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SPELL SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE>
"SPELL SUCCESS" E-ZINE - NEW BEGINNINGS
Spell SUCCESS E-Newsletter
Copyright 2004, Dreams Unlimited Press
ISSUE 1
January 8, 2004
Welcome to the very first edition of the "Spell SUCCESS"
e-newsletter, a monthly offshoot of many ideas and
philosophies I have accumulated in the last several years
while developing my career as a speaker and writer.
Thank you for being a subscriber and reader! Please feel
free to forward this newsletter to family, friends, and
colleagues who are interested in personal growth and
self-development.
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"The world is round, and the place which may seem like the
end, may also be the beginning." -- Ivy Baker Priest
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BELIEVE IN NEW BEGINNINGS
Our lives are filled with opportunities for new beginnings.
All it requires is a positive attitude and a willingness to
make some clear, definitive changes. They say that cats
have “9 lives.” I believe humans have the capacity to
outnumber felines in the number of lives they can live.
Why? Because we all possess the ability and the free will
to start anew each day.
Every day can be a new beginning for you. As you work
diligently toward meeting the demands of your job/career,
family life, and social/community obligations, you have the
opportunity – through the power of your attitude – to make
each day better than the last.
As you are reading this article, chances are you could be
going through some sort of transition in your personal or
professional life. Maybe you are unemployed and looking for
work now. Or perhaps you are between marriages or intimate
relationships. It could be that you are adjusting to a new
lifestyle, such as becoming a first-time parent, entering a
new line of work, or living in a new venue.
“Transition” rates highly as one of the most common
stress-inducing situations. These include, but are not
limited to: marriage, divorce, moving, getting fired from a
job, and starting a new job. These transitions, however
stressful they may be, can all be classified as “new
beginnings.”
"Cultivate in yourself the ability to forget your past
frustrations. Clean the slate. Your life begins anew each
day. Your determination grows stronger and stronger each
day, and you approach a success you never dreamed possible.
Just persevere."
MARK FISCHER, Author, The Millionaire's Secrets
AVOID "COMFORTABLE CAPTIVITY"
Many people avoid making necessary changes in their lives
because they fear (or just plain dread) the inevitable
stress this may cause. However, if you stay in a job or
relationship that no longer fulfills you, then you will
experience something worse than stress – I call it
"comfortable captivity."
Comfortable captivity means you feel comfortable knowing
what to expect from your job – a paycheck every two weeks,
a routine you’ve gotten yourself into, etc. It can also
mean knowing what to expect from a relationship – your
partner’s patterns, habits, and mannerisms.
Comfortable captivity also means that your creativity,
initiative, and career potential are held captive by
limitation(s) imposed upon you by others. You are forced to
suppress your ideas, your knowledge, and your leadership
ability.
I often speak to groups of administrative professionals
(i.e., secretaries, executive assistants, and various
office support personnel) who face this sort of challenge
quite frequently. On the one hand, they can become very
proficient in their supportive roles. However, their superb
skill all too many times leads to a feeling of comfort.
Over time, this comfort level leads to stagnation and the
stifling of career growth. Ironically, this "career
stifling" often results from expert ability which is either
taken for granted by upper management, or worse, is so
valued by senior executives that the administrative
professional gets pigeonholed into a permanent position in
an attempt by management to hold on to good employees. This
attempt to retain valuable employees may lead to higher
salaries or more “perks,” but the end result can be
detrimental to the employee desiring opportunities for
career acceleration.
"Fear of the unknown" prevents the majority of us from
exploring what our lives could be like. Instead, we stick
to the familiar. No surprises. No sudden changes. Most of
us would rather stay in an unsatisfying relationship than
risk being alone, or having to "look" for someone else to
spend our time with.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
As you kick off this new year -- 2004 -- I encourage you to
take the time to reflect on what it is that you truly want
to achieve in the coming months. Set aside the notion of a
"New Year's Resolution," and make a personal commitment to
move actively and boldly in one specific direction -- one
that will lead to a sense of fulfillment!
You have the power to change virtually any aspect of your
life that is not serving you. I will leave you this month
with the wise words of Dr. Philip Humbert:
"Move in the direction you want to go. Gradually reduce the
things that distract, annoy, and frustrate you. Resign from
obligations that no longer serve you. Break old habits,
quit doing things that wear you out, tie you down and make
you sad. Then, use that time and energy to move in the
direction you want to go. A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step...start walking."
See you next month!
Peter
Peter Colwell motivates others to motivate themselves!
Peter is an accomplished speaker and author of Spell
SUCCESS in Your Life, a popular motivational book that has
been published in six languages worldwide. Peter delivers
keynote speeches and training programs to corporations and
associations on leadership and success principles. Peter
can be reached at peter@petercolwell.com. For more details
about his book and speaking programs, visit
http://www.PeterColwell.com.
To be removed from this list: Send a blank e-mail to
peter@petercolwell.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject
line.
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