeping you from getting your job done.

1. You have too many distractions.
A recent survey by the research firm NFI Research found that 66 percent of senior executives and managers say e-mail is one of the biggest distractions in the workplace, followed by the crisis of the day and personal interruptions. According to the bosses surveyed, other workplace distractions include unexpected meetings, phone calls, Web surfing, socializing, instant messages and noise.

2. You don't have the resources you need.
A carpenter needs a hammer, an accountant needs an adding machine and most office workers need a computer. Nevertheless, new employees don't always have what they need to hit the ground running. (An employer once took a month to supply the software needed to do the job I was hired to do.) Likewise, if your co-workers aren't providing you with the data or assistance you need, your work may suffer. Before you blame your co-workers for not helping, consider if they are facing similar challenges getting their own work done.

3. You don't know what you’re doing.
Clayton Warholm, an expert on workplace miscommunication, says there are two main reasons employees may not know enough to do the job. Either the assignment wasn't clearly stated by your employer (you don't know what to do) or you haven't been trained properly (you don't know how to do it). Training will only help, however, if you have the talent needed to do the job.

In their book “First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently,” Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman reported findings of interviews conducted by the Gallup Organization of more than 80,000 managers in over 400 companies. They found "the right talents, more than experience, more than brainpower and more than willpower alone, are the prerequisites for excellence in all roles" and, unlike skills and knowledge, "you cannot teach talent."

4. You have too much work.
Some people have so much work on their plates they couldn't do everything on their “to do” list even if they worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This may happen in any job, but particularly in fields facing a shortage of workers. The result: the frustration of trying one’s best to get everything done but not being able to do so.

5. You have poor time management skills.
Workers with good time-management skills do what’s most important, while those with poor time-management skills work on what looks most fun or easy -- then frantically try to catch up on important work that has become urgent because the fun and easy work was done first. Hint: Work is rarely easy or fun if you end up missing deadlines and have to deal with an irate boss or customers.

6. You’re procrastinating.
Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today? Actually, you may have a good reason -- to avoid pain. When we procrastinate, it’s often because we’re afraid the job or the outcome will be unpleasant. For example, if you’re afraid of failure and fear that no matter what you do it won't be good enough; chances are you'll avoid doing anything. If your own need for perfection is holding you back, realize most employers and clients would prefer that you do an imperfect but good job, rather than not do the job at all.

7. You feel undervalued.
If you think you’re underpaid and unappreciated, chances are you aren’t giving 100 percent. Consciously or not, many employees try to “balance the scales” to ensure that what they give the employer is equal to what the employer gives them. According to Louis V. Imundo, author of “The Effective Supervisor's Handbook,” when the negatives of a job outweigh the positives, “employees may put less effort into their jobs, be absent more frequently, be careless or psychologically withdraw from work while being physically present.”

8. Your company’s priorities keep changing.
You are working on Project A when the boss says, “drop everything and work on Project B.” When this happens, it may feel you’re not getting any work done, but your employer may feel otherwise. As the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (the most widely used personality assessment) shows, some people are flexible and find it easy to change direction and exciting to start new projects, while others find it frustrating to not complete projects. If you are the latter and work in an industry where change is constant, you may want to consider a career change.

9. You’re burned out.
According to the Web site of the American Psychological Association, burnout is emotional exhaustion resulting from overwhelming stress at work. It may be caused by a hostile work environment or fears about job security, but it is often results from long hours, stressful deadlines, high expectations, worrying about a project or taking on more work than you can handle -- in other words, working too hard. Because it can lead to serious conditions, such as depression and heart disease, you should seek professional help if you are experiencing burnout.

10. Your “reward” for completing the job will be more work
What happens if you consistently go the extra mile to do exceptional work ahead of schedule? Oddly enough, many companies “reward” their hardest working employees with more work. Instead of time off, a bonus or another benefit, productive employees are only given more work to do. If this happens in your company, it’s no wonder you’re not feeling motivated to work hard.

By Tag Goulet, FabJob.com